Is there ANYTHING spiritual that psychiatrists are allowed to believe in?

Question

If not...are they all atheists? if "yes"..what?

I didn't mean to put it in twice. I was editing it and instead it put it in twice. Sorry.

I didn't mean "religious" things...I just meant "spiritual" things.

Answer 1

Psychiatrists can believe in anything they want, spiritually. They are bound by a code of ethics though not to push their beliefs onto people and probably are reluctant to share much about themselves at all, because it could be seen as trying to influence their patients. Also, psychiatrists are often men of science (are doctors) and many scientists have trouble accepting spirituality, which can't be proved empirically. So this may account for your question.

Answer 2

I worked in mental health for 20 years and I have known several psychiatrists who are religious. My cousin was a psychiatrist and he converted to Catholocism when he got married. I have known psychiatrists who are Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Baha'i.

It has nothing to do with the profession and it makes no difference on a doctor's ability where he or she has a religion or not. However, some patients may have a preference.

Whether a psychiatrist has religious beliefs or not matters no more than if an auto mechanic has religious beliefs.

However, it would usually not be appropriate for a psychiatrist to discuss religion with a patient unless the purpose was to determine if a patient's religious beliefs are appropriate or delusional in content.

Answer 3

No, they are not all athiests. They are free to believe in and accept any belief system they chose. What they are't supposed to do is impose those beliefs on their patients. In cases where a patient's belief system is different than your own, you usually simply accept that the person believes it. As long as the patient accepts their belief as valid, that's all that really should count. The psychiatrist doesn't have to believe it themself, but should be willing to accept the patient does, and should not ridicule the belief. If this is not the case with yours, then it's time to find a new one. A patient's spiritual beliefs are tied up very much in who the person is and how they function in life. You can't discount spiritual beliefs any more than you can discount any other physical symptoms, nor should you. Intelligent medical persons know that brain and body, and spiritual beliefs are all part and parcel of the total patient. You can't discount the influence of any one of those areas and expect to be sucessful in helping the person.

Answer 4

This is the second time in a few minutes that you have asked the same question. That is against "company rules" you know; you can be reported as an abuser. To answer your questions:

I have been treated by many psychiatrists some of them religious. I even had one psychiatrist, in Utah, push his religion on me. I went to another out of state and he said, "we can only trust 2 psychiatrists in that state". He too was religious but it didn't effect his bedside manner. I personally wouldn't appreciate a religious psychiatrist as I feel it would prevent him/her from being completely objective about their patients. Of course the same thing could be said about an atheist psychiatrist (Sigmund Freud was an atheist) but scientists are supposed to strive for objectivity. Many who push their religion, atheist or whatever, are not very objective; they have "an axe to grind."

Good luck in choosing a psychiatrist, good health, peace and love!

Answer 5

I am a very spiritual person and also a counselor. I don't impose my faith on others, but have found it useful with clients that are also spiritual and express this spirituality in session to use my spirituality and theirs to as a way of understanding and getting at an issue and working toward a solution.

Answer 6

you can believe in anything you want...as a pyschiatrist especially you should always keep an open mind