Enhancing training in spiritual and religious competencies in mental health graduate education: Evaluation of an integrated curricular approach.

Despite practice guidelines for multiculturally competent care, including spiritual/religious diversity, most mental health graduate training programs do not formally address spiritual/religious competencies. Thus, we enhanced the Spiritual Competency Training in Mental Health (SCT-MH) course curriculum to train graduate students in foundational attitudes, knowledge, and skills for addressing clients' spirituality and/or religion (S/R). The hybrid (online and in-person) SCT-MH course curriculum was integrated into existing required graduate clinical courses (replacing 15% of a course's curriculum) and taught to 309 students by 20 instructors in 20 different graduate training programs across counseling, psychology, and social work disciplines.

Helpful and Harmful Approaches to Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Mental Health Care: A National Survey of Current Clients' Experiences in the United States.

This article describes a national sample of 989 current mental health clients' views regarding whether and how their mental health care providers integrated the client's religion/spirituality (RS) into treatment. Within the online Qualtrics survey, two open-ended items asked respondents what (if anything) the client perceived their therapist having done regarding the client's RS that was (1) helpful/supportive or (2) hurtful/harmful. Participants also reported various ways therapists included the topic of RS in practice, if any.

Mental health professionals' perspectives on the relevance of religion and spirituality to mental health care.

Background: A large body of evidence indicates that spiritual and religious backgrounds, beliefs, and practices (SRBBPs) are related to better psychological health. Spirituality and religion (R/S) are also important aspects of multicultural diversity. There is evidence that clients would like to talk about their spirituality, and that including it in assessment and treatment planning can be beneficial.

Enhancing competencies for the ethical integration of religion and spirituality in psychological services.

Advancement of Spiritual and religious competencies aligns with increasing attention to the pivotal role of multiculturalism and intersectionality, as well as shifts in organizational values and strategies, that shape the delivery of psychological services (e.g., evidence-based practice).

Professional Development Coaching for Health Professions Graduate Faculty: A Pilot Implementation.

Introduction: Organizations have offered executive coaching to their senior leaders for several decades and report improvement in performance, leadership, self-efficacy, and goal attainment. Despite this success, little research exists on coaching programs for faculty who may also benefit from this resource. We sought to develop, implement, and evaluate a professional development coaching program for diverse graduate faculty at a health professions university.

How an Online Teaching Community Supports and Equips Interprofessional Graduate Faculty.

Introduction: Learning communities have been shown to help strengthen teaching skills, innovation, and scholarship. We sought to understand the impact of an online teaching community among interprofessional graduate faculty at a health professions university, notably in the context of COVID-19.

Methods: The University of Maryland, Baltimore's Online Teaching Community (OTC) was created in 2019 to provide peer-to-peer faculty support and resources for effective online teaching.

The Relevance of Religion and Spirituality to Mental Health: A National Survey of Current Clients' Views.

Despite a growing interest in the relationship between religion and spirituality (RS) and mental health across helping professions, less is known about clients' perceived relevance of these areas. This article describes the development and validation of the Relevance of Religion and Spirituality to Mental Health (RRSMH) scale, and responses to the first national survey of clients' perceived relevance of RS to mental health. Specifically, a sample of 989 U.

Unmet Spiritual Care Needs in Women Undergoing Core Needle Breast Biopsy.

Objective: Spiritual care is an important part of healthcare, especially when patients face a possible diagnosis of a life-threatening disease. This study examined the extent to which women undergoing core-needle breast biopsy desired spiritual support and the degree to which women received the support they desired.

Methods: Participants (N = 79) were women age 21 and older, who completed an ultrasound- or stereotactic-guided core-needle breast biopsy.

Moral injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, and religious involvement among U.S. veterans.

Background: Traumatic experiences can cause ethical conflicts. "Moral injury" (MI) has been used to describe this emotional/cognitive state, and could contribute to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or block its recovery. We examine the relationship between MI and PTSD, and the impact of religious involvement (RI) on that relationship.

Screening for Moral Injury: The Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Military Version Short Form.

Introduction: To develop a short form (SF) of the 45-item multidimensional Moral Injury Symptom Scale - Military Version (MISS-M) to use when screening for moral injury and monitoring treatment response in veterans and active duty military with PTSD.

Methods: A total of 427 veterans and active duty military with PTSD symptoms were recruited from VA Medical Centers in Augusta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; Durham, NC; Houston, TX; and San Antonio, TX; and from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. The sample was randomly split in two.

Spiritually Integrated Cognitive Processing Therapy: A New Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder That Targets Moral Injury.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder, and current treatments leave the majority of patients with unresolved symptoms. Moral injury (MI) may be one of the barriers that interfere with recovery from PTSD, particularly among current or former military service members.

Objective: Given the psychological and spiritual aspects of MI, an intervention that addresses MI using spiritual resources in addition to psychological resources may be particularly effective in treating PTSD.

Moral Injury and Religiosity in US Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms.

Moral injury (MI) involves feelings of shame, grief, meaninglessness, and remorse from having violated core moral beliefs related to traumatic experiences. This multisite cross-sectional study examined the association between religious involvement (RI) and MI symptoms, mediators of the relationship, and the modifying effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity in 373 US veterans with PTSD symptoms who served in a combat theater. Assessed were demographic, military, religious, physical, social, behavioral, and psychological characteristics using standard measures of RI, MI symptoms, PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

The Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Military Version.

