Question A 44-year-old white Australian man who was not religious was referred to outpatient psychiatric treatment. He had been playing with an Ouija board for two months when he started to believe that a spirit had entered his body through his rectum and was controlling him. He thought the spirit made him move and speak in a certain way. He sought help from a local church, where he was told it was a psychiatric problem and that he was not really possessed. Two exorcisms at a local church failed to achieve any improvement. Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and US clinical guidelines. At all times, explain your answers. 1). Discuss the relationship between mental illness and religion. 2). Is this classified as psychopathology? Support your response with current clinical evidence.

Relationship Between Mental Health and Religion

Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Professor
Subject
Date
 

Religion influences and impacts on mental health as it instills beliefs and a way of thinking in a people (Oman & Lukoff, 2018). It forms an important aspect in the quest to examine mental illness, hence, should be considered a critical factor in understanding mental health. Spirituality, which is driven by one’s aim to indulge into a religious belief, affects mental health by impacting the way one socializes with others in the society. Religion encourages the adoption of customs and beliefs of a given society. Through the teachings, beliefs, rituals and customs, one’s ability to handle and tolerate stress is improved through the connections built with other individuals of a religious group or congregation (Oman & Lukoff, 2018). The group provides a feeling of togetherness and a sense of belonging for an individual, thus, helping one cope better with challenges that expose one to stress and mental illness. This individual was in a state of mental anguish and the stress needed psychiatric help to manage it and not prayer. If they had been part of a religious group for a relatively long time, they would have received help from the group in dealing with their mental issues.
Identifying and studying the behaviors and experiences of individuals which go against the socially accepted norms translates to psychopathology (Moleiro, 2018). The majority of the symptoms highlighted in the text shows an individual with extreme mental stress fueled by his beliefs. The individual is going through a psychological disorder where his pattern of thought is irregular and notably follows a dysfunctional pattern. According to Krueger et al (2018), the psychological issues are classified into: Deviance, Distress, Dysfunction and Danger. He is likely to be suffering from Schizophrenia; a psychiatric interview should be conducted to ensure he is properly diagnosed and treated.

References
Krueger, R. F., Kotov, R., Watson, D., Forbes, M. K., Eaton, N. R., Ruggero, C. J., … & Zimmermann, J. (2018). Progress in achieving quantitative classification of psychopathology. World Psychiatry, 17(3), 282-293.
Moleiro, C. (2018). Culture and psychopathology: New perspectives on research, practice, and clinical training in a globalized world. Frontiers in psychiatry, 366.
. Mental health, religion, and spirituality. Why religion and spirituality matter for public health, 225-243.

Question

Order this paper