Research

Spirituality

Many individuals served by Community Connections have reported the centrality of spirituality in their recovery-from mental health problems, traumatic experiences, and substance abuse. Since research has also demonstrated correlations between certain aspects of spirituality or religion and both mental and physical well-being, Community Connections has begun to examine more directly the roles of spirituality in the lives of consumers.

Initial publications in this area have been primarily qualitative reports based on individual interviews, discussion groups, and focus groups at Community Connections and in D.C. We have outlined core spiritual themes in trauma recovery as well as in recovery from mental health problems. We have described the importance of spiritual assessment and made recommendations about incorporating attention to spirituality in mental health services. More recently, we have described the different perspectives consumers, clinicians, and researchers bring to these issues.

Other, more quantitative studies have been completed and are in process. A study of life satisfaction and satisfaction with services included a number of spiritual and religious variables. In Phase I of the District of Columbia Trauma Collaboration Study, participants reported that spiritual or religious activities had been among the most helpful in their recovery. Therefore, we incorporated a multidimensional measure of spirituality/religiousness developed by the Fetzer Institute and the National Institute on Aging in the Phase II effectiveness study. We have examined these results and published data regarding connections between trauma-related variables and religious/spiritual coping. The significance of these findings has led to the inclusion of spirituality measures in several ongoing research and evaluation projects.

For more information, please contact Roger D. Fallot, Ph.D. at 202-608-4796 or at rfallot@ccdc1.org.