Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

170 Pierre-Yves Brandt, Claude-Alexandre Fournier, and Sylvia Mohrat the patient’s disposal. Indeed, when questionedon what helps him confront the illness,the patient himself confirms that his religioustradition helps him in this regard. On the otherhand, when it comes to his role as a father, he ishelpless and very detached from his children. Hedoes not have a role model from his own experienceas a child, because his father died when hewas 2 years old. During a session with his doctor,it clearly appears that his renewed involvementin Islam has allowed this man to recreate his culturalenvironment. He stays at home most of thetime with his wife and children. His wife goesout very rarely. This environment gave his essentialidentity the necessary support to help himovercome the crises of quitting drugs and beingunemployed. This coping strategy, however, risksenabling a breakdown, which could in time furtherdamage his ability to support himself. Thechallenge lies in how he will assume his parentalresponsibility. It was suggested to his doctor thatMr. Z. be brought back to the religious imperative“I want to be a good Muslim,” an approachthat has helped him confront his difficulties forfour years. This involves asking Mr. Z. how hischoice of being a practicing Muslim connects tobeing a good father. One must remember thatIslam is passed on through the father and thereforethe father’s role in maintaining and perpetuatingthe religious tradition is important. Inother words, this means that being a father andraising children is linked to religious membership.If, as Mr. Z. confirms, getting back in touchwith Islam helped him face his difficulties, it isplausible that his difficulty in fulfilling his roleas a father could also be remedied with the helpof the religious references he relied on for otherissues. It could even be suggested to him that tryingto be a good father is not an optional activity,but a necessary consequence of his choice topractice Islam. It could then be suggested thathe reflect on what his religious tradition has tosay on this subject. Through the constructionof the paternal role, Mr. Z. was confronted witha transformation of identity. Owing to his personalhistory, he struggled to find a role model towhom he could refer. During the therapy session,there was a discussion on whether the returnto Islam for guidance on the paternal role wastruly religious in nature, or whether it was moreabout seeking reference to the cultural environmentof the country of origin. This would be anappropriate time to highlight that religion doesnot only involve intimate beliefs such as “Godexists,” “God loves me,” “God punishes me,” andso forth. On the contrary, religion also encompassesthe symbolic systems that humans havedevised to explain the meaning of life in relationto events in human existence. Such systemsoffer guidelines for all aspects of life and bringtogether beliefs and practices that are regulatedwithin various religious institutions.13. RELIGION CAN ALSO WEAKENIDENTITYAs we have already seen, religion/spirituality canhelp restore identity when facing threateningconditions such as those experienced by patientswith severe mental symptoms (that is, patientswith long-term disorders like schizophrenia).However, religious experiences can also disturband destabilize. For example, reproaches heardin a sermon could be understood as persecution,a missionary appeal read in a sacred book couldnourish delusions of grandeur, or the experienceof a ritual or meeting where all members startto adopt the same behavior could lead to theanguishing feeling of losing contact with oneself.Experiences of losing awareness of the distinctionbetween the self and the nonself, regardedby some as mystic experiences, could for othersbe very distressing and disturbing.(28) Evenwhen the religious dimension does not disturban individual, it does not necessarily favor theindividual’s autonomy. Hence, an attachmentrelationship experienced with religious figurescan be reduced to a mere displacement of theprimary relationship. Such a relationship thushas the effect of reinforcing a regressive attitude.From a therapeutic point of view, keeping a criticaleye on the role played by the religious dimensionin identity construction is thus important.When the religious dimension is a part of the