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The association between the experience of depression and the use of religious coping methods has been widely researched in recent studies. However there is a dire need in this area of research in South Africa. Further most of the previous studies have been quantitative in nature limiting the subjective aspect of the depressive experience. The current study was undertaken to explore the perceived impact of religious beliefs on the individual's coping with depression. The sample used was a convenience sample of Christians from various denominations with a history of depression or a current diagnosis of depression. A semi-structured interview was conducted to collect the data from volunteers who agreed to participate, and a thematic analysis method was used to analyze the data. The findings of the research revealed that the use of religious coping methods can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the individual's experience of depression. Conversely it was found that depression can also have both positive and negative impact on the individual's faith. Furthermore this study has highlighted the importance of the individual's appraisal of their depressive experience which in turn influences the form of religious coping methods (either positive or negative) that would be used. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The purpose of this study was to bring to consciousness the varied experiences that men have had of feeling wounded and to explore how a relationship to Jesus the Christ has influenced their understanding of those experiences. A modified naturalistic inquiry model was used as the qualitative research method, and the research was developed using grounded theory. This method of inquiry encouraged participants, and the researcher, to voice their experiences and to utilize them in a way that made the research significant. This methodological approach allowed themes to emerge, while honouring the stories and experiences that the participants shared. The theoretical framework for the study emerged from two major fields of research: Christian theology and gender-male studies. This research is located where these two fields intersect and overlap. It builds on the research from gender-male studies, specifically the psychological study of men and masculinity, organized men's movements, mythopoetic movements, profeminist movements, as well as the Christian theological understanding of a Messiah who has been portrayed and understood as the "wounded healer." The research focuses on the point at which men's experiences connect with their own sense of woundedness, their Christian faith, and their process of healing. The researcher engaged a discriminate group of men in exploring and trying to understand their experiences of feeling wounded in relation to the Christian story. Four men were identified who have had formal education in both pastoral psychology and theology. The participants were interviewed, and a constant comparative method was employed. Throughout the process of interviewing these men and being privy to their stories, my own story of feeling wounded often surfaced. This research is significant because allowing these men to articulate their experiences of woundedness facilitates healing, for themselves but also for other men who may access their own stories of feeling wounded through hearing those of the participants. Identifying and articulating woundedness helps to manifest the path of healing and self-understanding, ultimately leading to happier lives. / x, 130 leaves ; 29 cm.

The Tibetan Buddhist approach to healing, health and death is rooted in the sacred. Its teachings and techniques create a road map guiding the practitioner through the process of purification called sacred healing. It encompasses foundational Buddhist teachings, sacred Buddhist medicine, and the esoteric healing pathways found in tantra and yoga, which together constitute a detailed and technical guide to healing. The mind is central to all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. The ability to focus the mind through meditation during life enables the practitioner to prepare for death by experiencing the subtle aspects of the body and mind through the chakras. Both Tibetan spiritual teachers and doctors practise healing and help practitioners learn to focus their minds in preparation for death. The moment of death presents the greatest opportunity for attaining sacred health, but healing can also occur after death. The objective of this thesis is to present the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of sacred healing in relation to life, death, the bardos and suicide through its texts, teachings and techniques.

In this research I analyse how mental health problems are perceived in two primary Islamic texts: the Qur?an (the holy book for Muslims and the Hadith (the sayings and traditions of Prophet Muhammad). I then integrate this analysis with the perceptions of a cohort of Jordanian Muslims about their mental health problems and treatment. Two important theoretical frameworks underpin this research, namely the post-colonial theorizing of scholars such as Edward Said, Franz Fanon, and Homi Bhabha, and the Explanatory Model of Arthur Kleinman. Research on the assessment and treatment of mental illness in Islamic and Arabic culture is limited. What literature does exist, suggests that in spite of the increase in research on cultural issues related to mental health, there is a strong need for further research to explore the nexus between culture, religion and mental health diagnosis and treatment in non-western cultures, in order to advance cultural sensitivity amongst mental health professions. This research fills this lacuna in mental health scholarship about the mental health awareness and experiences of Muslims. All of the interviews were conducted at the Mental Health Centre in Jordan, where twenty male and female participants were selected and then interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The textual analysis commenced while I was in Jordan but was completed on my return to Australia. The data were analysed using both NVivo software and manual coding. The results of this analysis are organized around the two main themes that emerged those of `Causation ’ and `Help-seeking ’. Sub-themes to each of these primary themes provide a comprehensive picture of the understanding and behavior of Muslim people accessing assistance from a mental health clinic, and contribute to understanding of mental health issues related to Islam and to Muslims living in Jordan. The research identifies that religion and religious belief are absolutely central to the way that this cohort of Muslim participants interpret the cause and development of their mental health problems and, further, it posits that this is due in part to the explanations of causation and coping contained in primary Muslim texts.

