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Spirituality Forum

A report on the Plane of Spirituality in Mental Health

Download the report on the Place of Spirituality in Mental Health

February, 2011.

Commissioned by The Venerable Arthur Hawes and Dr Sarah Eagger, Co-Chairs of the Forum

Note on the Authors – Madeleine Parkes is a researcher at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT). The Spirituality Research Programme hosted by BSMHFT is service user led and seeks to provide an evidence base for spiritual care interventions for NHS mental health services.

This report was written in consultation with service users and survivors, academics and Chaplains; and Professor Peter Gilbert, Emeritus Professor at Staffordshire University, Visiting Professor at the University of Worcester and National Project Lead for the National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum. Formerly Visiting Professor on the Spiritual Research Programme hosted by BSMHFT.

Note on the readership – this report is intended for managers, Spiritual and Pastoral Care leads, chaplains, NHS Trust directors, National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum members, and those interested in an overview of the field.

All sections suggest main resources and good practice examples, although many others exist and could be included. The paper aims to give a succinct overview of spirituality in mental health, with key pieces of evidence, for the inclusion of spiritual care in services.

The National Spirituality & Mental Health Forum

About the forum

The purpose of the Forum is to act as a vehicle to bring together the main faith communities throughout the country with the world of mental health. Spirituality is not only a vital element in a person’s life experience and mental health but also a major factor in any holistic approach to individuals and their environment.

NSMHF is by title a forum – and those who attend, reflect variously on the actuality of how individuals integrate spirituality to mental health. The Forum therefore wishes to enable space for that diversity to be expressed. The forum recognises the current discourses among religious, belief group and secular lines and welcomes participation from all. The forum includes organised expressions of humanism alongside religious belief in its invitation to participate.

A more detailed explanantion of the purpose of the Forum can be found here