Introduction
The provision of healthcare services is a complex task, which requires consideration of all patients’ needs. They can be adequately addressed only in case if the medical personnel pays particular attention to this aspect of the matter. One of such areas affecting the outcome of therapy is religion or spirituality. Its inclusion in the planning process of the treatment in each case is the principal factor ensuring its success.
The proper orientation on this initiative can be assessed with the help of specific components related to the process. Therefore, this paper aims to review the current state of knowledge on the topic with the division into separate parts of the treatment. They include competence, multiple relationships, religious values, and informed consent evaluated from the Christian perspective. Their combination will provide extensive information, which should be used by healthcare providers to address the spiritual needs of the patients ethically.
Competence
The first aspect of therapy proposed for Christian people is the specialist’s competence in this field. This necessity is particularly emphasized in the APA Ethics Code, which states that psychologists should be aware of their patients’ religious views, respect them, and act accordingly (American Psychological Association, 2017). Moreover, this document provides for the lack of discrimination on this ground (American Psychological Association, 2017). Therefore, a professional in the field should focus on the religious and spiritual factors when rendering therapeutic services to people. This definition implies the presence of corresponding abilities, which can be combined under the principles of competence inherent in this work.
This consideration is directly applicable to Christianity and the followers of this religion since they have specific needs deriving from their views. However, to receive this information, it is necessary to start the treatment process by asking patients about their preferences regarding medical assistance allowing them to reveal their perspectives’ religious underpinnings (Gladding & Crockett, 2019). This step should be followed by increasing self-awareness about the motivations for the people’s choices in therapy (Gladding & Crockett, 2019). These two tasks should help specialists to develop counseling skills applicable to this category of people. In this way, they would be able to plan the treatment properly, and their actions would be perceived as ethical by the representatives of this religious group as well as the facility.
Multiple Relationships
The second condition essential for the productive work of healthcare specialists with Christians is the phenomenon of multiple relationships and its impact on the provision of therapeutic services. It means religious community members will receive help solely from the people belonging to their group rather than other specialists regardless of their qualifications (Sanders, 2016). Nevertheless, despite the seeming effectiveness of such measures, there is a conflict related to the therapy’s ethics, and it is caused by the fact that the doctors rendering services can also be family friends (Sanders, 2016). In this situation, to ensure the correspondence of therapists’ actions to ethical norms, it is vital to pay attention to such intersections.
The solution for such a complicated matter is connected to the need for a thorough consideration of the possibility to play a double role in the therapeutic process, which can negatively affect the patient’s outcome. This dilemma is resolved by surveying the person about the acquaintance with the suggested specialist and selecting the doctor who does not belong to their social circle (Sanders, 2016). This aspect is especially crucial for the treatment since it not only influences the results but also includes the ethical part of the procedure (Sanders, 2016). Therefore, it can be concluded that this factor should be sufficiently addressed through the careful approach to the choice of a Christian therapist.
Imposing Religious Values in Therapy
The third consideration related to the ethics of therapy provided for Christian people is the need to include their religious values in the process of planning their treatment. This intention will increase the chances of a successful outcome while addressing the ethical part (Swihart et al., 2020). According to Swihart et al. (2020), Christian patients’ principal needs are connected to the recognition of the power of prayer for healing, the dominant importance of family decisions, and the limited use of medications and clinic procedures. They allow concluding on the presence of such values as independence in most choices, the support of relatives, and the minimum amounts of medical interventions.
However, for the appropriate provision of therapeutic services, it is also vital to distinguish the groups of religious people belonging to various Christianity branches. This factor might negatively affect the perceptions of patients regarding their spiritual needs resulting from the neglect of the difference in their values. Thus, for example, the Eastern Orthodox Church members, in contrast to Protestants, believe that traditional healthcare interventions are acceptable (Swihart et al., 2020). This confusion might lead to the negative attitude of religious people towards the medical facility and its specialists. Therefore, it should be avoided in order to correspond with the ethical norms of assisting.
Informed Consent
The fourth factor affecting the medical help for Christian patients is informed consent as a principal condition of rendering services. According to the APA Ethics Code, the provision of extensive information on the nature and scope of required interventions, costs, the involvement of other people, and considerations of confidentiality are essential (American Psychological Association, 2017). Moreover, all patients have the right to receive answers to any questions regarding the suggested treatment (American Psychological Association, 2017). Nevertheless, this aspect of healthcare also presents specific ethical complications resulting from the religious beliefs hindering the process.
Thus, for example, it can be difficult to obtain informed consent from Christian patients who believe that the proposed interventions are not necessary. In this case, their stance might be formed by the opinion that the responsibility for the outcome of the therapy solely belongs to God (Grand Canyon University, 2016). They would tend to perceive the power of prayer as a better method for healing and neglect the role of specialists in the process. Therefore, to act ethically, therapists should inform their religious patients on the interconnection between God’s intention to save humanity and the competence of doctors in fulfilling his will. In this way, the informed consent of these people will be made on the ground of the principles of ethics combined with spiritual views.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Christian worldview is extremely beneficial for guiding the decision-making process of therapists and their clients. It allows developing the former’s competence based on the inclusion of people’s religious preferences and increases their trust in case of receiving help from the members of their church. Moreover, the values inherent in Christianity allow reducing the number of medications and uniting families to overcome health issues. Together with the consideration of informed consent connected to the role of doctors and God in providing Christian-based care, this stance presents a substantial foundation for ethical healthcare assistance.
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Web.
Gladding, S. T., & Crockett, J. E. (2019). Religious and spiritual issues in counseling and therapy: Overcoming clinical barriers. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 21(2), 152-161. Web.
Grand Canyon University. (2016). Statement on the integration of faith and work. Web.
Sanders, R. K. (2016). Multiple relationships in faith communities. In O. Zur (Ed.), Multiple relationships in psychotherapy and counseling: Unavoidable, common, and mandatory dual relations in therapy (pp. 108-117). Taylor & Francis.
Swihart, D. L., Yarrarapu, S. N. S., & Martin, R. L. (2020). Cultural religious competence in clinical practice. StatPearls. Web.