A CALL TO SPIRITUAL HUMILITY: AN EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUALITY, THE US HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS

Abstract

Though spirituality has become a more prominent feature in holistic healthcare it is still overlooked in US healthcare systems and behavioral health providers (BHP). The impact of spiritual inclusion in healthcare has been demonstrated to have a beneficial impact on medical and psychological treatment. Researchers and healthcare practitioners must continue to explore how to acknowledge spirituality and access their associated benefits for the patients they work with. The purpose of these studies is to shed light on how BHPs and their training can play a pivotal role in acknowledging spirituality within holistic healthcare in the US healthcare system. The 5 chapters in this dissertation, include a/an: (a) Introduction to spirituality and its benefits within the US healthcare system through Peek's 3 world view, (b) systematic review of spirituality training interventions for BHPs, (c) methodology chapter describing the original study, (d) original research study that reports the results from a mixed methods survey exploring BHP past spirituality training and how it influences BHP spiritual integration scores, and (e) conclusion chapter.