Working in the field of mental health can be rewarding and challenging at the same time because of the exposure to people’s feelings and emotions. Religious or spiritual beliefs can often bring great comfort and a source of guidance in these circumstances. Both mental health and religious professionals need to know how to utilize people’s spiritual strengths to help them cope with their mental health needs. We also need to be able to recognize when spiritual or religious beliefs are problematic and how to address them in a sensitive manner. Working as collaborators, mental health and religious professionals can provide an effective form of holistic care that can lead to healing and wholeness.
This course focuses on integrating religion/spirituality into mental health services and supports for mental health and religious professionals. There are three modules in the series covering related research, clinical applications, and collaborations between mental health and religious professionals. Dr. Harold Koenig, a leader in the field, brings over 40 years of experience as a researcher, clinician, and educator to the creation of this course. We hope you learn strategies for integrating religion/spirituality into your practice in a way that aligns with client preferences and professional ethics to the benefit of those you support.
This course was created and produced by the Central East MHTTC and the Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC.
