Page 223 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

192 Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilence

an important role in aiding the postdisaster search for meaning amid the
seemingly unfathomable, enhancing cohesion among fractured commu-
nities, and containing difficult-to-bear emotions. These are all goals that
disaster psychiatry shares with spiritual care. Where their differences lie
is in the methods, at least as regards rituals. These differences can be used
to the mutual benefit of each field. Spiritual care providers can turn to the
scientific eye of psychiatry to improve their understanding and implemen-
tation of rituals to best accomplish their goals. Psychiatry stands to benefit
from becoming more familiar with rituals and including them in their
typically multipronged approach to trauma and disaster. And, ultimately,
survivors of disaster will surely be the beneficiaries of the two fields’ work-
ing together.

Spiritual References

Basho, M., Japanese haiku. Retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com
Clifton, L., Miss Rosie. Retrieved from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/
miss-rosie

Psychiatry References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of
mental disorders 4 ed., text revision. Washington, DC: Author.
th
Anastasi, M., & Newberg, A. (2008). A preliminary study of the acute effects of reli-
gious ritual and anxiety. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,
14(2), 163–165.
Curlin, F. A., Odell, S. V., Lawrence, R. E., Chin, M. H., Lantos, J. D., Meador, K. G.,
et al. (2007). The relationship between psychiatry and religion among U.S.
physicians. Psychiatric Services, 58(9), 1193–1198.
Danieli, Y., & Nader, K. (2006). Respecting cultural, religious, and ethnic differ-
ences in the prevention and treatment of psychological sequelae. In L. Schein,
H. Spitz, G. Burligame, & P. Muskin (Eds.), Group approaches to terrorist
disasters (pp. 203–234). New York: Haworth Press.
Johson, D. R., Feldman, S. C., Lubin, H., & Southwick, S. M. (1995). The thera-
peutic use of ritual and ceremony in the treatment of post-traumatic stress
disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8(2), 283–298.
Katz, C. L., Smith, R. P., Silverton, M., Holmes, A., Bravo, C., Jones, K., et al. (2006).
A mental health program for Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers:
Cases and observations. Psychiatric Services, 57(9), 1335–1338.