Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

208 Harold G. Koenigof motivation, and a voracious appetite. Itgot to the point that when the baby cried atnight, she was unable to get up to changethe baby’s diapers and feed him. Instead,she begged her husband to do so. She alsostopped making meals for the family andspent most of the day either in bed or sittingin front of the television set. Catherine andher husband are members of a fundamentalistChristian community in Houston,Texas. Her husband, getting more and moreupset over Catherine’s condition, took herto see their pastor. The pastor began counselingwith Catherine, encouraging her tojust pray more, read the Bible regularly,and attend religious services every week.He also asked her about any sin in her lifeand emphasized her need to confess the sinbefore she would feel better. Despite thevisits with her pastor, she became more andmore depressed. Catherine’s husband askedthe pastor if he should take her to see psychiatrist,given that she was doing worse.The pastor discouraged him, saying that allCatherine needed to do was put her entirefaith in God, confess her sin, and pray andthat seeing a psychiatrist was equivalent toputting her faith in man instead of in God.12. RELIGION AS A FACILITATOROF PSYCHIATRIC CAREOn the other hand, involvement in most mainstreamreligious groups can also increase thelikelihood of early detection of mental illnessand facilitate psychiatric referral. Increased levelsof support and contact with other membersof a faith community can result in early detectionand encouragement to seek care. Religious people,because they have relationships with otherswithin their community, are less able to avoidseeking help because others are more likely to bechecking on them, calling them, visiting them, orseeing them during religious activities.Religious involvement may also encouragecompliance because religious people are taught torespect authority and to be responsible. Biblicalscriptures encourage the faithful to do as those inauthority tell them:Obey your leaders and submit to theirauthority. They keep watch over you asmen who must give an account. Obey themso that their work will be a joy, not a burden,for that would be of no advantage toyou. (Heb. 13:17) 1Everyone must submit himself to the governingauthorities, for there is no authorityexcept that which God has established. Theauthorities that exist have been establishedby God. (Rom. 13:1)Psychiatrists and other mental health professionalsmay be seen as authority figureswhose instructions must be followed, increasingpatients’ likelihood of compliance with medicationand psychotherapy. Furthermore, if psychiatricillness is viewed as a biological illness thatrequires treatment, then scriptures that advocaterespect for the body (which the brain is obviouslypart of) may enhance compliance with medicaltreatments:Don’t you know that you yourselves areGod’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives inyou? If anyone destroys God’s temple, Godwill destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred,and you are that temple. (1 Cor. 3:16–17)Finally, religious values promote a responsiblelifestyle. Religious persons may see themselvesas having been given the gift of life and specialtalents that they must use to serve God and theirfellow humans, rather than bury those talents.(See Matthew 25:15–28.) Because good mentalhealth is necessary to fully use one’s talents, religiouspersons may be more willing to seek andcomply with treatment when their mental healthis compromised.1All citations from the Holy Bible are from the NewInternational Version (NIV).