The impact of spirituality on mental health: a review of the literature

This report reviews the evidence and explores the impact that some expressions of spirituality can have as part of an integrative approach to understanding mental health and wellbeing. Anecdotal, quantitative and qualitative evidence all point to a positive (although often modest) relationship between spirituality and mental health in relation to a number of mental health problems. Some of the research exploring the association between spirituality and mental health attempts to understand the mechanisms through which potential benefits may occur. Mechanisms most often discussed are: coping styles; locus of control; social support and social networks; physiological mechanisms; and architecture and the built environment. the proposed benefits of the association are probably the result of a collection of inter-related and interacting factors, some of which have been addressed in the literature and some of which may yet need to be discovered. However, although the evidence generally supports the notion that spirituality is beneficial for mental health, the research does have limitations. The report makes recommendations for further research to improve the evidence base and for mental health services to allow service users to express, practice and explore their spirituality.