This thesis explores the perceived relationship between spirituality and psychiatric medication use in individuals living with severe mental health problems. The biological approach to mental health treatment is the dominant paradigm of care across the Western world, which justifies the use of psychopharmacology as a first-line therapy. In the last 30 years, the steady rise in the use of prescription medications has generated much debate and controversy. Historically, much of what we know about psychiatric medication comes from professionals and experts. Comparatively little is known about the perspectives of service users. There is also strong evidence to suggest that religion and spirituality are playing a growing role in addressing mental health problems. Both spirituality and psychiatric medication are known to mediate the processes of wellness and recovery, yet it is not well understood how their interactions may impact upon recovery. The intention of this thesis was to explore this unknown area. The methodology used in this thesis was hermeneutic phenomenology. A purposive sample of twenty people who self-identified as spiritual and/or religious, and were or had in the past taken psychiatric medication participated. Data were collected via in-depth, unstructured interviews, and analysed using a modified approach, based on the works of other researchers. The key finding in this study is that people experienced a multiplicity of interactions between spirituality and psychiatric medication which significantly impacted treatment outcomes, in both positive and negative ways. The overall findings of this research highlights the need for greater awareness of spirituality as a nonpharmacological factor which can impact upon drug treatment outcomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:685272 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Vanderpot, Lynne Esther |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=229440 |
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