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Psychiatrists and role of religion in mental health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nazar Mansour
Nazar Mansour*
Affiliation:
15 Watery Lane, Northolt UBS 5QL, email: [email protected]
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Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 32 , Issue 10 , October 2008 , pp. 395
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2008

Koenig (Psychiatric Bulletin, June 2008, 32, 201-203) highlights many aspects of understanding patients’ religious beliefs with which I totally agree. However, it seems he has underestimated the influence of experience in psychiatric management. The statistical findings presented were the result of surveys which can never replace high-quality evidence-based research or well-designed qualitative studies. Psychiatrists in the UK have been under enormous strain to maintain a fine balance between legal and clinical responsibilities. The results of Koenig's suggestions are not measurable and could raise a variety of medico-legal issues; for example, how to decide which patients should be involved with their psychiatrists for joint prayer? I believe this could be dangerous ground upon which to tread. Religion is a personal activity and psychiatrists could explore the interface between religious beliefs and psychopathology. But, they should definitely not cross sensitive boundaries.

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