Assessing interest in addressing religion and spirituality in a recovery program for adults with serious mental illness

Purpose Religion and spirituality (R/S) are recognized components of recovery-oriented mental health services. This study aims to present a clinically focused tool for assessing R/S interest among veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire including 39 items was developed by experienced chaplains and mental health clinicians and administered to modest pilot sample of 110 participants in a recovery-oriented program at a medical center of the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Findings Altogether 40 (37%) participants said they would like R/S issues to be a greater part of their treatment (i.e. very or extremely). A screening tool to identify veterans for referral to R/S focused interventions was developed based on the selection of the five items most strongly loading on the strongest factor in a factor analysis. Research limitations/implications First, the identification of items for the survey was made on the basis of clinical experience with issues discussed by veterans in a VA recovery-oriented program and thus are based on clinician experience and their association with a stated desire for more R/S in their treatment. Since no gold-standard measure of “religion/spirituality” has been universally established and validated, this method, though imperfect, was accepted as practical and as having face validity. Furthermore, the sample size, while substantial, was limited and was not representative of the general population. Again, this was a pilot study of a unique effort to identify R/S issues of greatest relevance in a recovery program for people with SMI. Practical implications In this SMI sample, 36% of the participants said that they would like more R/S to be incorporated into their treatment. Factor analysis showed the desire for uplifting religious/spiritual community to be the predominant factor and formed the basis for a five-item screening tool that can be used to briefly identify services needs in this area of recovery. Social implications This screening tool can help incorporate religious and spiritual issues into mental health treatment, and area of importance that is often neglected. The results could help destigmatize this area of recovery practice for people with SMI. Originality/value This R/S survey of SMI adults suggests that over one-third of the participants in a pilot sample in a recovery-oriented program would like more R/S emphasis in their treatment. Factor analysis showed the desire for uplifting religious/spiritual community to be the predominant factor.