Religion and Spirituality in Recovery Pathways of High Secure Service Users Dr Emily Glorney (Royal Holloway, University of London) Jessica Allen, Amy Lawson, Sophie Raymont (University of Surrey) Dr Darren Lumbard (West London Mental Health NHS Trust)
Positive aspects of religion and spirituality Coping - Bereavement (Golsworthy and Coyle, 1999; Park, 2005); Illness (Tuck, McCain & Elswick, 2001); Emotional isolation (Thomas & Zaitzow, 2006) Social support, friendships (Ellison and George, 1994) Self-esteem, self-efficacy (George, Ellison & Larson, 2002) Hope in the context of personal crisis (Greasley, Chui & Gartland, 2001) Infractions (O Connor & Perryclear, 2002) Suicide risk (Mandhouj, Aubin, Amirouche, Perrous & Huguelet, 2014) Rebuilding lives in a moral framework (Spalek & El-Hassan, 2007) Redemption (Maruna, Wilson & Curran, 2006)
Negative aspects of religion and spirituality Rejected by faith, burdened by spiritual activities, demoralised by beliefs (Mohr & Huguelet, 2004) Spiritual despair (Mohr, Brandt, Borras, Gilliéron & Huguelet, 2006) Lack of understanding by staff (Huguelet et al., 2006) Radicalization (Rigsby, 2014) Scrutiny over adoption or conversion of religion (Rigsby, 2014)
Religion and spirituality in forensic mental health services Mela, Marcoux, Baetz, Griffin, Angleski & Deqiang 2008 High prevalence Greater satisfaction with life Less likely to be depressed or anxious Glorney, Perkins, Adshead, McGauley, Murray, Noak & Sichau, 2010 One of eight domains that combine to promote recovery and rehabilitation
Recovery in forensic mental health services Principles of recovery (Shepherd et al., 2008) Shepherd, Doyle, Sanders & Shaw (2015) Safety and security as a necessary base for the recovery process The dynamics of hope and social networks in supporting the recovery process Identity work as a changing feature in the recovery process Aim Explore the personal meanings of religion/spirituality in the recovery journeys of high secure service users
Method Semi-structured interview Participants Self-identified religious/spiritual identity Assertive rehabilitation ward 57 invited, 14 agreed; 13 useable interviews (12 MI, 1 PD) 5 held same beliefs since birth (3 Muslim, 2 CofE) 8 converted (3 Christian-Agnostic, 2 Christian-Muslim, 1 Agnostic-CofE, 1 Catholic-Jehovah s Witness, 1 Christian- Buddhist) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Super-Ordinate Themes Religion and Spirituality as: 1. Providing a framework for recovery 2. Supporting personal development and internalisation of rehabilitation 3. A systemic and individual obstacle
Religion and spirituality as providing a framework for recovery Guidance and direction from role models Keeps participants on the straight and narrow Increased self-efficacy I ain t fasted before, never fasted in my life. But now when I done Ramadan I thought yeah, that s good Good morals by which to live life It keeps me in society, sort of thing. Being accepted back into society The idea of redemption through an afterlife when I was younger I was afraid of dying but when you have inner peace and belief that fear s not there anymore. You ve got something to believe in
Summary - 1 Providing a framework for recovery Self-esteem, self-efficacy (George, Ellison & Larson, 2002) Rebuilding lives in a moral framework (Spalek & El-Hassan, 2007) Redemption (Maruna, Wilson & Curran, 2006) Guidance and direction from role models (Kerley and Copes, 2009)
Religion and spirituality as supporting personal development and internalisation of rehabilitation Psychological benefits if you pacify emotional disturbance the ill feeling goes and happiness remains and you can be well mentally Social support and inclusion that s a good feeling when you feel accepted and so you re not an outsider Complementing interventions Religion lowers the risk and it stops me from doing things but generally, I think therapy and other things help with risk Providing participants with an alternative identity it s a part of me that I think yeah, ok, that s a good part of me and it makes me feel good about myself
Summary - 2 Supporting personal development and internalisation of rehabilitation Coping - Illness (Tuck, McCain & Elswick, 2001), Stress Social support, friendships (Ellison and George, 1994) Self-esteem, self-efficacy (George, Ellison & Larson, 2002) An identity separate from offender or patient (Redemption; Maruna, Wilson & Curran, 2006)
Religion and spirituality as a systemic and individual obstacle Stigma and discrimination I sometimes struggle with believing in God because I m gay the Bible says certain things about that and I have had people come up to me and say why are you believing in God if you re gay? Institutional hindrances to practice I feel frustrated at the ignorance, especially of staff Religion and spirituality can not redeem a lot of people say oh, you re only going to church cause you wanna be seen as good or things like that. But I think somebody who truly wants to believe in God don t do it for those reasons
Summary - 3 A systemic and individual obstacle Rejected by faith, burdened by spiritual activities, demoralised by beliefs (Mohr & Huguelet, 2004) Lack of understanding by staff (Huguelet et al., 2006) Reluctance to engage with redemption (cf. Maruna, Wilson & Curran, 2006) Validation??
Key points Religion/spirituality supports the process of recovery Hierarchy of rehabilitation Self-determination theory Guidance and direction from role models Validation for the process of change An identity separate from offender or patient
To think about in practice Attend to religion/spirituality Attend to possible tensions in communication and validation Encourage discussion about religious/spiritual needs
Comments welcome Emily.Glorney@rhul.ac.uk