Faith and Health: Psychological Perspectives

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Apr 2003  by Ewin, Dabneyd M

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Faith and Health: Psychological Perspectives. Thomas G. Plante & Allen C. Sherman (Eds). New York: The Guilford Press (2001). 416 pages, $44.00. Reviewed by Dabney M. Ewin, M.D., New Orleans, Louisiana

This book is superior to most edited books because the contributors first attended a two day conference to present their work to each other and get feedback before making final submissions. The chapters are not repetitious, and, where appropriate, there is comment and informed criticism of the work of other contributors.

The Shaman as Priest-Physician may be gone for good with the rise of evidencebased medicine and psychology; however, purely scientific medicine has not satisfied the perceived needs of the general population. The current demand for holistic and alternative medicine involves faith in many remedies that have never even been studied. This book confines itself to the study of religious faith, spirituality, and health from a psychological perspective as suggested by the title. Its relevancy derives from the fact that in the United States, 95% of those polled say they believe in God and 80% report that religion is "fairly" or "very" important in their lives (Gallop, 1994).

The book has four parts. Part I examines research on ties between faith and health in the general population. Part II focuses on research on specific groups, including those with cancer, HIV, depression, anxiety, etc. as well as health behaviors of adolescents. Part III moves on to clinical practice, including assessment and intervention. Part IV presents critical comment on the state and quality of available research from a methodological and statistical point of view, identifying flaws and suggesting a path for improving future research.

This is not a hypnosis book; in fact, the word hypnosis is not even mentioned. Each chapter has pages and pages of references to the exhaustive literature on the subject of faith and health. To this end, the book is a veritable treasure chest for anyone interested in further research or making a clinical point. (There is an old saying that you can find anything you want in the Bible, and you can find nearly anything you want in these references.) The weight of the evidence tends towards a significant health benefit for the faithful in terms of promoting healthy behavior (e.g., alcohol, smoking, sexual activity, etc.), coping with illness, psychological well-being, and even immunological effects. In one eight year study of 50,000 adults in the general population, those who attended religious service regularly had a 52% lower risk for cardiovascular disease (Comstock & Partridge, 1972; Comstock & Tonascia, 1977). On the other hand, long ago when studying the effects of prayer, Galton (1872) found that ministers do not live longer than physicians or attorneys.

I believe the book meets the goal of "introducing the dismissing critic to suggestive data that may create tempered doubt ... and the uncritical advocate to issues and concerns that will encourage greater modesty in making claims and drawing conclusions" (p. 16). 1 believe that any health professional who is going to deal with religion and spirituality of clients would do well to first get his/her own spiritual house in order. People don't go to the doctor to get their religion changed, but we can converse as equals (sinner to sinner) and ask if the health problem doesn't seem to be a spiritual problem, and perhaps suggest that the client consult the priest, minister, or rabbi.

Unforgiveness is well studied as a health harmful trait that can be addressed from a secular approach, but my clinical experience has been that if a patient has a religious background, the rigidity is much more easily softened by references to scriptural admonishments that are already credible to the believer. I recall that at an ASCH meeting Dr. Norman Shealy made a point that one of the intake questions at his chronic pain unit was, "Have you forgiven everyone you should have?"

We cannot simply prescribe religion as a health benefit, for this is offensive to the very concept of religion. Whatever health benefits ensue are side effects. I believe the operational phrase lies in scripture, Matthew 6: 33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you."

References

Comstock, G.W, & Partridge, K.B. (1972). Church attendance and health. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 25, 665-672.

Comstock, GW., & Tonascia, J.A. (1977). Education and mortality in Washington County, Maryland. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 18, 54-61.

Gallop, G., Jr.(1994). The Gallop poll: Public opinion 1993. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources.

Galton, E. (1972). Statistical inquiries into the efficacy of prayer. Fortnightly Review, 12, 125-135.

Copyright American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Apr 2003
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