Treatment alliance and needs of care concerning religiousness and spirituality: A follow-up study among psychiatric inpatients

Hanneke Schaap-Jonker, J.C. Van Nieuw Amerongen-Meeuse*, A.W. Braam, Christa Anbeek, JWR Twisk

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Background:
Patient satisfaction with religious/spiritual (R/S) care during mental health treatment has been associated with a better treatment alliance.

Aims:
To investigate the longitudinal relations between (un)met R/S care needs and treatment alliance/compliance over a 6-month period.

Method:
201 patients in a Christian (CC) and a secular mental health clinic completed a questionnaire (T0) containing an R/S care needs questionnaire, the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and the Service Engagement Scale (SES). After 6 months 136 of them took part in a follow-up (T1). Associations were analysed using hybrid linear mixed models and structural equation modelling.

Results:
R/S care needs decreased over time, but a similar percentage remained unanswered (e.g. 67% of the needs on R/S conversations in a secular setting). Over a 6-month period, met R/S care needs were associated with a higher WAI score (β = .25; p < .001), and unmet R/S care needs with lower WAI score (β = −.36; p < .001), which were mainly between subjects effects. Patients reporting a high score of unmet R/S care at baseline, reported a decrease in SES over time (β = −.13; p < .05).

Conclusions:
Satisfaction with R/S care among mental health patients is related to a better treatment alliance. When unmet R/S care needs persist, they precede a decrease in treatment compliance. Mental health professionals are recommended to assess the presence of R/S care needs and consider possibilities of R/S care especially in the first weeks of treatment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1341-1350
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Social Psychiatry
Volume68
Issue number7
Early online date8 Jun 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

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