Gaps and Links Between Religious Institutions and Mental Health Practitioners in Indonesia
摘要
This study builds on extensive literature that examines the incorporation of religion and spirituality (R/S) into mental health services. It investigates gaps and opportunities for collaboration between R/S service providers and mental health practitioners in Indonesia, a deeply religious country currently facing a mental health crisis. The authors conducted focus group discussions and semistructured interviews with nine religious leaders (Muslim, Christian, Buddhist) and staff from five mental health service providers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Both groups displayed a tendency to work in isolation when supporting people with mental health problems. Although religious leaders expressed awareness that specific mental health problems require psychological, clinical, or medical treatment, they tended to frame the causes and treatments of mental health problems in moral or spiritual terms. Alternatively, mental health practitioners acknowledged that certain forms of R/S intervention can support psychological treatment given that they are consistent with the beliefs and worldviews of specific clients. However, they tended to view R/S as more of a cause and less of a cure for mental health problems and reported limited expertise and confidence in integrating R/S into their practice. The study also identified emerging efforts to collaborate between R/S service providers and mental health practitioners at two religious institutions, including evidence of bidirectional and unidirectional models of collaboration. These results emphasize the need for further empirical research on collaborative approaches for effective mental health care.