Psychology and Religion: Two Approaches to Positive Mental Health

Abstract: Historically speaking, psychology and religion have worked separately toward the goal of improving mental health among the people. Can psychology and religion work together and reap better results for the client? How important is religion for the people and how important are religious values for psychologists? What is the relationship between religion and mental health? How today's schools of psychology deal with the religious client? How is religion integrated in psychotherapy? These and other related issues are addressed in this paper. It is concluded that psychologists are obligated to work within the value system of the client and that this approach would achieve a more positive therapeutic outcome. Psychology being a "science" has generally neglected religion and its impact on human behavior and thought processes. However, there is now a trend, which suggests a positive and growing relationship between psychology and religion.) This is nowhere more evident than in the field of mental health which is also becoming an increasingly important research area within psychology. Significant developments have taken place especially in the West, for understanding and treating such problems.2 This paper examines, (a) the acceptance of religion in the general population, (b) how the issue of values entered into supposedly "scientific" psychology, (c) the association between religion and mental health, (d) how have psychologists dealt with religious clients in psychotherapy, and (e) what are the implicit and explicit ways of integrating religion and psychotherapy. Before we venture any further into discussing the relationship between psychology, religion, and mental health, let us briefly define first, what these terms mean. Psychology is now defined as the Dr. Amber Haque is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia. E-mail . [82] INTELLECTUAL DISCOURSE, VOL 8, No 1,2000 "scientific study of behavior and mental processes. ,,3 Religion and mental health fall within the scope of psychology as both of these relate to human behavior and mental processes. When the spirit o