This interdisciplinary study details spiritual approaches including meditation and yoga shown to be helpful in improving physical and psychological well-being.
Whether a person suffers from a psychological or physical malady, such as depression, addictions, chronic pain, cancer, or complications from pregnancy, the best practice treatments likely include one common thread: spiritual practice. From meditation and yoga to spiritual surrender and religious rituals, spiritual practices are increasingly being recognized as physically and mentally beneficial for recovering from illness and for retaining optimal health.
Healing with Spiritual Practices: Proven Techniques for Disorders from Addictions and Anxiety to Cancer and Chronic Pain, edited by the director of one of the nation’s best-known university institutes of spirituality and health, explains current and emerging practices, their benefits, and the growing body of research that proves them effective. Comprising chapters from expert contributors, this book will appeal to students, scholars, and other readers interested in psychology, medicine, nursing, social work, pastoral care, and related disciplines.
Features
- Covers select mental and physical disorders and spiritual approaches to healing from them
- Acknowledges the diversity of affected people, from children to elders and from the ultra-religious to the nonreligious
- Details evidence-based practices ranging from non-religious approaches such as yoga to orthodox practices
- Explains the science behind the effectiveness of the approaches discussed
- Features the work of contributors expert on their respective topics
Thomas G. Plante, PhD, ABPP is the Augustin Cardinal Bea, S.J. University Professor and Director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University. He is also adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. He recently served on the National Review Board for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is a past president of the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality of the American Psychological Association. He has been featured in media including TIME, CNN, The New York Times, and USA Today.
Awards
Gold Medal Category Winner 2019—Living Now Book Awards, September 5, 2019
Silver Award, Healing, Wellness & Vitality Category—2019 Nautilus Book Awards, April 17, 2020
Reviews
"In Healing with Spiritual Practices: Proven Techniques for Disorders from Addictions and Anxiety to Cancer and Chronic Pain, Professor Thomas Plante has assembled a remarkable team of leading scholars and clinicians who offer a compelling and evidence-based understanding of how religious and spiritual practices can be effectively used in treating a wide variety of mental and physical health challenges. Science and faith are well integrated with the biopsychosocial model that is weaved throughout the text. The book certainly should be on the shelves of those who conduct research and clinical practice in the healing arts."—Harold G. Koenig, MD, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Director, Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke University Medical Center
"Many of us were taught little to nothing about the role of faith and spirituality in our training as mental health professionals. Dr. Plante, in a book notable for its depth and breadth, addresses this critical gap. With chapters ranging from yoga, mindfulness, hope, and spiritual formation to the treatment of a wide range of disorders, the evidence-based role of spirituality in the healing of mind, body and spirit is made accessible. Healing with Spiritual Practices: Proven Techniques for Disorders from Addictions and Anxiety to Cancer and Chronic Pain will fill an important place on my bookshelf, and, I am confident, that of many others."—Mary A. Fristad, PhD, ABPP, Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
"Interventions that focus on spirituality or meaning have garnered intensive interest. This inordinately timely and informative volume offers welcome information about a wide variety of therapeutic approaches. In a book of remarkable breadth, we are guided though diverse practices such as mindfulness, mantram meditation, yoga, prayer, and many others, tailored to the needs of distinct clinical settings. Leading writers and clinicians describe the nature of these approaches, how they are used, and some of the evidence for their utility. Healing with Spiritual Practices is a wonderfully practical and readable resource and will be an invaluable addition for anyone interested in this rapidly growing field."—Allen C. Sherman, PhD, Director, Behavioral Medicine Clinic, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Services
"This upbeat and creative book offers intriguing insights and rich practical examples of how people with diverse personal identities across diverse settings—educational, medical, mental health, family—can employ spiritual strategies to facilitate their well-being and transcend difficulties in daily life."—Annette Mahoney, PhD, President APA Division 36–Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality and Director of Clinical Training, Professor, Bowling Green State University
