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Association for Spirituality and Mental Health - News and Events
Association for Spirituality & Mental
Health Journal Club
Our next meeting will take place on Thursday September 18th, 2008
from 7:00-8:30pm at the Spirituality
Centre of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (2nd Floor), 1145
Carling Ave, Ottawa, ON. Kelley Raab,
Ph.D., will lead a discussion on the following paper: Lester, R.J. (2008). “Anxious Bliss: A Case Study of
Dissociation in a Mexican Nun” Transcultural Psychiatry, 45(1): 56-78.
Abstract: This is a
case study of Celeste, postulant in a Roman Catholic convent in
Mexico
who experienced frequent episodes of leaving her body to commune with God.
During these experiences, Celeste felt immersed in an ‘incredibly
beautiful profound silence’ where ‘time and space were broken.’
But as much as Celeste craved these experiences, they also alarmed her;
she was acutely aware that they might be indicative of psychological or
neurological dysfunction. This article
chronicles Celeste’s struggles to make sense of her experiences in light of
competing explanatory models. Her ultimate
resolution suggests intriguing new directions for transcultural psychiatric
research.
Members and non-members are welcome to attend, so please
distribute the poster to spread to the word to colleagues (non-members will be
subtly encouraged to join the association). Since
this is a recent article, it is not yet available online.
However, you may pick up a copy at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
library. Alternatively, you may RSVP at colincameron@graffiti.net
to request that a copy of the paper be mailed to you.
We also have a journal club scheduled for November
20, 2008. We
are still in need of volunteers and topics for November 20, 2008 and next year.
Please let me know if you are interested in leading a discussion or have
a paper to recommend.
We are still investigating possibilities to make these
meetings available on line to allow participation for members not able to attend
in person. We will keep everyone posted
about this via newsletter and email.
Call for Papers
The 4th International Conference on Spirituality & Mental Health,
"In Relation",
will take place April 23 and 24, 2009 at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON.
Click here to view the call for papers.
Dr. Kenneth Pargament
A
workshop and public forum took place in Ottawa on
April 16-17, 2008, given by Dr. Kenneth Pargament.
Dr. Pargament, Professor of Psychology at Bowling Green
State
University, is the author of Spiritually Integrated
Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred (The Guilford Press,
2007).
The workshop and forum were sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry, University
of
Ottawa, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health
Research and the Spiritual and Religious Care Services, Royal Ottawa Mental
Health Centre. The free public forum, entitled “Sacred Matters: What
Researchers are Learning About Spirituality and Health,” presented a rationale
for Spiritually-Integrated Psychotherapy.
Dr. Pargament discussed the tensions between religion and health, in part
due to greater religiousness among clients than health professionals.
He addressed reasons spiritual issues should be considered, including 1)
many clients turn to spirituality in stressful times, 2) many would like to talk
about spiritual issues with therapists, and 3) research has established a link
between spirituality and health outcomes.
In the workshop the following day, Dr. Pargament continued the discussion
with further exploration of the sacred aspects of life and offered sample
guidelines for conducting spiritual assessments.
Participants in the workshop represented a wide variety of disciplines,
including psychiatry, psychology, spiritual care, occupational therapy, and
nursing.
Evaluation was unanimously positive.
Participants particularly enjoyed Dr. Pargament’s humor, knowledge of
the topic, delivery approach, and presentation of case studies.
Fourth International Conference on
Spirituality & Mental Health
The Fourth International Conference on Spirituality and Mental Health
will take place April 23 and 24, 2009 at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, ON.
Details to follow including a call for papers.
Highlights from the Association for Spirituality and Mental Health
Spring Newsletter
Association for Spirituality & Mental Health Wiki
To facilitate discussion among members, ASMH now has a wiki.
We invite you to join by contacting info@spiritualityandmentalhealth.org Members
are invited to join the wiki, http://asmhjournalclub.pbwiki.com,
in order to participate in an online discussion of the articles for the next
journal club meeting.
Association for Spirituality & Mental
Health Journal Club
The first ASMH journal club was held on
March 13, 2008
which saw Henry Clarke, MA, lead an interesting and lively discussion on
spiritual struggles based on an article by Kenneth Pargament et al.
Our next meeting will take place on Thursday May 15, 2008
from 7:00-8:30pm at the Spirituality Centre of the Royal Ottawa Mental
Health Centre (2nd FLoor), 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, ON.
Beata Wiatrowska, MD, FRCPC and Colin Cameron, MDCM, FRCPC will lead a discussion on the following
papers:
Brown RP,
Gerbarg PL.
Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the
treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: part I-neurophysiologic model. J
Altern Complement Med. 2005 Feb;11(1):189-201.
Review
Brown RP, Gerbarg PL. Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in
the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression. Part II--clinical applications
and guidelines. J Altern Complement Med.
2005 Aug (4): 711-717. Review
We will also provide instruction in some basic yogic
breathing techniques, and review data from a pilot yoga program recently run at
the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional & Treatment Centre.
Members and non-members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP at colincameron@graffiti.net
to request a copy of the papers. To view poster in Microsoft Word click
here
Other
journal club meetings in 2008 will be September 18 and November 20.
Sylvia Charbonneau, MD FRCPC has agreed to lead our discussion on September 18th. Until further notice, all meetings will run from
7:00-8:30 p.m.
at the Spirituality Centre of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
Section One credits are being applied for through the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons Maintenance of Competency Program.
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