Previous researchers have shown that the collaborative, self-directing, and deferring styles of religious coping result in different outcomes of depression under different levels of perceived stress. Neuroticism has also been shown to affect coping effectiveness overall or choice of coping method. However, little work has been done to investigate the association between neuroticism and the choice or effectiveness of religious coping styles in particular, or on the association of neuroticism and perceived stress. The present study addressed research questions by examining relations among neuroticism, perceived stress, objective life events, religious and non-religious coping styles, effectiveness of coping styles, and depression. Hierarchical multiple regression and correlational techniques found that religious coping styles predict depression, religious and non-religious coping correspond, and neuroticism predicts perceived stress beyond situational stressors. Neuroticism did not predict use of religious coping styles, but remaining personality factors were successful in predicting coping. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

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Over the course of three studies, this dissertation quantitatively examines the relationship between mystical experience and mental health, first in general, and then in the context of naturalistic psychedelic use. The first study of the dissertation proposes a model for understanding the within-population variability of this relationship, and identifies a “relational triad” of three factors which help to explain it: belongingness/social connectedness, mindfulness, and spirituality. The dissertation’s second and third studies draw upon longitudinal data collected from individuals planning to take a psychedelic substance in a naturalistic context, and apply the “relational triad” model to help predict the quality of individuals’ psychedelic experience (Study 2), as well as individuals’ mental health trajectories in the aftermath of a psychedelic experience (Study 3). Baseline mood, as well as the three “relational triad” factors identified in Study 1, were found to be implicated in individuals’ psychedelic experiences and their post-experience mental health trajectories. Finally, clinically-oriented recommendations are offered based on this set of empirically-derived findings, and a screening/predictive measure is proposed.

A growing body of literature links religion to a variety of beneficial health outcomes, but many aspects of the influence of religion on health attitudes and behaviors remain uninvestigated. Most existing work linking religion to health focuses on the United States and other Western contexts, and examinations of reproductive, maternal, and child health are notably absent from research seeking to clarify the relationships between religion and health. This dissertation explores the influences of religious beliefs and behaviors on reproductive, maternal, and child health in Uzbekistan, a theoretically and practically useful context for this study. In this project, I seek to enhance understandings of connections between religion and health by incorporating insights from demographic literature on religion and reproduction and from the body of work on the religion-health connection. In order to answer questions about overall associations between religion and reproductive, maternal, and child health as well as questions about the specific pathways through which religion comes to affect health, I draw on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. I conduct quantitative analysis using secondary survey data collected in 1996 and 2002 in order to address questions related to patterns in the observable relationships between religious affiliation and aspects of reproductive, maternal, and child health in Uzbekistan. To answer questions about mechanisms of religious influence, I turn to qualitative data (observation, focus groups, and in-depth interviews) collected over an 11 month period in two locations (urban and rural) in Uzbekistan. The findings indicate that religion constitutes an important influence on women’s and men’s decisions relating to multiple aspects of reproductive, maternal, and child health in the Uzbek context. The effects of religious beliefs and behaviors on these decisions have the potential to be both beneficial and detrimental to health outcomes, often operating through ideas about gender and familial roles, attitudes about health care utilization, and conceptions of health as a factor of overriding religious importance. The findings are relevant for assessing the utility of previously hypothesized mechanisms linking religion to health and reproduction and suggest several new directions for theorizing about these connections. / text

The biggest pandemic that the Sub- Saharan Africa is faced with is HIV / AIDS. This research examines the experience and challenges of living with HIV / AIDS; as well as how people living with HIV / AIDS use religious/spiritual coping mechanisms and the effect on their quality of life. In addition, it examines the perceived role and effect of Faith-Based Organisations in enabling or impairing coping with their HIV challenges. A qualitative methodology was adopted and semi-structured interviews conducted with ten individuals living with HIV / AIDS. A thematic analysis of these transcripts revealed that most of the interviewees used religious/spiritual coping methods, which generally led to improved quality of life. However, results also showed that religious beliefs/practices could also be a hindrance to coping. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, PIetermaritzburg, 2006.