The Confluence Between Spiritual and Mental Health: A Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Healthcare Professionals’ Experiences

<b>Background</b>: Given the global concern about mental health in the world, different approaches are being explored in its approach and treatment. In this line, the care of the spiritual dimension has been shown in many studies to have a significantly positive relationship. In mental health units, the comprehensive approach that involves comprehensive care considers the spiritual dimension as an aspect of care that contributes to coping with mental health problems. <b>Methods</b>: This is qualitative research with a descriptive design and an ethnographic approach, using interviews with forty-five professionals from Spanish and Portuguese mental health units. <b>Results</b>: The professionals do not define the term spiritual health in the same way; however, all interviewees believe that S/R positively influences the mental health of their patients, although few address it. They believe that their own S/R can influence their attention to spiritual needs. Among the limitations are the lack of training and time due to the prevailing biomedical model. Lack of time and specific training in spiritual care are the main aspects to which they attribute the shortage in meeting spiritual needs. Most of them expressed feeling challenged to care for the spiritual dimension after this research. <b>Conclusions</b>: More studies are needed on the spiritual care provided by mental health professionals to specify specific training and the associated challenges in this field.