Addressing Patients' Spirituality in Medical Treatment

Medical care has long been associated with religion and spirituality but in recent years a trend has arisen to introduce diverse spiritually oriented approaches in the context of empirically grounded practice. This article reviews the application of these approaches in contemporary medical practice. It highlights the relative utility of such applications, the use of spiritual assessment of the patient, and the role of the clergy and nursing in introducing spirituality into the clinical setting. It then presents findings from a program developed by the authors to employ spiritual support groups in the general hospital in order to aid patients in coping with illness, and to develop among them a more positive identification with their treatment providers.