Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

Personality, Spirituality, Religiousness, and the Personality Disorders 187or the precursor of enhanced transpersonalgrowth is critical to the accurate diagnosis andeffective treatment of the client.10. SUMMARYThese findings have considerable significance forclinicians who may be skeptical about numinousvariables, perhaps viewing them as “fuzzy” constructs.Taken together, the information presentedhere should lend confidence to professionalsregarding the empirical viability and conceptualsoundness of numinous scales: They can meetthe empirical criteria of scientific method andrigor. Spirituality and religiousness relate to howan individual creates a broad sense of personalmeaning for his or her life. Creating meaning canhave an important impact on the quality and stabilityof one’s psychic life. As was demonstratedhere, spirituality can have a buffering effect onlife’s stressors by creating a source of inner joyand contentment despite the distress. Further,disturbances in our relationship to a transcendentbeing can have a direct negative impact onour functioning. Feeling punished and shunnedby the God of one’s understanding can createmuch disruption in one’s sense of self and emotionalstability. In treating PDs, therapists needto include a consideration of the client’s spiritualorientation and bring this information into treatment.Helping the client to work through perceivedproblems in their spiritual world can helprestore a sense of calmness and stability. Workingto improve a more spiritual sense of meaning canenable a client to develop other psycho-socialconnections that can help facilitate the ongoingtreatment process. A wide variety of techniquesare already available for moving clients in a morespiritual direction, and therapists should acquaintthemselves with them.REFERENCES1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic andStatistical Manual of Mental Disorder , 4th ed., texted. Washington, DC : Author; 2000 .2. S amuels J , E aton W W , Bienvenu OJ , Brow n C H ,C ost a PT , Nest adt G . Pre v a lenc e and c or rel ates ofpersonality disorders in a community sample . Br JPsychiatry . 2002; 180: 536–542.3. Torgers en S , Kr i ng len E , C r amer V. The prevalenceof personality disorders in a communitysample . Arch Gen Psychiatry . 2001 ; 58: 590 –596.4 . M a i e r W , L i c h t e r m a n n D , K l i n g e r T , He u nR. Prevalences of personality disorders(DSM-III-R) in the community . J Pers Disor.1992 ; 6: 187 –196.5. R endu A , Mor an P , Patel A , Knapp M , Mann A .Economic impact of personality disorders inUK primary care attenders . Br J Psychiatry .2002 ; 181: 62–66.6. Van Asselt ADI , Dirksen CD , Arntz A , Severens JL.The cost of borderline personality disorder: societalcost of illness in BPD-patients . Eur Psychiatry .2007; 22: 354 –361.7. B ar t a k A , S o eteman DI , Verhe u l R , Buss chb ach J J V.Strengthening the status of psychotherapy forpersonality disorders: an integrated perspectiveon effects and costs . Can J Psychiatry .2007 ; 52: 803 –810.8. G abb ard GO , L a z ar S G , Hor nb erger J , Spie gel D.The economic impact of psychotherapy: a review .Am J Psychiatry. 1997 ; 154: 147 –155.9. Digman JM. Personality structure: emergenceof the five-factor model . Annu Rev Psychol.1990; 41: 417–440.10. Costa PT , Jr , McCrae RR. Normal personalityassessment in clinical practice: the NEO PersonalityInventory . Psychol Assess. 1992 ; 4: 5 –13.11. Piedmont RL. The Revised NEO PersonalityInventory: Clinical and Research Applications . NewYork : Plenum Press; 1998 .12. McCrae RR , Allik J. The Five-Factor Model acrossCultures . Dodrecht, The Netherlands : KluwerAcademic Publishers; 2003 .13. Miller T. The psychotherapeutic utility of thefive-factor model of personality: a clinician’s experience. J Pers Assess. 1991 ; 57: 415 –433.14. Block J. A contrarian view of the five-factorapproach to personality description . Psychol Bull.1995 ; 117: 187 –215.15. Friedman M , Rosenman RH. Association of a specificovert behavior pattern with increases in bloodcholesterol, blood clotting time, incidence of arcussenilis and clinical coronary artery disease . J AmMed Assoc. 1959 ; 2208: 828 –836.16. Barefoot JC , Dodge KA , Peterson BL ,D a h lst rom WG , Wi l l i ams R B, Jr. The Cook-Medley hostility scale: item content and ability topredict survival . Psychosom Med. 1989; 51: 4 6–57.17. Costa PT , Jr , Widiger TA. Personality Disordersand the Five-Factor Model of Personality , 2nded. Washington, DC : American PsychologicalAssociation; 2002 .18. First MB , Gibbon M , Spitzer RL , Williams JBW ,Benjamin LS. User’s Guide for the StructuredClinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality