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Voice-hearing occurs in clinical and non-clinical samples, and the role of spiritual and cultural frameworks of understanding for percipients has received increased attention. This review aimed to identify and synthesise the existing qualitative literature relating to positive aspects of voice-hearing experiences, and to make recommendations based on these findings for clinical practice and future research. Qualitative papers that included positive aspects of voice-hearing were identified by undertaking a systematic search of six electronic databases, resulting in 22 papers. The quality of each paper was assessed and the meta-ethnographic approach was used to extract and synthesise the data. Six themes were identified relating to voices providing safety and protection, guidance, creating psychological and emotional well-being, providing companionship, facilitating personal growth and development, and connecting hearers to religious or spiritual belief systems. The findings suggest positive aspects of voicehearing that may have clinical and research implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construct of fragility of happiness, which is not a theory-driven construct, refers to the idea that happiness is fleeting and can simply turn into unhappiness. This study investigated for the first time the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Fragility of Happiness Scale (FOHS) among university students, focusing on its internal consistency, factor structure, discriminant validity, convergent validity and predictive validity. Data were collected from two student samples (online sample, n = 228; paper-pencil sample, n = 200). Participants completed measures of fragility of happiness, fear of happiness, externality of happiness and life satisfaction either as online questionnaires or a paper-pencil version of the questionnaires. FOHS demonstrated good internal consistency. Results of exploratory and confirmatory yielded a one-factor model. The results also supported convergent, divergent and predictive validity. These results suggest that the FOHS is a reliable and valid instrument among Turkish university students. It can be used for research purposes and in clinical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic literature review examines research on religiosity and happiness within the Muslim population. Earlier investigations predominantly focused on Christianity and happiness in Western countries and found a significant positive association. This literature review was conducted to investigate research exploring the relationship between religiosity and happiness among Muslims. A literature search identified 59 papers examining this relationship between the years 2000 and 2020. Standard quality assessment criteria were used to assess the quality of the selected papers. Each paper was scored by two independent researchers and several of the papers were excluded due to not meeting inclusion criteria or scoring below.55 in the quality assessment. Some 49 studies were included in this literature review, which found a positive correlation between happiness and religiosity within the Muslim population. Furthermore, most studies posited a significant relationship between the variables. This paper explores this suggested positive correlation further, highlights the limitations of the research, and discusses the implications of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commentary compares the WPA position statement with a similar paper published recently by the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Nervenheilkunde). These papers should be a starting point to foster R/S studies within the bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework, a thoughtful discernment of the psycho-spiritual mixture and more training opportunities for therapists to better integrate the spiritual dimension into treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To investigate how religion influences care pathways for black and minority ethnic individuals with dementia. We conducted a systematic search of the literature to explore how religion affects later presentation to care services, absence of care-seeking and dissatisfaction with care. Exclusion and Inclusion criteria were applied to the research literature. Qualitative and quantitative papers were included. Included studies were assessed independently by four authors according to quality criteria. Two US studies adhered to the final screening stage. Findings from these papers postulated that religion influences care in two polarised ways: (1) Religion hinders access to the traditional health care pathway. (2) Religion assists in positive coping. Collaboration between religious institutions and health care providers is required to improve care referral, provide information dissemination and relieve care-giver burden. UK research in this area is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uncovers the complexity of the term "Jian kang/health 健康" and "Fu/wellbeing (福)" by analysing their etymological origins and cultural connotations in the context of China. The paper introduces a Taoist philosophy of tradition to understand health and wellbeing. This paper argues that in Chinese cultural connotations, "Jian kang" (health) and "Fu" (wellbeing) entail the integration of human beings' physical and mental status and beyond. Notwithstanding the contextual and culturally specific philosophy and traditions of understanding health and wellbeing, this paper initiates intercultural epistemological dialogue, engages with contemporary psychotherapy, and argues that health and wellbeing is regarded and understood as a concept across cultural boundaries, while emphasising its pivotal features of being holistic, comprised of multifaceted and interrelated components of body, mind, and spirit, focusing on lifestyle behaviours, and recognising the interweaving relationship between human and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this special issue, we have brought together a collection of six papers that we think are representative of the breadth of research in the positive psychology of religion and spirituality. In the first two papers, Lewis and Cruise (2006), and van Dierendonck and Mohan (2006), respectively, discuss the empirical literature on religion and well-being, and spirituality and well-being. The third paper, by Fiori, Brown, Cortina, and Antonucci (2006), is an example of the use of structural equation modelling to test the mediating effects of locus of control. In the fourth paper, Bretherton (2006) discusses the rapprochement between psychotherapy and religion from a Christian perspective and as a practising clinical psychologist. In the fifth paper, Watts, Dutton, and Gulliford (2006) outline their ongoing programme of research at the University of Cambridge into the topics of forgiveness, hope, and gratitude. In the sixth paper, Collicutt McGrath (2006) presents a social psychological account of the early development of Christianity. We hope that these papers will provide further impetus for research into the positive psychology of religion and spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review examines research on Sufi spirituality and mental well-being. Earlier investigations have focused on general spiritual practice in mental health care and found a connection between spirituality and mental health. In this systematic review, we aimed to explore existing research specifically considering the relationship between Sufi spirituality and mental well-being and examine the quality of this research. We identified 49 papers published between the years 2007–2022. Our findings revealed a positive connection between Sufi spirituality and reducing anxiety and depression in patients. However, most studies were of low quality. This review highlights the need to provide more comprehensive and higher quality research to redress the methodological limitations of the current evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs the therapeutic landscape theory to explore how online religious services during lockdown restrictions shape experiences of well-being and intergenerational learning. We used qualitative data from in depth interviews and focus groups with older adults and pastors in five churches in Ghana to explore how online religious places are conceptualized as therapeutic landscapes for sustaining wellbeing goals amidst a global pandemic. We identified multiple pathways of meaning through which online religious services shape the lives of people in a faith community to sustain the experience of well-being in a difficult time. In addition, this paper reflects on the broader implications of COVID-19 in shaping a paradigm shift in digital religion and intergenerational learning experiences through a changing religious landscape precipitated by lockdown restrictions that have drastically altered traditional religious places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the psychometric properties of the Short Dark Tetrad, presented for online administration, among a sample of 370 young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who were born in the Punjab and who had lived there since their birth. With the omission of one item from each of the four scales (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism) the clear four factor structure was recovered with cross-loadings remaining on four items. All four scales recorded acceptable or good levels of internal consistency reliability (alpha). This Shorter Dark Tetrad (SD4-MS) is commended for further use within predominantly Muslim societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in the use of online platforms for Christian worship and emphasised the need for a simple psychometric instrument that is sufficiently general to assess affect responses to a range worship services. This paper reports on the development of the six-item Scale of Perceived Affect Response to Online Worship (SPAROW) during the third UK pandemic lockdown in 2021. The scale items were included in an online survey completed from January to July 2021 by 2,017 Anglicans living in England and 1713 Roman Catholics from the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Exploratory Factor Analysis (principal components extraction and varimax rotation) in the Anglican sample indicated a single-dimensional scale that had excellent internal consistency reliability for those who accessed pre-recorded services (α =.90, n = 1238) and live-streamed services (α =.91, n = 1492). Confirmatory Factor Analysis on the Roman Catholic sample using a Structural Equation Model showed a good fit to a single-dimensional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptually anchored on lived religion, this paper explores the meanings and experiences of health, illness, and healing among Filipino migrant women in Japan as they intersect with their religion. Likewise, it explores the functions and limitations of religion as migrant women face physical and mental health problems caused by work, marital status, and/or dislocation. Using biographical interviews and ethnography, this paper suggests that religion serves as a material and symbolic resource for making sense of health, illness and healing. As a material resource, it offered tangible, informational, and emotional support. It can however become limiting when personalised meanings and practices of religion frame illness based on morality, promote health misinformation, and delay healing and other health-seeking behaviours. Nonetheless, healing as perceived and experienced by Filipino migrant women involves lived religion in their complex meaning making and negotiated in terms of its physiological, spiritual and emotional effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychology has an interest in the ways in which religion can aid coping with life's adverse events, as most, perhaps all, individuals will face trauma or adversity at some point in life. The COVID19 pandemic has created adversity for individuals and societies globally and has for many been the cause of traumatic events. Religious coping in the face of crisis is not merely a contemporary phenomenon. This paper argues that several religious coping mechanisms can be found within the texts of Psalms 90, 91 and 92 of the Hebrew Bible. These psalms may represent a community's attempt to cope with the aftermath of a society-wide traumatic event, such as the 6th Century BCE Exile to Babylon. This paper reads these psalms through the lens of coping theory, explores how a traumatic event may have influenced their composition, and considers ways in which they might be used in pastoral situations today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious leaders are often the first recourse for people facing mental health challenges. Efforts have been made to understand faith leaders' mental health literacy, but little is known about the extent to which faith leaders trust mental health professionals, which likely influences their referral practices. To address this gap, this paper examines faith leaders' perceptions of mental health professionals using data from interviews with leaders of Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Sikh communities in Texas and the mid-Atlantic region conducted between 2017 and 2019 (n = 67). Analysis shows that when asked about the extent to which they would trust their members to the care of mental health professionals, faith leaders adopt one of four orientations (1) Unqualified trust; (2) Conditional trust; (3) Distrust and (4) Dismissal. The paper elaborates on each of these four orientations and leaders' rationales for them, followed by implications for faith leaders and mental health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In seventeenth-century England, many religiously devout people believed they had an obligation to immediately stifle any sinful thought that entered their minds. As some prominent clerics during the time period recognised, however, the effort to subdue unwelcome thoughts often can increase the thoughts. Indeed, recent cognitive science research bears out the counterintuitive phenomenon that trying to suppress an undesired thought can boomerang. With this in mind, just how effective was the endeavour in seventeenth-century England to purify thoughts? The paper argues that it was frequently counterproductive. The paper also explores a disagreement among mental health professionals, historians, and literary scholars regarding how to interpret the numerous seventeenth-century English autobiographical descriptions of tormenting, uncontrollable sinful thoughts. For instance, were the ungovernable blasphemous thoughts that Pilgrim's Progress author John Bunyan (1628-1688) recounted experiencing the product of a bodily illness equivalent to obsessive-compulsive disorder? The question presents methodological challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burnout has been recognised as an occupational risk but also an indicator of organisational conditions and adjustment. This paper explores the role of personal, psychological, and professional experience factors in pastoral burnout compared to burnout in other caring professions. Using a set of questionnaires, data were collected from 64 pastoral ministry members, 192 elder care assistants and 258 teachers. Pastoral ministry members showed lower exhaustion and higher satisfaction with future security. Additionally, burnout symptoms were related to depression and stress. When compared with other groups, pastoral ministry members revealed lower levels of burnout. The results are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the application of the four noble truths based problem solving (FNTBPS) approach to supplement the contemporary and traditional Thai Theravada Buddhism literature on psychological healing. This paper outlines the core concept of FNTBPS, its key components and application, using an illustrated case example of Tom (ต้อ ม), a 50-year-old Thai man facing psychological problems due to his worsening eyesight. Lastly, this paper outlines the therapeutic implications of how an understanding of psychological healing via the knowledge of FNTBPS can be used for case formulation and treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper makes accessible to an English-speaking readership recent research published in Polish designed to provide and to test a Polish adaptation of the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS) and the Francis Psychological Type and Emotional Temperament Scales (FPTETS). The process of development involved studies reported among 53 Catholic clerics, 87 Catholic clerics, 119 university students, 134 university students, 240 final grade secondary school students, 133 university students, and 75 university students. The four-factor structure of the FPTS was recovered by confirmatory factor analysis, with 10 items loading on each factor, and producing the following Cronbach alpha coefficients:.81 for Extraversion vs. Introversion,.66 for Sensing vs. Intuition,.77 for Thinking vs. Feeling, and.80 for Judging vs. Perceiving. For the additional ten-item scale of Emotional Temperament (Volatile vs. Calm), α =.75. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how a group of mosque-practicing Muslim women in Denmark cope with personal discriminating actions and confrontations with stigmatising stereotypical discourses related to their religion and gender. Based on qualitative interviews with 33 mosque-practicing Muslim women, we provide examples of various experiences with discrimination related to their religion and gender. The study demonstrates how mosques support women by providing a strong sense of belonging and a religious language of advocacy. Hence, this study empirically highlights an aspect of the relationship between religious belonging and individuals' mental health and contributes to the knowledge of Muslim minorities by providing insights into women's experiences of victimisation. Additionally, we clarify misconceptions about the meaning of Muslim practices, such as the wearing of a veil and gender division in mosques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freud wrote a curious short paper at the end of 1927, the year in which his book, The future of an illusion was published. The paper is remarkable in that we as readers also have the evidence that Freud drew on, that is, a letter by an American physician unknown to Freud, detailing his religious experience. (This situation of having the same source material is not completely singular, as we also have access to Da Vinci's painting of the ‘Madonna and Child with Saint Anne’, the subject of a previous exercise by Freud (1910a) in interpreting religious material in a reductive manner.) Having available the exact text that Freud used for his analysis enables a close examination of Freud's use of the material. It becomes clear that in his analysis of the physician's experience, Freud makes a string of interpolations, breaking his own rules concerning wild analysis. It can also be seen from the paper how he ignores considerations of context and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how religious beliefs influence meaning-making and prosocial action among community responders. Fourteen non-professional rescue and relief volunteers were interviewed post the 2018-19 floods in Kerala, India. The study adopts Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis with a critical realist approach. Several participants viewed the disaster as an act of God but simultaneously engaged in scientific sense-making; religious meaning-making offers a means of coming to terms, while rational causal attributions promote mitigation measures. Suffering was seen as a test of faith. Many volunteers experienced the disaster as a reminder that re-oriented them to piety and iterated human vulnerability. Although the disaster evoked a lack of control, they found meaning in the service of others and viewed their actions with humility and gratitude. Service was often both intrinsically meaningful and religiously motivated. The findings underscore the role of religious meaning-making in promoting prosocial action and community resilience post disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated whether perceived God support would mediate the negative relationship between religiosity and psychological distress. 253 Evangelical Christians completed the Patient Health Questionnaire for Anxiety and Depression, the Religiosity Inventory, and the Religious Support Scale. Mediation analyses revealed that perceived God support partially mediated the negative relationship between Evangelical religiosity and psychological distress. This meant that perceived God support could explain some of the negative religiosity-distress relationship. As such, Evangelical religiosity may be related to health benefits through adherents' sense of support from God, corroborating a divine attachment theory of religion. We argue that God support should be considered as one of the theoretical mechanisms through which religions may be associated with better psychological health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is a nation with high levels of recorded well-being. This paper introduces a collection of papers which are concerned with the intersections between well-being and religion in an Australian context. The research is conducted on a religious population, namely Christian church attenders and local church leaders (both clergy and lay) in congregations in the Australian National Church Life Surveys (NCLS), perhaps the largest database on church life in the world. The NCLS covers more than 20 Protestant and Catholic denominations. Each survey wave has collected responses from hundreds of thousands of individual church attenders in thousands of local churches. To frame the research, we define subjective well-being as an aspect of mental health and establish the positive relationship that has been found with religion. Some features of the Australian cultural context are also provided as background. The paper then offers a brief synopsis of articles in the collection. They include a methodological overview, and studies of links between volunteering, psychological type, religious orientation and well-being, as well as work engagement among clergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All papers in this special edition ofMental Health, Religion & Cultureutilise data sets from the 2011 round of the Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS). This paper presents a methodological overview of the NCLS, including data collection methods, survey instruments and demographic descriptions of church attender and leader data sets. The data sets have good national coverage and denominational diversity, although Pentecostals are under-represented. The data sets may be further affected by self-selection by participating churches; however, the content of the surveys is unlikely to have triggered self-selection biases at the level of individuals. The paper also provides details concerning the measurement of quality of life in the present collection, concentrating on the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) which is featured in four of the five empirical papers. Mean PWI scores for churchgoers and leaders were similar to the Australian populace at large, although there was greater variability among churchgoers. The domain of spirituality/religion makes a significant contribution to well-being in these Australian Christian sub-populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the internal structure of the Readiness to Engage in Interreligious Dialogue Test (REIDT). The definition of a dialogue in a democratic society forms the theoretical framework for the test construction. The readiness to engage in interreligious dialogue was defined as a mental readiness to exchange views on religious topics, based on a symmetrical exchange of thoughts, aimed at creation of mutual understanding by people with different religious affiliations, involved in cooperation to meet this objective. The REIDT consists of 36 items, factor analysis revealed four dimensions of interreligious dialogue: readiness to exchange views on religious topics, readiness to seek mutual understanding, internal barriers for the symmetry of a dialogue, and readiness to communicate with representatives of other religions. The paper includes a brief description of the stages of work on the structure of the method and the reliability and validity indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthodox Jews are a distinct subgroup with specific beliefs and values towards sexuality, reproduction, modesty, and openness to mental health treatment. This paper reviews the treatment of 41 Orthodox Jewish couples who presented for sex therapy. Most couples were referred by a rabbinical leader. The most common presenting problem was an