Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T16:26:02.194Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

13 - Religion and Spirituality After Trauma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2009

By
James K. Boehnlein
Edited by
Laurence J. Kirmayer ,
Robert Lemelson  and
Mark Barad
James K. Boehnlein
Affiliation:
Professor Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Dean Oregon Health and Science University; Associate Director for Education Department of Veterans Affairs Northwest Network, Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); President Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture
Laurence J. Kirmayer
Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
Robert Lemelson
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Mark Barad
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Get access

Summary

Traumatic events often leave survivors with a number of perplexing and unanswered questions. These questions frequently are not recognized by the survivor in the immediate period after the acute trauma, but their ultimate resolution often determines the degree of optimum posttraumatic adjustment, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. These questions frequently involve an encounter with the ultimate questions of human existence, such as the capriciousness of life and death, the meaning of loss, and the moral complexities of good and evil. Frequent examples include: Why did this occur? I am a good person and have led a good life. Why did this happen to me? Did I do something to cause this to happen? Why did God allow this to happen? Will the perpetrators of evil be punished? I have lost so much; is life worth living anymore? What do I have to live for? My life is so painful now and has no purpose – will it be better in the next life?

Many of these questions that survivors and clinicians grapple with in long-term recovery involve complex religious and spiritual questions and have no easy answers. They are often painful and challenge a person's core belief systems (personal, secular, and religious). The process of confronting these questions and attempting resolution frequently involves an examination of previously stable cultural and religious assumptions that were the foundations of a person's life: I am safe; God is watching over me and my family; good will prevail over evil and a good life will be rewarded; I am a good person and would never wish evil on others for any reason; this life is hard, but after death I will be reunited with my loved ones and be happy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Trauma
Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives
 , pp. 259 - 274
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boehnlein, J. K. (1987). Clinical relevance of grief and mourning among Cambodian refugees. Social Science& Medicine, 25(7), 765–772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boehnlein, J. K. (2000). Introduction. In Boehnlein, J. K. (Ed.), Psychiatry and religion: The convergence of mind and spirit (pp. ⅹⅴ–ⅹⅹ). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
Bowker, J. (1970). Problems of suffering in religions of the world. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Separation (Vol. 2). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., Tedeschi, R. G.,& McMillan, J. (2000). A correlational test of the relationship between posttraumatic growth, religion, and cognitive processing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13(3), 521–527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Connor, K. M., Davidson, J. R.,& Lee, L. C. (2003). Spirituality, resilience, and anger in survivors of violent trauma: A community survey. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16(5), 487–494.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eisenbruch, M. (1984). Cross-cultural aspects of bereavement.II: Ethnic and cultural variations in the development of bereavement practices. Culture Medicine and Psychiatry, 8(4), 315–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elbedour, S., Baker, A., Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N., Irwin, M.,& Belmaker, R. H. (1999). Psychological responses in family members after the Hebron massacre. Depression and Anxiety, 9(1), 27–31.3.0.CO;2-W>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Favazza, A. (2004). PsychoBible: Behavior, religion and the Holy Book. Charlottesville, VA: Pitchstone Publishing.Google Scholar
Galanter, M., Larson, D.,& Rubenstone, E. (1991). Christian psychiatry: The impact of evangelical belief on clinical practice. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148(1), 90–95.Google ScholarPubMed
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1985). The aftermath of victimization: Rebuilding shattered assumptions. In Figley, C. R. (Ed.), Trauma and its wake (Vol. 1, pp. 15–33). New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Khouzam, H. R.,& Kissmeyer, P. (1997). Antidepressant treatment, posttraumatic stress disorder, survivor guilt, and spiritual awakening. Journal ofTraumatic Stress, 10(4), 691–696.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinzie, J. D., & Boehnlein, J. K. (1993). Psychotherapy of the victims of massive violence: Countertransference and ethical issues. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 47(1), 90–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleinman, A. (1999). Experience and its moral modes: Culture, human conditions and disorder. In Petersen, G. B. (Ed.), The Tanner Lectures on human values (Vol. 20, pp. 357–420). Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.Google Scholar
Kleinman, A., Eisenberg, L.,& Good, B. (1978). Culture, illness, and care: Clinical lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Annals of Internal Medicine, 88(2), 251–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langer, L. L. (1998). Preempting the Holocaust. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Levi-Strauss, C. (1979). Myth and meaning. New York: Schocken Books.Google Scholar
Marin, P. (1981). Living in moral pain. Psychology Today, 6, 68–74.Google Scholar
Neiman, S. (2002). Evil in modern thought: An alternative history of philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Plante, T. G.,& Sherman, A. C. (2001). Research on faith and health. In Plante, T. G.& Sherman, A. C. (Eds.), Faith and health: Psychological perspectives (pp. 1–12). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Rosenblatt, P. C., Walsh, R. P.,& Jackson, D. A. (1976). Grief and mourning in cross-cultural perspective. New Haven, CT: HRAF Press.Google Scholar
Schimmel, S. (2002). Wounds not healed by time: The power of repentance and forgiveness. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seaward, B. L. (1991). Spiritual wellbeing: A health education model. Journal of Health Education, 22, 166–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shils, E. (1975). Center and periphery: Essays in macrosociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sparr, L. F.,& Fergueson, J. F. (2000). Moral and spiritual issues following traumatization. In Boehnlein, J. K. (Ed.), Psychiatry and religion: The convergence of mind and spirit (pp. 109–123). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
Tan, S. Y.,& Dong, N. J. (2001). Spiritual interventions in healing and wholeness. In Plante, T. G.& Sherman, A. C. (Eds.), Faith and health: Psychological perspectives (pp. 291–310). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Wallace, A. (1966). Religion: An anthropological view. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Wallace, A. (1970). Culture and personality. New York: Random House.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Religion and Spirituality After Trauma
    • By James K. Boehnlein, Professor Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Dean Oregon Health and Science University; Associate Director for Education Department of Veterans Affairs Northwest Network, Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); President Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture
  • Edited by Laurence J. Kirmayer, McGill University, Montréal, Robert Lemelson, University of California, Los Angeles, Mark Barad, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Understanding Trauma
  • Online publication: 27 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500008.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Religion and Spirituality After Trauma
    • By James K. Boehnlein, Professor Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Dean Oregon Health and Science University; Associate Director for Education Department of Veterans Affairs Northwest Network, Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); President Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture
  • Edited by Laurence J. Kirmayer, McGill University, Montréal, Robert Lemelson, University of California, Los Angeles, Mark Barad, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Understanding Trauma
  • Online publication: 27 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500008.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Religion and Spirituality After Trauma
    • By James K. Boehnlein, Professor Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Dean Oregon Health and Science University; Associate Director for Education Department of Veterans Affairs Northwest Network, Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC); President Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture
  • Edited by Laurence J. Kirmayer, McGill University, Montréal, Robert Lemelson, University of California, Los Angeles, Mark Barad, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Understanding Trauma
  • Online publication: 27 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500008.018
Available formats
×