Spirituality and Psychiatry

In working with patients who often have lost purpose in their lives, spirituality, with its emphasis on meaning, is clearly relevant. Following an introduction to the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists which Cook (theology and religion, Durham U.; consultant, substance abuse, NHS Foundation Trust) chaired, the editors present an overview of spirituality in UK mental healthcare settings and related research. Contributors to 14 chapters discuss topics including the impact of psychosis on spirit, assessment of spiritual needs, suicide, and transpersonal psychology in treating various patient populations. Distributed by Publishers Storage and Shipping Company, Fitchbureg, MA. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About the editors

Chris Cook: Professorial Research Fellow, Department of Theology & Religion, Durham University, and Consultant in Substance Misuse, Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

Andrew Powell: formerly Consultant Psychotherapist and Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, St George’s Hospital and University of London; and Consultant Psychotherapist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, the Warneford Hospital and University of Oxford.

Andrew Sims: former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Leeds.

Each of the editors has in the past served as Chair of the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Quote from the editors: "Our guiding principle has been that spirituality in psychiatry, far from being an optional extra, is a necessary foundation for good clinical practice."