unconsummated relationship; present in 27 couples. In 34 couples the initial presenting complaint was a male sexual problem yet in 20 of 41 couples both partners described having some sexual problem. Almost 50 per cent of both men and women were also diagnosed with a comorbid psychiatric disorder, which was almost always previously undiagnosed. The most common presenting problems were vaginismus, male inhibited arousal, and/or inhibited male orgasm. Two case examples illustrate some adaptations to assessment and treatment that can be helpful in treating sexual problems in Orthodox Jewish couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three reviewers have reviewed the book Religiosity and Subjective Well-being in the Arab Context. These reviewers have raised specific important points. The present paper aims to address, extend and comment on the main points in their review. As an extension of the research papers in that book, other co-authored studies are summarised. Then, the Arabic and international results on the religiosity-well-being (WB) association are compared. Since the use of the single-item self-rating scales was frequently criticised, the merits of their use in this book was successfully demonstrated. The mechanisms and pathways between religiosity-WB have discussed. Then, future research has suggested. It was concluded that the Arabic studies provide sound evidence to support the positive association between religiosity and both health and WB. Religiosity can help individuals reduce the pain of loss, and it may serve in the prevention and amelioration of disease and intervention for augmenting WB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the rich extant research in the field of mental health in acculturation, it is calling to identify religion as one of the meditative variables of the relationship between acculturation and mental health. In addition, little knowledge exists about the detailed religious experience of Chinese migrants in Ireland. This research adopted classic grounded theory to guide data collection and analysis. The findings show that Christian faith plays a significant role as a mediator in the cross-cultural adaptation of the participants with two aspects of the mental impacts: helping to cope with mental stress and providing spiritual satisfaction. The results in this paper are part of the findings from an investigation of the religious experience of the participants during their cross-cultural adaptation in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between religiosity and mental health is a relatively well-researched field within North America, covering numerous domains of religiosity, including: religion, spirituality, prayer, church attendance, church affiliation and belief in God or a higher power. Considering the Australian literature, there are few papers that explore these dimensions of religiosity and their relationship with health, and in particular, very little research into the field of religiosity and mental health. Using systematic literature review methods, this study explores the Australian research into relationships between religiosity, mental health, and treatment outcomes for psychiatric illness and suicidal behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented with topics including translating and refining measures of religious experience, exploring the religious and spiritual beliefs and experiences, and association between measures of religious experience and measures of various individual difference constructs.

John Ruskin was a Victorian polymath who developed severe mental health problems from late middle age. This paper focuses on one of his many areas of interest and expertise, visual aesthetics. It traces the relationship between his theories and practices in this area and the nature of his mental health condition, which was dominated by visual symptoms. It argues that Ruskin's aesthetic theory is part of a broader spiritual visionary quest, firmly framed within the Christian theological tradition, and that it valorises certain habits of perception and attention that are now recognised to be a feature of cognition in psychosis. It suggests that there is continuity, if not a causal relationship, between Ruskin's lifelong adoption of these practices and the psychological symptoms he displayed as his (probably neuropsychiatric) illness progressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with the notion of universality by critically exploring the concepts of trauma and post-traumatic growth from a cultural perspective. Drawing on the indigenous Māori model of wellbeing "Te Whare Tapa Whā", the inter-relationships between family relationships, physical wellbeing, mental and emotional health, and spirituality are examined as a holistic model. Spirituality is a key component of this holistic approach and arguably an inseparable aspect of holistic wellness and can be defined as "a broad universal construct associated with individuals' ways of making meaning of their lives and the acknowledgment of the presence of a higher being". Within the cultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand, we make a case for the value of holistic interventions to support people who have experienced trauma that prioritise spirituality alongside other aspects of wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on mental health resulting in diminishing faith. Topics include focusing on religious/coping in the context of adverse, major life stressors, and the effects of religious/spiritual coping on measures of well-being and distress, including PTSD; and improving wellbeing following trauma, positive religious coping beliefs, sacred texts and non-Western spiritual rituals and beliefs.

