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No

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No. Why? Because spirituality and psychology are entirely different. Psychiatry is a science. Methods and facts within this science can be proved and disproved. Spirituality is a feeling that most people associate with a being, God, that has not been proved and probably never will be. Mixing the two takes away from the scientific part of mental health, which is relatively constant in the studies of psychiatry. If we were to focus on spirituality as well, what some might attribute to a lack in faith of God could really be caused by low norepinephrine levels (I won't pretend to know anything about psychiatry). Instead of this person receiving the intensive medical care that they need, they would be advised to get some sort of religious counseling, which, because God is only a theory, may not work.

Besides the academic clashes between psychology and spirituality, the issue remains of separation of church and state. Although facilities that mix psychiatry and spirituality are by no means against the Constitution, we must be sure that there will be plenty of options for the, shall we say, unspiritual. If all psychiatrists gave religious advice to their patients, this would be assuming that all the patients were religious, and probably Christian. There are plenty of depressed atheists, and not because they are atheists.

By no means am I rejecting the thought of mixed practices altogether. For the religious, the belief that there is more after death and that someone is watching out for them can be very soothing and even healing. Whether real or not, if a faith in God keeps someone from committing suicide, then by all means be faithful. Never, however, should a person be given religious advice without the patient's consent.

The bottom line is, let's not corrupt the integrity of a science with a mere theory and opinion.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Dapper.
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