Religião, espiritualidade e psiquiatria: uma nova era na atenção à saúde mental

Abstract

The publication of this special issue of Revista de Psiquiatria Clinica represents a landmark in the field of religion, spirituality and mental health in Brazil and other Portuguese speaking countries. To my knowledge, this will be the first psychiatric journal to devote an entire issue to the subject. The articles contained here are written by the most important Brazilian researchers in the field, and include several papers from researchers outside of Brazil as well. In this foreword/editorial, I provide a brief summary of how the field of religion, spirituality and mental health has developed, provide my vision for the future of the field, and stress the importance of collaboration between Brazilian clinicians and scientists in ensuring that the psychological, social, and spiritual needs of patients are adequately addressed.Many of the first hospitals to care for persons with mental illness were operated by monks and priests, and "moral" treatment (that valued the role of religion and the contributions of clergy in care) became the dominant type of psychiatric care in the United States and Europe in the early 1800's. However, this all changed in the early 1900's with the writings of Sigmund Freud in psychiatry and G. Stanley Hall in psychology (Koenig, 1995). These writers believed that religion promoted neurosis and that psychological theory would ultimately replace religion as a world-view and source of treatment. Such negative attitudes toward religion were not based on scientific research or systematic study, but rather on the personal opinions and beliefs of these early leaders. For most of the 20 th century, as a result, the field of mental health care would undervalue and often devalue the religious beliefs and practices of patients, as evidenced by writings as late as 1980s and 1990s that strongly spoke against religion (Ellis 1988;Watters, 1992).However, some stirrings of change began within the mental health field in the 1990s and the turn of the 21 st century. Systematic research began to demonstrate that religious persons were not always neurotic or unstable, and those with deep religious faith actually seemed to cope better with life stress, recover more quickly from depression, and experience less anxiety and other negative emotions than those who were less religious (Larson et

El Buen Vivir, entre las tácticas del consumo y las cosmogonías ancestrales

“…La búsqueda está orientada al equilibrio entre lo espiritual y lo material; entre las exigencias mundanas y la armonía vital; entre el cuidado de sí en todas sus dimensiones −cuerpo, mente, espíritu− y las demandas externas. Esta concepción es adoptada en gran medida por las clases medias y altas latinoamericanas, secularizadas y urbanas, receptoras del espíritu de la New Age y con frecuente trato con las pscioterapias, especialmente en Brasil y Argentina, donde los saberes psicoanalíticos están muy difundidos (Koening, 2007;Visacovsky, 2009).…”

A relação entre sujeitos com transtorno mental e equipamentos sociais

“…Esse achado corrobora Koenig (2007), que trata da relação entre envolvimento religioso e saúde mental. O autor indica que a maioria das pesquisas em populações saudáveis sugere que as crenças e práticas religiosas estão associadas a maior bem-estar, melhor saúde mental e enfrentamento mais efetivo Figura 1.…”

Inovação em saúde mental: subsídios à construção de práticas inovadoras e modelos avaliativos multidimensionais

“…Há que reconhecer seu peso na definição dos princípios e valores norteadores da vida social, definindo julgamentos, processamento de informações (dentre elas concepções de saúde), escolhas e modos de lidar com medos e incertezas do cotidiano. Contudo, durante a maior parte do século XX, e cremos ser ainda válido nos dias atuais, Koenig (2007) relata que o campo do cuidado à saúde mental subestimou e frequentemente desqualificou as crenças e práticas religiosas das pessoas.…”