This paper explores consumers' understanding and perception of the etiology of mental illness in community-based residential facilities in Ghana. Qualitative data involving in-depth interviews were used to collect data from 15 consumers of mental health services from two residential facilities. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The study showed that mental illness is generally constructed within the medical and religious-cultural notion. The religious-cultural construction aligned mental illness to Ghanaian belief systems (supernatural forces, spirituality and traditional belief) and cultural practices (social norms and values) whilst the medical construction ascribed the etiology to biological, emotional and substance abuse issues. Although consumers had a positive perception of mental illness, they were doubtful about the presence of illness. The study concludes that the combination of medical, social and religious-cultural constructs and understanding of mental illness should be integrated into advocacy and awareness programmes to better educate consumers and clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop a culturally sensitive approach assessment instrument that measures cognitive beliefs related to Iranian Muslim salient fear of death. This paper discusses the development and validation of Avicenna Fear of Death Scale (AFDS). The results of confirmatory factor analysis resulted in an instrument (AFDS) consisting of five cognitive concerns related to the fear of death including complete annihilation, severe pain of death, consequences of sins, interpersonal attachment, and attachment to estate. Twenty-two statements overall were offered using a Likert scale to measure related cognitive beliefs. Results from a convenience sample of 291 college students, showed the AFDS to have favourable psychometric properties (e.g., adequate reliability and validity). The total alpha coefficient was.85, suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency and the item-total correlation between.28 and.63 (p<.001) indicates that the items are discriminating well. Overall, results suggest that cross-cultural differences render a culturally sensitive approach to assessment and diagnosis essential, and therefore a culture-based scale like Avicenna AFDS might be fruitful extensions of the current death anxiety scales like Templer Death Anxiety Scale within the context of Iranian-Islamic culture. This diagnostic tool can help in the cognitive treatment of fear of death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion and spirituality (R/S) tend to be associated with emotional wellbeing, but less is known about how they function in the lives of people with mental illness. This paper presents an analysis of in-depth interviews with 26 adults who self-identified as working professionals with a mental illness. Four themes emerged regarding how R/S was experienced as beneficial to mental health, and three themes regarding how it was problematic. The benefits included providing a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, supportive relationships with R/S figures, and therapeutic R/S practices, whereas problematic aspects included religion as a risky refuge, religious struggles, and abuse in religious settings. In addition, 21 of 26 reported transitions related to their mental illness including switching between religions, leaving religion, and becoming more spiritual, leaving R/S altogether, and religious conversion. The results are discussed, and implications are drawn for R/S practitioners as well as for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivation of equanimity has been emphasized in various indigenous philosophies and contemplative practices. This paper aims to develop an expansive understanding of equanimity as a distinct psychological construct. Thirty experts from various traditions such as Buddhism, Vedic studies, meditation, and yoga were interviewed on their understanding and insights into equanimity. The findings suggest equanimity as an even-mindedness towards the varied hedonic and affective experiences. The cognitive, affective, and conative mechanisms of equanimity such as increased distress tolerance, hedonic neutrality, and reduced reactivity are outlined. At the interpersonal level, equanimity entails impartiality and reduced bias towards others. The challenges one may face during the cultivation of equanimity have been suggested by the experts. The implications of cultivating equanimity have been examined in the context of adaptive coping and holistic wellbeing in the current pandemic situation, dealing with compassion fatigue, and the development of indigenous leadership practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western mental health profession has included Buddhist practices in its clinical applications, and Buddhisms' contribution to mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) could be considered as one of its main inputs. However, MBIs appear to depart in some key ways from their Buddhist origins whereby it may reduce its psychotherapeutic value and affect the accurate dissemination of the Buddhas' teachings. This paper reflects on some of these departures, by firstly discussing the term mindfulness, which, as used in the MBIs, has a more restrictive meaning than that meant by the Buddha. Secondly, this paper discusses the usefulness of MBI therapists being knowledgeable in a range of meditation techniques, rather than in only a few. And thirdly, this paper discusses the usefulness of MBI therapists having a personal mindfulness practice of ones' own, and concludes by suggesting that an explicit acknowledgement of the Buddha in the formation of the MBIs be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic outcomes gained through engaging with the art making process are well documented. Somewhat less probed are the auxiliary and sometimes enigmatic experiences of art making that impact on the sense of mental wellbeing; experiences which, by their nature, can be difficult to capture. This paper discusses such experiences, described by a group of art makers with histories of mental illness, as being spiritual in nature. A phenomenological approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology was used, with Heideggerian concepts of ‘Dasein’ (There-being) and ‘Mitsein’ (With-being) informing an interpretation of the intersubjective. Such experiences were felt to be profound, and were often claimed to be accessible exclusively through an art practice that was sustained over a number of years of regular activity. The paper concludes by pointing out the difficulty in capturing evidence of sustained, non-clinical strategies for wellbeing such as those developed as an inherent part of the experiences reported here, due to