Challenging an exclusively medical approach to mental health and illness, this book considers the impact psychiatric drugs can have on spirituality. In the last thirty years, a dramatic rise in medication as a treatment for mental illness has occurred in tandem with increasing numbers of people entering treatment with a spiritually-oriented understanding of their suffering. The unforeseen result is that some people taking psychiatric drugs are engaging with them in ways that can have a profound impact on the course and outcome of treatment. Based on interviews with people on psychiatric medication who regard spirituality as significant in their lives, this book reveals how medication can be perceived as both helpful and harmful to spirituality. The author argues that spirituality must be considered in debates around psychopharmacology.

This thesis explores the perceived relationship between spirituality and psychiatric medication use in individuals living with severe mental health problems. The biological approach to mental health treatment is the dominant paradigm of care across the Western world, which justifies the use of psychopharmacology as a first-line therapy. In the last 30 years, the steady rise in the use of prescription medications has generated much debate and controversy. Historically, much of what we know about psychiatric medication comes from professionals and experts. Comparatively little is known about the perspectives of service users. There is also strong evidence to suggest that religion and spirituality are playing a growing role in addressing mental health problems. Both spirituality and psychiatric medication are known to mediate the processes of wellness and recovery, yet it is not well understood how their interactions may impact upon recovery. The intention of this thesis was to explore this unknown area. The methodology used in this thesis was hermeneutic phenomenology. A purposive sample of twenty people who self-identified as spiritual and/or religious, and were or had in the past taken psychiatric medication participated. Data were collected via in-depth, unstructured interviews, and analysed using a modified approach, based on the works of other researchers. The key finding in this study is that people experienced a multiplicity of interactions between spirituality and psychiatric medication which significantly impacted treatment outcomes, in both positive and negative ways. The overall findings of this research highlights the need for greater awareness of spirituality as a nonpharmacological factor which can impact upon drug treatment outcomes.

Although medicine is practised in a secular setting, religious and spiritual issues have an impact on patient perspectives regarding their health and the management of any disorders that may afflict them. This is especially true in psychiatry, as feelings of spirituality and religiousness are very prevalent among the mentally ill. Clinicians are rarely aware of the importance of religion and understand little of its value as a mediating force for coping with mental illness. This book addresses various issues concerning mental illness in psychiatry: the relation of religious issues to mental health; the tension between a theoretical approach to problems and psychiatric approaches; the importance of addressing these varying approaches in patient care and how to do so; and differing ways to approach Christian, Muslim and Buddhist patients.

Misinformation, skepticism and fears, often surround the use of psychiatric medications, disinclining many from seeking professional help. Dr. Biller, a Christian and expert in psychopharmacology (the science of psychiatric medical treatment) offers very useful information so that anyone considering the use of psychiatric medication may understand the risks and benefits of this kind of treatment. He offers straight talk about specific medications, potential side effects and anticipated benefits. All of this is done is a comprehensive, yet easy to understand manner. And, very importantly, this is presented from a faith based perspective.

Spirituality and Psychiatry addresses the crucial but often overlooked relevance of spirituality to mental well-being and psychiatric care. This updated and expanded second edition explores the nature of spirituality, its relationship to religion, and the reasons for its importance in clinical practice. Contributors discuss the prevention and management of illness, and the maintenance of recovery. Different chapters focus on the subspecialties of psychiatry, including psychotherapy, child and adolescent psychiatry, intellectual disability, forensic psychiatry, substance misuse, and old age psychiatry. The book provides a critical review of the literature and a response to the questions posed by researchers, service users and clinicians, concerning the importance of spirituality in mental healthcare. With contributions from psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, nurses, mental healthcare chaplains and neuroscientists, and a patient perspective, this book is an invaluable clinical handbook for anyone interested in the place of spirituality in psychiatric practice.

Misinformation, skepticism and fears, often surround the use of psychiatric medications, disinclining many from seeking professional help. Dr. Biller, a Christian and expert in psychopharmacology (the science of psychiatric medical treatment) offers very useful information so that anyone considering the use of psychiatric medication may understand the risks and benefits of this kind of treatment. He offers straight talk about specific medications, potential side effects and anticipated benefits. All of this is done is a comprehensive, yet easy to understand manner. And, very importantly, this is presented from a faith based perspective.

A bold call for the “insane” to reclaim their rightful role as prophets of spiritual and cultural transformation • Explains how many of those diagnosed as schizophrenic, bipolar, and other forms of “madness” are not ill but experiencing a spiritual awakening • Explores the rise of Mad Pride and the mental patients’ liberation movement • Reveals how those seen as “mad” must embrace their spiritual gifts to help the coming global spiritual transition Many of the great prophets of the past experienced madness--a breakdown followed by a breakthrough, spiritual death followed by rebirth. With the advent of modern psychiatry, the budding prophets of today are captured and transformed into chronic mental patients before they can flower into the visionaries and mystics they were intended to become. As we approach the tipping point between extinction and global spiritual awakening, there is a deep need for these prophets to embrace their spiritual gifts. To make this happen, we must learn to respect the sanctity of madness. We need to cultivate Mad Pride. Exploring the rise of Mad Pride and the mental patients’ liberation movement as well as building upon psychiatrist R. D. Laing’s revolutionary theories, Seth Farber, Ph.D., explains that diagnosing people as mad has more to do with social control than therapy. Many of those labeled as schizophrenic, bipolar, and other kinds of “mad” are not ill but simply experiencing different forms of spiritual awakening: they are seeing and feeling what is wrong with society and what needs to be done to change it. Farber shares his interviews with former schizophrenics who now lead successful and inspiring lives. He shows that it is impossible for society to change as long as the mad are suppressed because they are our catalysts of social change. By reclaiming their rightful role as prophets of spiritual and cultural revitalization, the mad--by seeding new visions for our future--can help humanity overcome the spiritual crisis that endangers our survival and lead us to a higher and long-awaited stage of spiritual development.