Patients’ Needs of Religion/Spirituality Integration in Two Mental Health Clinics in the Netherlands

Abstract

Introduction: In the last decades, the attention for religion/spirituality (R/S) in mental health care (MHC) has considerably increased. However, patients’ preferences concerning R/S in treatment have not often been investigated. The aim of this study was to find out how patients in clinical multidisciplinary MHC want R/S to be addressed in their care.

Methods: Thirty-five semi-structured interviews were carried out between September 2015 and July 2016 among patients in a secular and a Christian MHC in the Netherlands. Qualitative inductive content analysis was performed, using Atlas Ti.

Results: Patients appreciated (1) individual R/S conversations between patients and care team members (mainly nurses), (2) a familiar R/S environment, (3) a special R/S program and (4) contact with their R/S network. Patients varied in their presentation of R/S care needs from (a) explicit, mostly in the Christian MHC, to (b) implicit, predominantly in the secular MHC, or showed (c) hidden R/S care needs. A non-acute stage of the illness and R/S affinity of the mental health professionals, were classified as possible conditions for addressing R/S.

Discussion and implications for practice: Nurses are recommended to be aware of the diversity of patients’ R/S care needs. Actively addressing R/S may help in recognizing implicit or even hidden R/S care needs. Further considerations on whether and how to respond to patients’ R/S care needs would be justified.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project was made possible through the support of a grant from the ‘Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ’. Closely related to the current study is a quantitative study concerning the religiosity gap, which is funded by the John Templeton Foundation [grant number 60667]. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations.