Religion and spirituality in the context of bipolar disorder: a literature review

Authors:
PESUT Barbara, et al
Journal article citation:
Mental Health Religion and Culture, 14(8), 2011, pp.785-796.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA

Religion and spirituality (R/S) may play an important role by providing a means of coping with, and an explanatory model for, their disorder in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). The authors also point out that R/S delusions can be important symptoms of BD.  They conducted a systematic review of empirical studies that explored R/S in individuals with BD or samples that explicitly delineate individuals with BD. Only six studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings from these suggest that R/S strategies may be important for some people in the management of BD. The authors suggest that this means religion and spirituality become relevant concerns for a therapeutic regime that seeks to develop wellness within a bio-psycho-social model. However, they note that the limited body of research and methodological shortcomings of existing research make it difficult to draw conclusions about how this might be accomplished. There is a need for longitudinal, prospective, mixed methods research in order to inform evidence-based practice.

Subject terms:
religions, bipolar disorder, coping behaviour;
Content type:
research review
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
1469-9737
ISSN print:
1367-4676

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