Mental health providers hold varied interpretations of jinn possession, often viewing it through a clinical lens while also recognizing traditional and prophetic medicine as explanatory frameworks. The paper synthesizes existing research to improve clinical practice with clients who report jinn possession, arguing that culturally competent care requires integrating these perspectives. It suggests that dismissing spirit possession beliefs can harm therapeutic relationships, whereas acknowledging them may enhance treatment outcomes.
Death is accepted across major religious and spiritual traditions as a natural end of life and a transition into the unknown. Drawing on personal experience as both a survivor of a Near-Death Experience (NDE) and a theologian engaged in pastoral care and counseling, the author reflects on how NDEs foster an internal sense of connection to the divine and to something greater than the self, termed the "Spirituality of Death."
Over 20 years, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross found that people of all ages, sexes, religions, and cultures report the same experiences upon death. Her book presents these insights and revelations, which can help ministers counsel those who are dying or have had a near-death experience.
A tool called the 'Transcendent Assessment Tool' helps clinicians and clients distinguish between mental illness delusions and transcendent experiences. Patients who have had religious preoccupation often avoid mental health care, but correctly identifying transcendent experiences can keep them engaged in treatment.
Mystical experience has long fascinated both religious and secular people. Scholars in the psychology of religion have identified key elements of such experiences. This essay examines those elements and uses them to construct a theological anthropology, expanding the understanding through the framework of mystic Howard Thurman, who held that genuine mysticism results in responsible action. Together, these components create a pastoral theological framework for mystical experience.