Spirituality and mental health across cultures / edited by Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Bruno Paz Mosqueiro, and Dinesh Bhugra.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Section I Theory -- Religion, spirituality, and mental health: Setting the scene / Alexander Moreira-Almeida and Dinesh Bhugra -- Western spirituality: a historical epistemology / German E. Berrios and Ivana S. Marková -- Conflicts and complexities: Medical science, exceptional experiences, and the perils of simplistic history / Andreas Sommer -- Can spirituality be a scientific topic and how?: A rigorous but open-minded scientific approach of studies on religion, spirituality and mental health / Harald Walach -- Differentiating spiritual experiences from mental disorders / Leonardo Machado and Alexander Moreira-Almeida -- Light and the bulb: The psychology and neurophysiology of mystical experience / Etzel Cardeña and Lena Lindström -- Evidence for the influence of religiosity and spirituality on mental health / Giancarlo Lucchetti, Rodolfo Furlan Damiano, Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti, and Mario Fernando Prieto Peres -- Mechanisms: Religion's Impact on mental health / Harold G. Koenig -- Sexual minorities and spirituality / Dinesh Bhugra, Cameron Watson, and Susham Gupta -- Section II General principles of religions and relationship with mental health -- Christianity and mental health / Alison J. Gray and Christopher C.H. Cook -- Islam and mental health / Ahmed Okasha and Tarek A. Okasha -- Hinduism / Matcheri S. Keshavan, Bangalore N. Gangadhar, and Ananda K. Pandurangi -- Principles and practices of Buddhism in relationship to mental health / Malcolm Huxter and Leandro Pizzuti -- Judaism / Haim Belmaker, Rael Strous, and Pesach Lichtenberg -- Non-religion, atheism, and mental health / Miguel Farias and Thomas J. Coleman III -- African religions, spirituality, and mental health healing practices / Olatunde Ayinde, Akin Ojagbemi, Victor Makanjuola, and Oye Gureje -- Spiritual but not religious / Bruno Paz Mosqueiro -- Section III Clinical practice -- Principles of integrating religion and spirituality in mental health care and the World Psychiatric Association's position statement / Christopher C.H. Cook and Alexander Moreira-Almeida -- Spiritually and culturally sensitive evidence-based approaches to taking a spiritual history / Larkin Kao and John Peteet -- Religion and spirituality in prevention and promotion in mental health / Arjan W. Braam -- Key role of spirituality in positive psychiatry and psychology / Simone Hauck and C. Robert Cloninger -- Spiritually integrated psychotherapy / Marianna de Abreu Costa and David H. Rosmarin -- Religious and spiritual struggles and mental health: Implications for clinical practice / Kenneth I. Pargament and Julie J. Exline -- Spirituality and end-of-life experiences: Meeting the spiritual needs of the dying / Peter Fenwick and Bruno Paz Mosquiero -- Fruitful collaborations with religious and spiritual communities to foster mental health in general society: An international perspective / Wai Lun Alan Fung, Victor A. Shepherd, King Yee Agatha Chong, Sujatha D. Sharma, and Avdesh Sharma.

"Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) represent a very important factor of daily life for many individuals across different cultures and contexts. It is associated with lower rates of depression, suicide, mortality, and substance abuse, and is positively correlated with well-being and quality of life. Despite growing academic recognition and scientific literature on these connections this knowledge has not been translated into clinical practice. Part of the expanding Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Spirituality and Mental Health Across Cultures is a timely exploration of the implications of R/S on mental health. Written and edited by experts in the fields of spirituality and mental health from different cultural and geographical perspectives, this unique resource assesses how mental health relates to world religions, agnosticism, atheism, and spiritualism unaffiliated with organised religion, with a practical touch. Across 25 chapters, this resource provides readers with a succinct and trustworthy review of the latest research and how this can be applied to clinical care. The first section covers the principles and fundamental questions that relate science, history, philosophy, neuroscience, religion, and spirituality with mental health. The second section discusses the main beliefs and practices related to world religions and their implications to mental health. The third reviews the impact of R/S on specific clinical situations and offers practical guidance on how to handle these appropriately, such as practical suggestions for assessing and integrating R/S in personal history anamnesis or psychotherapy." -- Publisher's description

This resource provides evidence-based guidance on the implications of religion and spirituality on mental health.