[Religious diversity: mosaic and dynamics]. / Levensbeschouwelijke diversiteit: mozaïek en dynamiek.

Background  Diversity manifests itself emphatically in the broad field of spirituality and worldview. Aim  To contribute to the diversity competence of mental health professionals consistent with the intent of the WPA Position Statement on religion and spirituality in psychiatry. Method  Explanation of a number of aspects: the spiritual landscape, the problem of definitions, interpretive power and diversity, and the concept of ‘lived religion’ as an alternative. Results  There is a lot of well-researched material available to enable mental health professionals to work with spiritual and worldview diversity. Conclusion  Diversity can mainly be seen as a challenge to do justice to the person asking for care in all respects.

[Position Statement on religion and spirituality in psychiatry]. / Positiebepaling over religie en spiritualiteit in de psychiatrie.

BACKGROUND: In December 2015 the Executive Committee of the World Psychiatric Association approved a Position Statement on religion and spirituality in psychiatry. This remarkable event remained unnoticed in the Netherlands.
AIM: To bring this statement to the attention of the Dutch psychiatry.
METHOD: An explanation of the criteria on which the statement is based.
RESULTS: Religion and spirituality are a part of daily psychiatric practice, scientific research, residency training and continuous medical education.
CONCLUSION: The Executive Commitee of the World Psychiatric Association has made a major accomplishment in favour of psychiatric practice around the world.

[Recognition of psychiatric disorders with a religious content by members of the clergy of different denominations in the Netherlands]. / De herkenning van psychische problemen met religieuze inhoud door pastores: een vignetstudie.

BACKGROUND: Clergy members (CMS) frequently provide support and counselling for people with psychological and psychiatric disorders. There is evidence in the literature that CMS consider themselves to be inadequately trained to recognise psychiatric disorders. AIM: To investigate to what extent CMS are able to recognise psychiatric symptoms. METHOD: CMS were recruited in the south-west of the Netherlands among various denominations (Roman Catholic, strict (orthodox) Protestant, moderate Protestant and Evangelical; n = 143) by means of a regional sampling method. The participating CMS (n = 143) and a control group consisting of mental health care professionals MPHS; n = 73) evaluated four vignettes of psychiatric problems with a religious content: two were about a psychiatric disorder (a psychotic state and a psychotic depression/melancholic state), and two concerned non-psychiatric states (a spiritual/religious experience and a mourning reaction with a religious dilemma). For each vignette the respondents scored the suitability of psychiatric medication, the desirability of mental health care, the severity of the disorder and whether there was a religious or spiritual aetiology. RESULTS: Some CMS were able to recognise psychiatric problems almost as well as the MHPS, but among the CMS the degree of recognition varied according to the denomination. Recognition was relatively poor among Evangelical CMS, but was best among the strict Protestant CMS. Evangelical pastors and strict Protestant CMS tended to interpret the non-psychiatric states as pathological. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study emphasise the need for collaboration between MHPS and CMS and stress the importance of consultation.