Ethical Considerations at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Religion

Edited by John Peteet, Mary Lynn Dell, and Wai Lun Alan Fung

Provides a clinically relevant framework of the interface between psychiatry, religion, and spirituality
Integrates conceptual and practical material through discussion and case examples
Comprehensive overview addresses a wide range of subspecialties in psychiatry

Ethical Considerations at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Religion

Edited by John Peteet, Mary Lynn Dell, and Wai Lun Alan Fung

Description

Psychiatry and religion/spirituality (R/S) share an interest in human flourishing, a concern with beliefs and values, and an appreciation for community. Yet historical tensions between science and religion continue to impede dialogue, leaving clinicians uncertain about how to approach ethical questions arising between them. When are religious practices such as scrupulosity disordered? What distinguishes healthy from unhealthy religion? How should a therapist approach a patient's existential, moral or spiritual distress? What should clinicians do with patients' R/S convictions about faith healing, same-sex relationships, or obligations to others?

Discussions of psychiatric ethics have traditionally emphasized widely accepted principles, generally admired virtues, and cultural competence. Relatively little attention has been devoted to the ways that R/S inform the values of patients and their clinicians, shape preferred virtues, and interact with culture.

Ethical Considerations at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Religion aims to give mental health professionals a conceptual framework for understanding the role of R/S in ethical decision-making and serve as practical guidance for approaching challenging cases. Part I addresses general considerations, including the basis of therapeutic values in a pluralistic context, the nature of theological and psychiatric ethics, spiritual issues arising in diagnosis and treatment, unhealthy and harmful uses of religion, and practical implications of personal spirituality. Part II examines how these considerations apply in specific contexts: inpatient and outpatient, consultation-liaison, child and adolescent, geriatric, disability, forensic, community, international, addiction and disaster and emergency psychiatry, as well as in the work of religious professionals, ethics committees, psychiatric education, and research.

Thick descriptions of case examples analyzed using the framework of Jonson and Winslow show the clinical relevance of understanding the contributions of religion and spirituality to patient preferences, quality of life, decision making, and effective treatment.

Ethical Considerations at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Religion

Edited by John Peteet, Mary Lynn Dell, and Wai Lun Alan Fung

1. Introduction
John R. Peteet, M.D., Mary Lynn Dell, M.D., D.Min. and Wai Lun Alan Fung, M.D., ScD, FRCPC
Part One: General Considerations
2. Values and Pluralism in Psychiatry
John R. Peteet, M.D.
3. Theological Ethics Relevant to Mental Health and Psychiatry: An Overview
Daniel Grossoehme, M.Div., D.Min. and Mary Lynn Dell, M.D., D.Min.
4. Ethical Issues Related to Religious Considerations in Psychiatric Diagnosis
Allan M. Josephson, M.D.
5. Unhealthy and Potentially Harmful Uses of Religion
James Griffith, M.D. and Gina Magyar-Russell, Ph.D.
6. Spiritual and Religious Concerns Presenting in Psychiatric Treatment
Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D.
7. The Role of Religious Professionals in Ethical Decision Making in Mental Health
Nancy Kehoe, R.S.C.J., Ph.D.
8. Ethics Committees and Consultation in Mental Health
Don C. Postema, Ph.D.
9. Practical Implications of Personal Spirituality
James Lomax, M.D. and Nathan Carlin, Ph.D.
Part Two: Specific Clinical Contexts
10. Outpatient Psychiatry
Morgan M. Medlock, M.D., M.Div. and David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D., ABPP
11. Inpatient Psychiatry
Shad S. Ali, M.D. and Abraham M. Nussbaum, M.D., M.T.S.
12. Religious/Spiritual Aspects of Ethical Dilemmas in C/L Psychiatry
Marta Herschkopf, M.D. and John Peteet, M.D.
13. Addiction Psychiatry
Christopher C. H. Cook, M.B. B. S., M.D., M.A., Ph. D., Eilish Gilvarry, M.B., M.Ch., B.A.O. and Andrea Hearn, B.Sc. (hons), Ph.D., M.B. B.S.
14. Geriatric and End of Life Psychiatry
John R. Peteet, MD
15. Ethics, Religion, and Spirituality in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Carol Kessler, M.D., M.Div. and Mary Lynn Dell, M.D., D.Min.
16. Spirituality, Ethics, and People with Intellectual Disabilities
William Gaventa, M.Div., and Mary Lynn Dell, M.D., D.Min.
17. Mental Disorder and Transformation: Perspectives from Community Psychiatry
Tony Benning, M.D.
18. International Perspectives on Ethical Issues in Religion and Psychiatry
Walid Sarhan, M.B.B.S., FRCPsych and Wai Lun Alan Fung, M.D., ScD, FRCPC
19. Ethical Considerations for Mental Health Providers Responding to Disasters and Emergencies
Samuel B. Thielman, M.D., Ph.D. and Glenn Goss, D.S.W.
20. Forensic Psychiatry
Michael A. Norko M.D., M.A.R.
21. Ethical Considerations Regarding Religion/spirituality in Psychiatric Research
Alexander Moreira-Almeida, M.D., Ph.D., Quirino Cordeiro, M.D., Ph.D., and Harold G. Koenig, M.D., M.H.Sc
22. Psychiatric Education
Gerrit Glas, M.D., M.A., Ph.D.

Ethical Considerations at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Religion

Edited by John Peteet, Mary Lynn Dell, and Wai Lun Alan Fung

Author Information

Edited by John Peteet, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Edited by Mary Lynn Dell, Director of Psychosomatic Medicine and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Medical Center and the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and Edited by Wai Lun Alan Fung, Medical Director of Research and Chair of Research Ethics Board, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

John R. Peteet, M.D Associate Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School

Mary Lynn Dell, M.D., D.Min. Director of Psychosomatic Medicine Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Pediatrics Nationwide Children's Hospital The Ohio State University

Wai Lun Alan Fung, M.D., Sc.D., FRCPC Medical Director of Research Chair of Research Ethics Board North York General Hospital University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine