Belief in God may
significantly improve the outcome of those receiving short-term treatment for
psychiatric illness, according to a recent study conducted by McLean Hospital
investigators.
In the study, published in the current issue of Journal of
Affective Disorders (PMID 23051729, DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.08.030), David H.
Rosmarin, PhD, McLean Hospital clinician and instructor in the Department of
Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, examined individuals at the Behavioral
Health Partial Hospital program at McLean in an effort to investigate the
relationship between patients' level of belief in God, expectations for
treatment and actual treatment outcomes.
"Our work suggests that people with a moderate to high
level of belief in a higher power do significantly better in short-term
psychiatric treatment than those without, regardless of their religious
affiliation. Belief was associated with not only improved psychological
wellbeing, but decreases in depression and intention to self-harm,"
explained Rosmarin.