Running Head: APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY WIKIPROJECT PART II
Applied Anthropology WikiProject Part II
Toren Nelson
April 7, 2015
ANT 464
Valerie Githinji
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APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY WIKIPROJECT PART II
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Applied Anthropology WikiProject Part II
Assessing the needs of spirituality within psychotherapy can be conducted in numerous
ways, where nearly most of the anthropological approaches of needs assessments would provide
valuable results. In the modern world of religion within the Western hemisphere, there is a
stigma about inappropriate use of dogmatic rituals and traditions, or a butchering of other
naturalistic forms of religions practice from amateur practitioners. In order to provide the most
versatile spiritual therapy into psychology and psychiatry so that those suffering from mental
disorders such as schizophrenia and chronic depression can benefit, the creeds of the religions
must be removed so as to reach the modern individual from various backgrounds, rather than the
nationalistic or orthodox aspect of others’ lives. So, for assessing needs that reach a wide range
of mental sufferers, there must be a group study, an individual study, and possibly most
importantly, a study seeking out key informants for the various uses of spiritualism into
psychotherapeutic activities.
Methods and Sources of Data
Group Assessment
Incorporating spiritualism such as shamanic practice, hypnosis (Spiritual-Hypnosis
Assisted Therapy), and holistic rituals based out of natural laws (Paganism) requires ensuring
that these spiritual practices can speak to a variety of patients from all walks of life. Thus
anthropologists can bring together the variety of information for each spiritual practice from
observation and participant observations so as to, “actually observe the circumstances…and its
important subsectors to understand it’s context and to become intimate with actual or observed
needs” (Ervin, 2005, p.83).
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Collectively, in order to set up a program that incorporates a person’s choice of spiritual practice
for therapy, there would need to be a constant reach out to a large number of people to receive
feedback on whether the spiritual program is an interest to mental therapy patients and clients,
what types of spiritual practices would be appropriate and popular, how patients view this type of
therapy, and insuring that the patient to therapist relationship will be enhanced if the therapist
takes on a position of prescribing spiritualism into therapy.
Furthermore, after the various constellations of feedback from observing the three
spiritual options have been synthesized into a therapy program for patients that qualify for this
type of therapy, there would be a need for follow-up data by using rates under treatment, survey
questionnaires, and community forums. This will test the validity and effectiveness of the
supplementary spiritual healing, and confirm if all is headed in the right direction and what
adjustments need to be made.
Individual Assessment
The goal of the group assessment studies is to encourage professional spiritual training in
mental health professionals, and synthesize a well-rounded program where the mental health
professionals not only consider counseling, diet, exercise, and medications as psychological
enhancers, but also spiritualism. Each professional would have to be trained on how to initiate
the appropriate spiritual practice for each individual, and know how/when to ‘prescribe’
spirituality to patients, as would a psychiatrist with medications. The mental health professionals
could either implement a meeting with a spiritual practitioner, or receive specialized training to
become the spiritual practitioner themselves.
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The choice of religion is delicate, and requires a needs assessment of the individual’s sex,
gender, age, and most importantly, ethnic culture. A social, socioeconomic, and health study of
the individual and his/her environment would allow the mental health professional to gauge
which type of spiritual healing is most necessary. Having the variety of religious choices is
necessary to provide a multi-faceted religious pool to choose from that neither alienates no
offends the patients, and conducts various religious functions to alleviate various symptoms.
religious needs assessment.
Carl Gustav Jung knew that there were certain religious aspects that had to be eradicated
in order for the archetypes to come through and ‘enlighten’ a person. Jung used the term “creed”
to describe those potentially harmful aspects of religious practice to psychic experience (Jung,
1957). He proclaims that religious creeds are an expression of definitive, “confession of faith
intended chiefly for the world at large…while the meaning and purpose of religion lie in the
relationship of the individual and God…or in the path to salvation” (Jung, 1957, p.31). To
remain faithful to a creed is in essence remaining faithful to a social matter, and not a religious
one (Jung, 1957). An individual assessment would require intensive surveillance of the person’s
behavior and attitudes toward certain religious symbolism. This would be the guide to
prescribing religious aid and to what kinds of religious activity relates the personal to the
spiritual, and which activity conforms to social agendas. Observations, documents, survey
questionnaires, and group-interviewing (Ervin, 2005) would also have a profound role in this
type of research.
Further, religious content has shown up in 22% to 39% of psychotic symptoms (Lukoff,
2014). Understanding certain mental disorders, such as manic and schizophrenia, one would see
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that some psychic suffering can lead to genuine religious experiences, and in order to improve
the illness’s symptoms, incorporating a religious specialist is exactly what the patient needs.
Finally, key-informant interviews from specialists to devout religious people would
become the gateway of understanding what type of training is involved for the mental health
professionals, along with dosing out the appropriate spiritual practice. These are the people who
would provide the ultimate decision in how necessary and helpful spiritual practice is for psychic
sufferers.
The Use of Assessment Results
Ultimately, the goal of the needs assessments are to cue in the major beneficial effects of
religious practice. One of the forefathers of including spiritual practice into psychology and
therapy, Dr. David Lukoff, claims that after researching needs assessments and the strengths of
religious practice, data revealed that, “Religious and spiritual practice enhance recovery by
promoting a positive sense of self and hope, increasing quality of life, and reducing psychiatric
symptomatology and suicide” (Mohr, 2013, as cited by Lukoff, 2014, p.149-150).
Reaching conclusions about the necessary inclusion of religious practice into
psychological recovery is the first step, which leads to better understanding that helping patients
reach out to their own personal higher power resurfaces the confidence in religious practice and
themselves. Finally, understanding what religious creeds are will assess the types of religious
practices that are needed in order to facilitate healing, and avoid further psychological and
emotional damage. By conducting assessments that reach out to the group, the individual, and
the key informants such as specialists and long-time practitioners of the rituals, spiritual healing
can begin.
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References
Ervin, A.M. (2005). Applied anthropology: Tools and perspectives for contemporary
practice. United States: Pearson Group Inc.
Jung, C.G. (1957). The undiscovered self. The New American Library. New York, NY.
Lukoff, D. (2014). From personal experience to clinical practice to research: A career path
leading to public policy changes in integrating spirituality into mental health. Spirituality
in Clinical Practice. 1(2). p.145-152