Faith and Mental Health: Religious Resources for Healing

Harold G. Koenig, M.D. (Templeton Foundation Press, 2005)

Description:
[From the publisher]
In this book, Dr. Harold Koenig opens a window on mental health, providing an unprecedented source of practical information about the relationship between religion and mental health. Dr. Koenig examines how Christianity and other world religions deliver mental health services today, and he makes recommendations, based on research, expertise, and experience, for new programs to meet local needs.

Meticulously researched and documented, Faith and Mental Health includes:

Research on the relationship between religion and positive emotions, psychiatric illnesses, and severe and persistent mental disorders

Ways in which religion has influenced mental health historically, and how it now and in the future can be involved with mental health

A comprehensive description and categorization of Christian and non-Christian faith-based organizations that provide mental health resources

Resources for religious professionals and faith communities on how to design effective programs

Presenting a combination of the history and current research of mental health and religion along with a thorough examination of faith-based organizations operating in the field, this book is a one-of-a-kind resource for the healthcare community; its valuable research and insights will benefit medical and religious professionals, and anyone concerned with the future of mental health care.

Harold G. Koenig, M.D., is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He is director and founder of Duke’s Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health. Dr. Koenig has published extensively in the fields of mental health, geriatrics, and religion, including numerous titles from Templeton Foundation Press (see pages 8-11). He is editor of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, a medical research journal, and editor-in-chief of Science and Theology News, a monthly international newspaper.