their nuanced nature and the reluctance with which they may be narrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The psychological type of 1032 students of Dhammakāya meditation at Buddhist centres in the UK and US was surveyed using the 50-question Francis Psychological Type Scales and compared with their respective normative populations. Meditators' psychological type generally showed significantly higher proportions of INFJ (5-8x higher), INTJ (6-8x higher), IN (2-3½x higher), NJ (3-5x higher), NF (2x higher) and N (2x higher). Although these meditators did not self-identify as Buddhist, they showed psychological type profiles similar to UK and US convert Buddhist attendants of temples and meditation centres. Further analysis of meditators opting specifically for the Dhammakāya method of meditation showed a tendency towards dominant sensing (Dt.S) and the ISFJ type, indicating the predisposition for visualization (that is the hallmark of this method). Based on this evidence, the paper proposes a possible mechanism for individuation through meditation practice that differs between introverts and extraverts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effectiveness of religious healing by focusing on one important factor that has been much neglected – the stay within the shrine. Drawing on qualitative research in Mahanubhav temples in India, this paper emphasises that the central part of religious healing is the process of being in the temple and becoming familiar with shrine culture. At the same time, I argue that the social space of the shrine is important not only for the benefits of a soothing environment or support system. It is argued that temporary residence within the shrine enables individuals to develop long-term associations with the religious community and sect. Through discussion of indicative cases, this paper elaborates on the process of “becoming a Mahanubhav pilgrim” that is at the heart of temple healing practices in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-religious ritual stereotype in the context of the growth in popularity of the concept of spirituality. Religious ritual and obsessionality were famously confabulated by Freud in 1907. The stereotype has persisted, and empirical evidence for this is examined. The development of research on spiritual experience is outlined. The growing popularity of the term “spirituality” in the psychology of religion is also considered. Individualism may encourage individual spiritual experience over organised religion involving collective ritual and practice. The view of ritual as collective, and experientially void, by comparison with individual spirituality, is still prevalent. Recent research on ritual is described and discussed, indicating the experiential, emotional and spiritual accompaniments of religious ritual. This may raise questions about any alleged causal role played by religious ritual in exacerbating OCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a "faith-based community", the ultra-Orthodox society is a differentiated minority group, which has recently recognised intimate partner violence as a social problem. The members of this conservative, patriarchal society keep themselves in a secluded sphere, apart from the modern, secular Western society. The aim of this paper is to explore the experience of ultra-Orthodox women coping with intimate partner violence. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 ultra-Orthodox women coping with intimate partner violence in Israel, 27–49 years of age, all clients of the social services. Thematic analysis revealed three themes: The experience of not being able to build a "faithful Jewish home"; strengthening one's faith as a means to survival; and the meaning of "tikun" and choice. The impact of these findings is examined in the context of culture-sensitive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the connection between psychological type and personal wellbeing among a sample of 95 Catholic priests serving in Italy. Personal wellbeing was assessed by two measures: the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the Purpose in Life Scale. Psychological type was assessed by the Francis Psychological Type Scales that draw on the development of Jung's classic model that distinguishes between two orientations (extraversion and introversion), two perceiving functions (sensing and intuition), two judging functions (thinking and feeling), and two attitudes (judging and perceiving). The data demonstrated that lower levels of personal wellbeing were experienced by introverts than by extraverts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Czech Republic is one of the most secularised societies, while atheistic and spiritual values are increasingly acknowledged and practiced. This research note has two objectives. First, we provide cultural and societal background of a development of the Spiritual Health Questionnaire. Second, the paper discusses empirical approach to the development of a battery of scales designed to systematically assess spiritual health for future spirituality research aimed at the Czech population and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion that you don't have to go to church to be a good Christian is accepted as an indicator of the form of implicit religiosity espoused by those who (in Bailey's analysis) say that they “believe in Christianity.” The present paper builds on the findings of a recently published survey of rural Anglican churchgoers celebrating harvest which suggested that de-institutionalised implicit religion may be superseding commitment to conventional explicit religious attendance. The responses of 1081 people who attended Christmas carol services in two English cathedrals in 2009 and 2010 are analysed. The findings of the previous paper that implicit religiosity is more prevalent among younger people and among those who attend church less frequently are replicated. Evidence is also found that women are more inclined to this view than men and that those who have a loose historical connection through baptism are more likely to endorse it than those with either no historical connections or stronger ones. Suggestions are made for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]