Religion, Spirituality and Speech-Language Pathology: A Viewpoint for Ensuring Patient-Centred Holistic Care

Abstract

This paper presents a viewpoint concerning the largely neglected clinical relevance of spirituality and religious belief in speech-language pathology (SLP) assessments, interventions and outcomes across the lifespan. An overview of the refereed SLP literature is presented with regard to religion and spirituality. It was found that while there is increasing research with regard to spirituality, health and well-being, there is very little specific to SLP. What is available and clinically relevant, generally relates to holistic care and/or cultural and linguistic diversity. Amidst the health care literature, however, there is a growing number of recommended instruments (for religious/spiritual screening) sensitive to intercultural and interfaith issues that are currently available to medical, nursing, allied health and chaplaincy practitioners. These instruments can also be of value to SLPs to ensure holistic assessments and interventions. It would seem timely for SLPs (and other allied health practitioners) to consider including spiritual screenings/assessments as part of their clinical practice so as to ensure appropriate holistic care. This would also mean undertaking research and including relevant education within tertiary institutions and professional development programs.

Towards an Understanding of Spirituality in the Context of Nonverbal Autism: A Scoping Review

“…Research indicates that spirituality is fundamental to the provision of holistic care and services in professions such as education, (Adams, Bull, & Maynes, 2015;Campbell, 2009Campbell, , 2011, nursing (Buckle, 1993;Nixon, Narayanasamy, & Penny, 2013), occupational and speech-language therapy (Gray, 2015;Mathisen et al, 2015), social work (Crisp, 2008), and disability carer roles (Baldwin et al, 2015;Wilson, 2011). This study reveals that the inner world and life experience of those with non-verbal autism is unexplored from an empirical point of view, which reveals serious concerns about the ability of service providers to adequately understand and advocate appropriately for people with this unique life context.…”

Community service providers' roles in supporting communication disability rehabilitation in Majority World contexts: An example from Ghana

“…However, despite the inclusion of spirituality within the ICF (World Health Organization, 2001), SLPs rarely use interventions that address spiritual needs (Mathisen et al, 2015).…”

“…Traversing spiritual-physical beliefs may be complex for professionals trained in Western approaches to disability, due to lack of training on how to address spiritual needs, concerns about limits to the scope of practice, and the gradual secularisation of disability services (Mathisen et al, 2015). If rehabilitation services aim to be culturally accessible in Majority World contexts such as Ghana, where spiritual beliefs are part of everyday life, then SLPs need to find ways to acknowledge and incorporate their clients' beliefs.…”

“…If rehabilitation services aim to be culturally accessible in Majority World contexts such as Ghana, where spiritual beliefs are part of everyday life, then SLPs need to find ways to acknowledge and incorporate their clients' beliefs. Mathisen et al (2015) outlined ways that SLPs can explicitly incorporate spiritual elements into rehabilitation, including attempting to understand the spiritual beliefs and needs of each individual and referring appropriately. As the SLP profession grows in Ghana, SLPs may consider establishing professional links to foster collaboration and facilitate access to spiritual support services.…”

The Philosopher of Ambiguity: Exploring Stories of Spirituality of People with Aphasia Through the Lens of Merleau-Ponty

“…Spirituality has only recently begun to be explored in the speech and language therapy literature (MacKenzie, 2015(MacKenzie, , 2016Mathisen, Carey, Carey-Sargeant, Webb, Millar, and Krikheli, 2015;Mathisen and Threats, 2018;Spillers, 2007Spillers, , 2011, in contrast to in healthcare in general (Cobb, Puchalski and Rumbold, 2012) and nursing in particular (for example, Bash, 2004;Swinton, Bain, Ingram and Heys (2011); Daly and Fahey-McCarthy, 2014), where a plethora of studies exists.…”