Spirituality and religion play an important role in mental health. While spirituality is a personal search for meaning, religion involves social and community aspects of spiritual beliefs. Several studies show benefits of spirituality like improved self-esteem and faster recovery from mental illness. Spiritual assessments and considering a person's relationship with God can be part of effective psychotherapy. Islamic scholars like Imam Ghazali viewed spirituality and closeness to God as important for mental wellness. Daily prayers in Islam provide physical and mental benefits similar to yoga. Effective treatment needs to address a person's religious and spiritual dimensions.

1. The Importance of psychospiritual in
Mental health
- Group J
“The great error of our day is that
physicians separate the soul and body,
when they treat the body.”
Plato (427-347 BCE)

2. Spirituality
Spirituality “relates to the person’s search for
meaning and morally fulfilling relationships
between oneself, other people, the
encompassing universe, and the ground of
existence, whether a person understands this
in terms that are theistic, atheistic, non-
theistic, or any combination of these”

3. Religion
Religion “involves the patterning of
spiritual beliefs and practices into
social institutions, with community
support and traditions maintained over
time”
Canda E.R. (1997) Spirituality. In Encyclopedia of social work (19th ed.), 1997
supplement. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

4. How is spirituality different from
religion?
• Religious traditions certainly include individual
spirituality, which is universal. But each religion has its
own distinct community-based worship, beliefs, sacred
texts and traditions.
•
• Spirituality is not necessarily tied to any particular
religious belief or tradition. Although culture and
beliefs can play a part in spirituality, every person has
their own unique experience of spirituality - it can be a
personal experience for anyone, with or without a
religious belief. It's there for everyone. Spirituality also
highlights how connected we are to other people
and the world.

5. Imminent Psycho-Spiritual Needs
• Need for a sense of the wholeness of life
(integration)
• Need for a sense of purpose in “being,”
especially when “doing” is more difficult
• Need to acknowledge positive and
negative life and spiritual events
• Need to confront, accept, and plan

6. What is spiritual health care?
People with mental health problems have said that they want:
• to feel safe and secure
• to be treated with dignity and respect
• to feel that they belong, are valued and trusted
• time to express feelings to mental health carers
• meaningful activity such as creative art, work or enjoying nature
• the chance to make sense of their life – including illness and loss
• permission/support to develop their relationship with God or
the Absolute.
Someone with a religious belief may need:
• a time, a place and privacy in which to pray and worship
• the chance to explore spiritual concerns
• to be reassured that the psychiatrist will respect their faith
• encouragement to deepen their faith
• sometimes – to be helped with forgiveness.

7. What difference can spirituality
make?
Patients say that they gained:
• better self-control, self-esteem and confidence
• faster and easier recovery (often through healthy
grieving of losses and through recognising their
strengths)
• better relationships – with self, others and with
God/creation/nature
• a new sense of meaning, hope and peace of
mind. This has enabled them to accept and live
with continuing problems or to make changes
where possible.

8. A spiritual assessment
Mental health professionals also need to be able to distinguish between a
spiritual crisis and mental illness, particularly when these overlap.
A gentle, unhurried approach is important – at its best, exploring spiritual
issues can be therapeutic in itself.
• Setting the scene = What is your life all about
• The past = Emotional stress is often caused by a loss, or the threat of loss.
Have you had any major losses or bereavements or suffered abuse? How
has this affected you?
• The present = Do you feel that you belong and that you are valued? Do
you feel safe and respected? Do you feel that there is a spiritual aspect to
your current situation?
• The future = What do the next few weeks hold for you? What about the
next few months or years? Are you worried about death and dying, or
about the possibility of an afterlife
• The next step = What kind of support would work for you? How could you
best be helped to get it?

9. Imam-Ghazali (1058-1111) view of Mental Health
• He described the personality as an "integration of spiritual and
bodily forces" and believed that "closeness to God is equivalent to
mentally healthy (normality), whereas distance from God leads to
mental Illness (Abnormality).“
• According to Imam Ghazali there are two types of Mental Illness:
Physical&Spiritual.
• He considered the Spiritual is more dangerous, resulting from
"ignorance and deviation from God", and listed the spiritual
mental illness as: self-centeredness; addiction to wealth, fame and
social status; and ignorance, cowardice, cruelty, lust, was (doubt),
malevolence, calumny, envy, deception, and greed. To overcome
these spiritual weaknesses, al-Ghazali suggested the therapy of
opposites ("use of imagination in pursuing the opposite"), such as
ignorance & learning, or hate & love.

10. Studies show prayers physical and
mental benefits
• A research is conducted by the University of
Malaya's Biomedical Engineering Department
(December 21, 2006) in order to find out either
postures of the daily Muslim prayers have
physical and mental health benefits to the human
body or not. Result of this study is that Muslims
pray five times a day, which each prayer made of
a series of postures and movements. Postures
during the prayers are beneficial to the heart,
spine and the capacity of memory and attention

11. The "Yoga" of Islamic Prayer:
• A Research is conducted by Karima Burns, MH, ND in
December 21, 2006. Yoga consists of a number of
"asnas," or body positions, which one retains for a
desired length of time while either reciting "mantras"
or breathing in a rhythmic manner.
• Interestingly, for the millions of people enrolled in yoga
classes, the Islamic form of prayer (namaz) has
provided Muslims for fourteen centuries with some of
yoga's same (and even superior) benefits. This simple
form of "yoga" offers physical, mental, and spiritual
benefits five times a day as Muslims assume certain
positions while reciting Qur'an and athkar
(remembrances).

12. Conclusion
• Research has made it increasingly clear that effective
psychotherapy must encompass the spiritual and/or
religious dimensions.
• Shafranske (2010) has asked the salient question:
“Given the lack of attention given to the religious and
spiritual dimension in most psychology training, how
prepared are clinicians to be mindful of the potential
impacts their religious and spiritual commitments have
on their professional practice, to appropriately and
ethically integrate spirituality in psychological
treatment, or respond to emergent transcendent
experiences?”