Spiritual growth and decline among patients with cancer.

Purpose/objectives: To investigate spiritual transformation among patients with cancer.

Design: Longitudinal.

Setting: A university medical center in the midwestern United States.

Religion and the DSM: from pathology to possibilities.

Many individuals seeking psychological services refer to their religious or spiritual beliefs during treatment (Shafranske and Maloney in Psychotherapy 27: 72-78, 1990). Although psychology has consistently pathologized religion and/or spirituality in the past, it is vital that clinicians understand their impact on diagnosis and treatment. The evolution of the DSM, as explored in this manuscript, is evidence of continued attempts to expand clinicians' religious and/or spiritual sensitivity.