Including Families' Spiritual Beliefs and Their Faith Communities in Systems of Care

SUMMARY

System of care (SOC) philosophy and principles were developed and systems of care are designed and implemented to improve the mental health services that are delivered to children and families. The identification and effective use of resources to assist families in managing their concerns and difficulties are important considerations with SOC. Flexibility including the use of traditional and non-traditional services and resources is central to SOC philosophy and practice. In terms of resource identification and utilization, the family's spiritual beliefs and their faith community are often underutilized or overlooked. Reasons for this are described in this article, along with the advantages of and strategies for including them in SOC.

KEYWORDS:

• Spiritual beliefs
• faith
• systems
• community
• resources
• mental health