The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-dimensional measure of moral injury symptoms that can be used as a primary outcome measure in intervention studies that target moral injury (MI) in Veterans and Active Duty Military with PTSD. This was a multi-center study of 427 Veterans and Active Duty Military with PTSD symptoms recruited from VA Medical Centers in Augusta, Los Angeles, Durham, Houston, and San Antonio, and from Liberty University in Lynchburg. Internal reliability of the Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Military Version (MISS-M) was examined along with factor analytic, discriminant, and convergent validity.

Religious versus Conventional Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression.

The accessibility and efficacy of two Internet-supported interventions for depression: conventional cognitive behavioral therapy (C-CBT) and religious CBT (R-CBT) were investigated. Depressed participants (N = 79) were randomly assigned to either active treatment or wait-listed control group. Self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and life quality were collected before, immediately after, and 6 months after the intervention.

Rationale for Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy for Moral Injury in Active Duty Military and Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Wartime experiences have long been known to cause ethical conflict, guilt, self-condemnation, difficulty forgiving, loss of trust, lack of meaning and purpose, and spiritual struggles. "Moral injury" (MI) (also sometimes called "inner conflict") is the term used to capture this emotional, cognitive, and behavioral state. In this article, we provide rationale for developing and testing Spiritually Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy, a version of standard cognitive processing therapy for the treatment of MI in active duty and veteran service members (SMs) with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who are spiritual or religious (S/R).

Effects on Daily Spiritual Experiences of Religious Versus Conventional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression.

We compared religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (RCBT) versus conventional CBT (CCBT) on increasing daily spiritual experiences (DSE) in major depressive disorder and chronic medical illness. A total of 132 participants aged 18-85 were randomized to either RCBT (n = 65) or CCBT (n = 67). Participants received ten 50-min sessions (primarily by telephone) over 12 weeks.

EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS VERSUS STANDARD COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY ON OPTIMISM IN PERSONS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION AND CHRONIC MEDICAL ILLNESS.

Background: We compared the effectiveness of religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (RCBT) versus standard CBT (SCBT) on increasing optimism in persons with major depressive disorder (MDD) and chronic medical illness.

Methods: Participants aged 18-85 were randomized to either RCBT (n = 65) or SCBT (n = 67) to receive ten 50-min sessions remotely (94% by telephone) over 12 weeks. Optimism was assessed at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks by the Life Orientation Test-Revised.

Religious Coping Among Adults Caring for Family Members with Serious Mental Illness.

This cross-sectional study investigated the use of religious coping strategies among family members of adults with serious mental illness. A sample of 436 individuals caring for a family member with serious mental illness were recruited into a randomized clinical trial for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family to Family Education Program. Relationships are reported between religious coping and caregiving, care recipient, and mental health services outcomes.

Religious vs. conventional cognitive behavioral therapy for major depression in persons with chronic medical illness: a pilot randomized trial.

We examine the efficacy of conventional cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) versus religiously integrated CBT (RCBT) in persons with major depression and chronic medical illness. Participants were randomized to either CCBT (n = 67) or RCBT (n = 65). The intervention in both groups consisted of ten 50-minute sessions delivered remotely during 12 weeks (94% by telephone).

An adapted, four-week mind-body skills group for medical students: reducing stress, increasing mindfulness, and enhancing self-care.

Objective: Despite the well-known stress of medical school, including adverse consequences for mental and behavioral health, there is little consensus about how to best intervene in a way that accommodates students׳ intense training demands, interest in science, and desire to avoid being stigmatized. The objective of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness of an adapted, four-week stress management and self-care workshop for medical students, which was based on the science and practice of mind-body medicine.

Methods: The current study used a prospective, observational, and mixed methods design, with pretest and posttest evaluations.

Effects of religious vs. standard cognitive behavioral therapy on therapeutic alliance: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Treatments that integrate religious clients' beliefs into therapy may enhance the therapeutic alliance (TA) in religious clients.

Objective: Compare the effects of religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (RCBT) and standard CBT (SCBT) on TA in adults with major depression and chronic medical illness.

Method: Multi-site randomized controlled trial in 132 participants, of whom 108 (SCBT = 53, RCBT = 55) completed the Revised Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ-II) at 4, 8, and 12 weeks.

Religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy: a new method of treatment for major depression in patients with chronic medical illness.

Intervention studies have found that psychotherapeutic interventions that explicitly integrate clients' spiritual and religious beliefs in therapy are as effective, if not more so, in reducing depression than those that do not for religious clients. However, few empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of religiously (vs. spiritually) integrated psychotherapy, and no manualized mental health intervention had been developed for the medically ill with religious beliefs.

Religious involvement is associated with greater purpose, optimism, generosity and gratitude in persons with major depression and chronic medical illness.

Objective: Religious involvement may help individuals with chronic medical illness cope better with physical disability and other life changes. We examine the relationships between religiosity, depressive symptoms, and positive emotions in persons with major depression and chronic illness.

Methods: 129 persons who were at least somewhat religious/spiritual were recruited into a clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of religious vs.