The World of Mental Health and Spirituality

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The World of Mental Health and
Spirituality Consultation Conference Stirling
University 18th June 2008 Arthur Hawes Archdeacon
of Lincoln Mental Health Act Adviser to the
Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust
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1976 -1992 Chaplain for Psychiatric Services,
Norwich

• 1986 -1995 Mental Health Act Commissioner
• 1995 Archdeacon of Lincoln and Bishops Advisor
  for Hospital Chaplains
• 1997 2006 Non-Executive Director, Lincolnshire
  Mental Health Trust
• 2003 2005 Chairman of the East Midlands
  Regional Development Centre of NIMHE
• 2003 - 2007 Member of the NHS Confederation
  Mental Health Policy Committee
• 2006 Vice Chairman National Interfaith Forum
  for Spirituality and Mental Health
• 2006 Mental Health Act Adviser to Lincolnshire
  Partnership Trust

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• The Drivers
• Holistic approach to Health/care
• Inclusion
• BME
• Person centred approach to care
• Talking therapies (mental health)
• Equality
• Advocacy
• Post Modernisation

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• The Context in a Post- Modern Society
• CHOICE
• Individualism
• Privacy
• Style and presentation rather than Content
• Appeal to Feeling Rather than Thinking
• Consumerism - Tesco, ergo sum
• Believing Without Belonging - spirituality

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• Spirituality
• The Spiritual story of humanity is at least
  70,000 years old and
• Predates-
• Bahai
• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Hindu
• Jain
• Judaism
• Islam
• Sikhism
• Zoroastriasm

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Consequence

• World religions and faith communities are
  encompassed by spirituality.
• They still provide
• The sacred
• Moral codes
• Institutions
• Communities

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• Spirituality (in post modern) Today
• Friedman We can choose our own supernatural
• This broadens what counts as spiritual .
• World Health
• The Environment
• Population Explosion
• Famine
• Poverty (3 billionaires own the same as 600 m of
  the worlds poorest)
• Sibling Society (1¼ million children in England
  are looking for a father)

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Spirituality A bridge between faith
communities and post-modern people In the midst
of disillusionment and alienation, many find
themselves thirsting for spiritual experience and
religious community.. Gary Hartz
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Spirituality is broad enough to describe efforts
to find connections with the sacred outside
traditional religion The question for the faith
communities is how they articulate their
spirituality
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In each person SPIRITUALITY can encompass-

• Values Meaning Trust
• Compassion Vision
• Transcendence Hope Love
• Forgiveness Origins
• Being Human Purpose
• Mystery
• Holiness Glory

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Language - Michael Mayne the language of the
heart is of another kind it requires images,
symbols, dance, music and silence. When all the
words end, there is only silence.
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In England-

• R C Psychiatrists cautious but now
  spirituality. Interest group is the largest in
  the college.
• Interfaith Forum (Spirituality and Mental Health)
• - brings together 10 faith communities
• - Spirituality and diagnosis

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• Chaplaincies
• - Lead on spirituality
• - Selected for pastoral skills
• - Departments of Pastoral and Spiritual
  Care
• - Ministry to Management
• - Chaplaincy in the Community

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• Spirituality has caught fire in the mental health
  world because
• The limits of medication and psychotherapy have
  been recognised.
• Spirituality is part of a persons inner life.
• Spirituality offers a range of human aspirations,
  images and symbols which provide hope for the
  sufferer.
• Spirituality provides a language for articulating
  the inner life.