articles
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Notes on the article by Anne Carolyn Klein “Seeing Mind, Being Body. Contemplative Practice and Buddhist Epistemology.”
The name of this article suggests that we are to be taken on a journey through the study of the nature and the knowledge behind the belief in Buddhist tradition. The author makes a strong point that it is impossible to grasp the idea of Buddhism only by reading texts, that is, only by considering the information the words carry. Instead, she shows that each word is basically charged with experience or experiential practice of the wisdom it holds, and that it is impossible to look into the living practices of Buddhists without considering such vital part as the energy work. Buddhist practices are aimed at several dimensions of learning,…
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Notes on the article by Joseph A. Adepoju “A Study of Health Beliefs and Practices of the Yoruba”
The study presented in the article describes in full the dualistic approach to treating illness. We see how the spiritual and physical treatments become complementary to each other within the Yoruba community. This approach is common not only for the immigrant community but also to the Yoruba living in Nigeria – there are always two sides seen in an illness – a physical and a spiritual, and both must be treated with equal importance. The holistic approach to healing in the Yoruba community is described in the quote below: “The practice of magic and medicine is comprehensive and holistic in nature and encompasses the healing of the body, mind and…
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Notes on the article by David R. Hodge “Working with Hindu Clients in a Spiritually Sensitive Manner”
The article was written first of all for social workers who may encounter Hindu consumers. In order to facilitate a minimum cultural sensitivity Hodge makes an attempt to summarise Hindu cosmology. He explains such central to Hindu religion concepts as dharma, karma, moksha, and the non-self-centred view on life of the Hindu population. He then demonstrates how some traditional Hindu ways of life may be different from the western mentality and, thus, would be often met with prejudice and judgement. For example, the sacred dharma that prescribes different roles for women and men is referred to an “ideology” that serves to “camouflage injustice” while deceiving women into desiring a position…
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Notes on the article by Jaswinder Singh Sandhu “The Sikh Model of the Person, Suffering, and Healing: Implications for Counselors”
The article is aimed at educating western counsellors about the belief system of Sikh population. The author describes the problem of neglect of the culture-specific belief systems in general as potentially overlooking the important healing resources for that particular population. He stands for developing a more flexible approach in counseling that would view “foreign” religious beliefs as equally valid. The quote below proposes a good example of the core difference in the Eastern and Western views of the person and the world. “The Western model of psychiatric illness and mental health is premised on a mindbody dichotomy, rigid adherence to a classification system, and definite distinctions between psychology, religion, medicine,…
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Notes on article by N. E. Conner and L. S. Eller “Spiritual perspectives, needs and nursing interventions of Christian African–Americans”
The article concludes that “the potential for spiritual care to influence both the psychological and physiological health of patients either directly or indirectly speaks to the urgency of providing patients with appropriate spiritual assessment and interventions” (631). I found this to be the most important part of the article, because while the authors had chosen to explore one subgroup as an example of the spiritual needs of the patients, this conclusion refers to all patients. “Respondents also wrote in their need for nurses to pray with and share personal beliefs with them. We found that 41% of desired spiritual nursing interventions were related to nurses’ direct participation in spiritual activities,…
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Notes on the case study by T. Borneman, O. Klein, J. Thomas, B. Ferrel “Spiritual Care for Jewish Patients Facing a Life Threatening Illness”
The article is a case study of a 65 year old lady diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer, who is Jewish by birth but who does not share the Jewish religious beliefs. We are shown some of the challenges that chaplains and physicians would need to face in working with Jewish patients. The quote below summarized the main idea of the article (case study): “[This case] illustrates the great differences in belief among jews and demonstrates that clinicians and chaplains cannot make assumptions based on a patient’s self-identification as Jewish”(p.61). We see that there is no one right way to deal with Jewish patients, just as there is not one particular…
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Notes on the case study by E. Li and C. Wen “Should the Confucian Family-Determination Model Be Rejected?”
This article describes a case that happened in a hospital in China, when a young lady on the 9th month of pregnancy came in and was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, followed by a sharp drop in cardiopulmonary function and general edema, and soon after arriving at the hospital went into coma. The doctors considered cesarian section as the optimal solution to save the lives of the mother and the baby, but the father of the child did not give his permission for the surgery, and the other relatives of the woman were hard to reach. Because the surgery had been postponed until the hospital could have consent from the family…
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Notes the article by by Sarah M. Whitman “Pain and Suffering as Viewed by the Hindu Religion”
There are many interesting points made in this article, including the whole idea of acceptance and detachment from the outcome of whatever action. The idea of acceptance is central in Hindu religion as is the concept of Karma through which all the life’s misfortunes are viewed. At the same time, the author shows us with the example of several scientific studies, that acceptance-based strategies in dealing with chronic pain have proved to be more efficient than control-based strategies. Bringing these scientific facts to parallel the religion-based approach is very helpful for medical professionals, for whom it may be difficult to grasp this strategy only based on belief. Another interesting parallel…
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Notes on the article by M. C. Inhorn and G. I. Serour “Islam, medicine, and Arab-Muslim refugee health in America after 9/11”
From this article we learn that muslims do not agree on some common global norms or best practices. Their responses to medical problems and procedures, such as assisted reproductive technologies, are mediated by a wide range of ever-changing local circumstances and social forces. (p.937) There is a great diversity in the world’s Muslim population. In addition to sectarian differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims, the followers of Islam vary greatly in their religious piety. Some Muslims follow particular clerics, whereas others consider their primary relationship to be with God. “Islam is not monolithic and Islamic religious authorities are not in agreement about science, technology, and medicine—eg, for assisted reproductive technologies,…
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Notes on the article by A. Baez and D. Hernandez “Complementary Spiritual Beliefs in the Latino Community: The Interface with Psychotherapy”
The article demonstrates that the successful provision of culturally sensitive and culturally inclusive mental health services depends in large part on the level of congruence between the client’s and the mental health practitioner’s respective views of mental illness and its treatment. So, it is vital for mental health professionals to draw the distinction in these matters in order to find the best approach to their patients. This article is intended to help non-Latino mental health practitioners reach that “level of understanding and respect, and also to achieve the adjustment of clinical techniques necessary for better cultural responsiveness to these patients, a matter seldom addressed directly in the mental health literature”…