Harold G Koenig M D

Catholic Christianity and Mental Health Harold G Koenig M D

This book is for mental health professionals, clergy, researchers, and laypersons interested in the relationship between religion, spirituality and mental health in Catholics. A concise description of Catholic beliefs, practices, and values is followed by a review of research conducted in Catholics, and then by recommendations for practice based on research, clinical experience, and common sense. The author is a physician researcher who has spent over 30 years investigating the relationship between religion and health, and directs Duke University's Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health. He is also a clinician who for decades has treated clients with a wide range of emotional disorders using a faith-based approach. In this well-documented and highly cited volume, he brings together over 100 years of research (from Durkheim onward) that has examined how religious faith impacts the mental health of those who call themselves Catholics, and explains what this means for those who are seeking to provide hope, meaning, and healing to members of this faith tradition.