#  Spirituality and Mental Ilness 

 



**What is the relationship between spirituality and illness?**  
  
Project Description: Little is understood about the relationship between spirituality and religion as it intersects with mental illness. The project aims to explore the neurophysiological mechanisms that may serve as causal pathways mediating spirituality and religious experience. The project also seeks to better characterize the intersection of religious experience and mental disorders—such as the phenomenon of hyper-religiosity and mental illness—culminating in educational processes that can assist clinicians and religious communities in identifying and most aptly supporting those experiencing mental illness. **(See prior publications)**  
  
**Faculty:**  [Susan Block](/people/susan-d-block-md), [John Denninger](/people/john-w-denninger), [Arthur Kleinman](/people/arthur-kleinman-md), [John Peteet](/people/john-r-peteet-md),[ John Knight](/people/john-r-knight-md), [David Rosmarin](/people/david-h-rosmarin-phd), [David Silbersweig](/people/david-silbersweig-md), [Tyrone Williams](/people/tyrone-williams-md)

  
**Publications:**  
Josephson AJ, Peteet JR (eds.). Handbook of Spirituality and World View in Clinical Practice. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2004.   
Peteet, J. "Spirituality and Mental Health." South Med J 100, no. 6 (2007): 620.  
Peteet, J. "Suicide and Spirituality: A Clinical Perspective." South Med J 100, no. 7 (2007): 752-4.  
Peteet, J. R. Doing the Right Thing: An Approach to Moral Issues in Mental Health Treatment. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2004.  
Peteet, J. R. "Struggles with God: Transference and Religious Countertransference in the Treatment of a Trauma Survivor." J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry 37, no. 1 (2009): 165-74.  
Peteet, John R. Depression and the Soul : A Guide to Spiritually Integrated Treatment. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge, 2010.37, no. 1 (2009): 165-74.  
Peteet, John R., Francis G. Lu, and William E. Narrow. Religious and Spiritual Issues in Psychiatric Diagnosis : A Research Agenda for DSM-V. 1st ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association, 2011.  
Peteet JR. Putting suffering into perspective: implications of the patient's world view. J Psychotherapy Pract Res 2001:10:187-192.  
Peteet, JR. Approaching Emptiness: Subjective, Objective and Existential Dimensions. J Religion and Health 2011:50:3;558-563.  
Peteet JR. Approaching spiritual issues in psychotherapy: a conceptual framework. J Psychotherapy Pract Res 1994;3:237-245.



 

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