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The Art of Spiritual Care:Implications for the use of instruments and tools
No full textThe article defends the position that providing spiritual care first and foremost is an art in which tools and instruments are subordinate to practical knowledge, experience, and wisdom of the phenomenon. A growing number of instruments and tools for spiritual care have been developed, tested, and validated. Some have been designed for the purpose of doing research, others have been developed for the practice of spiritual caregiving. These instruments and tools have impact both on the way we provide spiritual care, and the way we look upon spiritual care. Behind these developments are different views about what counts as scientific knowledge, as the methodologies used are based in such different paradigms as natural sciences, social constructivism, and phenomenology. The methodology used impacts how spirituality and spiritual care are viewed, as a methodology shapes our understanding of the object which is studied. When viewing spiritual care as an art, we base this on an understanding of spiritual care as a dynamic and relational phenomenon. To support this perception, the article structures its arguments on the following elements: 1) The hermeneutic nature of spiritual caregiving 2) The role of the practice of spiritual caregiving 3) The nature of tacit and intuitive knowledge. The article bridges these arguments by providing empirical examples from spiritual care providers in Denmark.
Shifting terminology and confusing representations:An examination of intellectual disability terminology in Dutch newspapers from 1950 to 2020
No full textIn order to gain a better understanding of the debates surrounding language preferences, the shifts in intellectual disability terminology in Dutch newspapers were analysed. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis, this study examined newspaper articles between 1950 and 2020. The results indicated shifts in intellectual disability terminology in newspapers in the direction of organisations of people with disabilities, scholars’, and the government’s preferred terminology. The use of outmoded terms such as “feebleminded” and “mongol” decreased. However, newspapers continued to use outdated and pejorative terminology and traditional narratives. Intellectual disability terminology, particularly the terms “idiot” and “backward,” is frequently employed in non-disability-related contexts to emphasise negative viewpoints. Consequently, newspaper readers are confronted with a confusing array of terms associated with disparate representations of people with intellectual disabilities, ranging from antiquated and negative to positive and inclusive
Suicidal Behavior and Difficulty of Patients, as Perceived by Community Mental Health Nurses
No full textBackground: Mental health professionals who work in community mental health services play an important role in treating patients after attempted suicide or deliberate self-injury. When such behaviors are interpreted negatively, patients may be seen as difficult, which may lead to ineffective treatment and mutual misunderstanding. Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the association between the grading of suicidality and perceived difficulty. We hypothesized that a higher grading of suicidality is associated with increased perceived difficulty. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 176 patients who participated in 2 cohort studies: 92 patients in the MATCH-cohort study and 84 patients in the Interpersonal Community Psychiatric Treatment (ICPT) study. The dependent variable was perceived difficulty, as measured by the Difficult Doctor-Patient Relationship Questionnaire (DDPRQ) and the Difficulty Single-item (DSI), a single item measuring the difficulty of the patient as perceived by the professional. Grading of suicidality was considered as the independent variable. Multiple linear and logistic regression was performed. Results: We found a significant association between perceived difficulty (DDPRQ) and high gradings of suicidality (B: 3.96; SE: 1.44; β: 0.21; P=0.006), increasing age (B: 0.09; SE: 0.03; β: 0.22;
Varieties of Religious and Spiritual Struggles by Type of Mental Disorder: A Qualitative Approach
No full textIntroduction: Little is known about types of religious/spiritual (R/S) struggles with regard to various diagnostic groups in mental health care. The current qualitative study aims to give an impression of R/S struggles as observed in six diagnostic groups in clinical mental health care. Methods: Inductive thematic content analysis was applied to 34 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were performed among (day) clinical mental health care patients in two institutions. Results: Among patients with depression, a lack of positive R/S experiences, isolation, and feelings of guilt and shame were present. Those with cluster C and anxiety disorders reported uncertainty toward God and faith and R/S reticence. Psychotic disorders were accompanied by impressive R/S experiences, reticence to share these, and mistrust toward health professionals. Patients with bipolar disorder struggled with the interpretation of their R/S experiences and with both attraction and distance toward R/S. Cluster B patients showed ambivalence and anger toward God and others, and some reported existential tiredness. Patients with autism mentioned doubts and troubles with religious beliefs. In all groups, many patients had questions like "why?"or "where is God?"Conclusion: R/S struggles to some extent may be the language of the illness. Mental health professionals are recommended to take this into account, taking heed of the content of individual R/S struggles and considering using R/S interventions
Students' academic engagement during COVID-19 times:A Mixed-Methods study into relatedness and loneliness during the pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 outbreak forced higher education students to study online-only. Previous research indicates that forced solitude or loneliness can cause a variety of problems for students, among which is reduced academic engagement. The Basic Psychological Needs Theory, a sub-theory of Self-Determination Theory, relates academic engagement to three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness), whereas varying theories on loneliness highlight the complexities of engaging in a learning environment whilst feeling lonely. As university staff members have been struggling to keep students on task since the COVID-19 outbreak, the need arose for more knowledge about to what extent students have felt lonely, frustrated or satisfied in their need for relatedness and to what extent this affected their academic engagement. A convergent Mixed Methods research study was conducted among university students (N = 228) and an online questionnaire was administered to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A series of multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed, considering demographic characteristics, to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative data was coded using a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive coding. Themes were generated that depicted in-depth issues of relatedness, loneliness, and academic engagement. Quantitative analysis demonstrated the importance for academic engagement of both (a) ‘basic need satisfaction and frustration’ of relatedness in life and in ‘social study context’, and (b) feeling (emotionally) lonely. The negative impact of frustration of relatedness seemed to be dominant but also overlapped with the effects of loneliness. The qualitative outcomes support and complement these quantitative results. The results showed that students’ academic engagement suffered from the loss of a shared physical space and from uncertainty about university policies. For a minority of students, however, the relief from social obligations that came along with social distancing was a blessing in disguise
Insights from the literature review on behavioural ethics, moral psychology & case-based methodologies and review of real-life case studies of research misconduct
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