Mental illness, personhood, and transcendence: Spiritual and religious assistance in Catholic psychiatric contexts.
Tiago Pires Marques
Transcultural Psychiatry August 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/13634615211059698 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Spiritual and religious assistance services at three psychiatric institutions in Portugal |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Institutionalizing spirituality Spiritual care |
| Key findings | The transition from Catholic hospital chaplaincy to a spiritual and religious assistance model in Portuguese psychiatric institutions integrates features of Catholic spirituality with concepts from the psychology of religious experience, centered on accompaniment of the 'whole person'. |
Abstract
In recent decades, there have been many calls for the inclusion of spirituality and religion (S/R) in therapeutic contexts. In some contexts, this has been an institutionalized form of spiritual and religious assistance (SRA). This article examines the concepts and practices involved in SRA services at three psychiatric institutions in Portugal, a country with strong Catholic roots but increasing efforts at secularity and recognition of religious diversity. The case of a user who contacted the SRA service allows us to better grasp this new practice in action. Although some SRA practices have similarities with mindfulness, a systematic comparison allows us to explore the links between SRA and the global dynamics related to S/R in mental health and the particularities of Catholic spirituality. In the contexts observed, the transition from the Catholic hospital chaplaincy system to the SRA model is developing through the integration of features of the Catholic spiritual tradition with concepts and practices drawn from the psychology of religious experience. The accompaniment of the 'whole person' emerges as the central concept of this form of SRA. Spirituality gains significance as an integrative approach to the subjectivity fragmented by the illness and the fragmentation of care across multiple clinical specialties. Furthermore, the prioritization of the spiritual needs expressed by users suggests that SRA combines well with the individualistic rationales and the technification of care in the field of mental health.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Mindfulness in cultural context Transcultural Psychiatry August 1, 2015
- Open Mind, Open Heart: An Anthropological Study of the Therapeutics of Meditation Practice in the US. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 1, 2015
- The contemporary mindfulness movement and the question of nonself1. Transcultural Psychiatry August 2015