Exploring the Lived Spiritual Needs of Individuals with Schizophrenia: A Phenomenological Study Informing Holistic Mental Health Care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55018/janh.v8i1.473Keywords:
Schizophrenia, Spirituality, Spiritual Needs, Qualitative Research, Mental Health RecoveryAbstract
Background: Spirituality has increasingly been recognized as an important dimension of recovery in severe mental illness. However, qualitative understanding of the lived spiritual needs of individuals with schizophrenia remains limited, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This study aimed to explore the lived spiritual needs of individuals with schizophrenia and examine their significance within recovery-oriented mental health care.
Methods: This qualitative study employed van Manen’s interpretive phenomenology grounded in Heideggerian philosophy. Seven participants diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10; F20.x) were recruited using purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria included clinical stability, living with family, and the ability to communicate verbally. Exclusion criteria included acute psychotic exacerbation and severe cognitive impairment interfering with communication. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews (40–60 minutes; mean 52 minutes), supported by field notes. Data saturation was achieved when no new codes emerged in the final interviews. Data were analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological approach guided by van Manen, supported procedurally by Miles and Huberman’s interactive model for data organization. This study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ).
Results: Three major themes emerged: (1) Transcendence (inner peace, actualization of trust, hope, forgiveness, religious doctrine); (2) Sense of Existence (social support and usefulness); and (3) Personal Values (gratitude and search for meaning). Spirituality functioned as an existential integration mechanism facilitating emotional regulation, identity reconstruction, and recovery-oriented meaning-making.
Conclusion: Spiritual needs play a central role in recovery processes among individuals with schizophrenia. Integrating culturally sensitive spiritual assessment into psychiatric services may strengthen holistic and recovery-oriented mental health care in LMIC contexts.
Downloads
References
Alyahya, N. M., Munro, I., & Moss, C. (2022). The experience of psychosis and recovery from consumers’ perspectives: An integrative literature review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 29(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12696
Barrenger, S. L., Maurer, K., Moore, K. L., & Hong, I. (2020). Mental health recovery: Peer specialists with mental health and incarceration experiences. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(4), 479–488. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000450
Boop, C., Cahill, S. M., Davis, C., Dorsey, J., Gibbs, V., Herr, B., Kearney, K., Liz Griffin Lannigan, E., Metzger, L., Miller, J., Owens, A., Rives, K., Synovec, C., Winistorfer, W. L., & Lieberman, D. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Supplement_2), 1–87. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001
Gonzales, L., Kanani, A., & Pereyra, A. (2023). Policy Definitions for “Serious Mental Illness” Across 56 United States, Districts and Territories. Community Mental Health Journal, 59(3), 595–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-01026-5
Jaiswal, A., Carmichael, K., Gupta, S., Siemens, T., Crowley, P., Carlsson, A., Unsworth, G., Landry, T., & Brown, N. (2020). Essential Elements That Contribute to the Recovery of Persons With Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Scoping Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.586230
Jordan, U. (2022). “I feel like I’m useful. I’m not useless, you know?”: Exploring Volunteering as Resistance to Stigma for Men Who Experience Mental Illness. Social Policy and Society, 21(4), 668–678. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746422000045
Koenig, H. G., Al-Zaben, F., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020). Religion and psychiatry: recent developments in research. BJPsych Advances, 26(5), 262–272. https://doi.org/10.1192/bja.2019.81
Kurian, R. M., & Thomas, S. (2023). Gratitude as a path to human prosperity during adverse circumstances: a narrative review. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 51(5), 739–752. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2022.2154314
Lucchetti, G., Koenig, H. G., & Lucchetti, A. L. G. (2021). Spirituality, religiousness, and mental health: A review of the current scientific evidence. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 9(26), 7620–7631. https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7620
Magin, Z. E., David, A. B., Carney, L. M., Park, C. L., Gutierrez, I. A., & George, L. S. (2021). Belief in God and Psychological Distress: Is It the Belief or Certainty of the Belief? Religions, 12(9), 757. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090757
Milner, K., Crawford, P., Edgley, A., Hare-Duke, L., & Slade, M. (2020). The experiences of spirituality among adults with mental health difficulties: a qualitative systematic review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29, e34. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796019000234
Ripamonti, C. I., & Chelazzi, C. (2024). Hope and spiritual well-being: two sides of the same coin? Supportive Care in Cancer, 32(10), 708. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08922-4
Saiz, J., Chen-Chen, X., & Mills, P. J. (2021). Religiosity and Spirituality in the Stages of Recovery From Persistent Mental Disorders. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 209(2), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001271
Sleeth, G., Gottlieb, P., Srinivasan, A., Thaddeus, U., Mennillo, M., & Anandarajah, G. (2025). Evaluation of the HOPE spiritual assessment model: a scoping review of international interest, applications and studies over 20+ years. BMC Palliative Care, 24(1), 191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-025-01809-z
So, H., Mackenzie, L., Chapparo, C., Ranka, J., & McColl, M. A. (2025). How spirituality is understood in occupational therapy: A qualitative study. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 72(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.70006
Stanford, M. S., Stiers, M. R., & Soileau, K. (2023). Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Psychiatric Outpatient Treatment in the United States. Journal of Religion and Health, 62(4), 2258–2271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01821-8
Tasijawa, F. A., Suryani, S., Sutini, T., & Maelissa, S. R. (2021). Recovery from ‘schizophrenia’: Perspectives of mental health nurses in the Eastern island of Indonesia. Belitung Nursing Journal, 7(4), 336–345. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.1621
Temesgen, W. A., Chien, W. T., Li, Y., Valimaki, M. A., & Bressington, D. (2023). Service users’ perceptions of recovery from recent‐onset psychosis and their long journey to and through psychiatric treatment. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 32(5), 1365–1376. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13175
van Weeghel, J., van Zelst, C., Boertien, D., & Hasson-Ohayon, I. (2019). Conceptualizations, assessments, and implications of personal recovery in mental illness: A scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 42(2), 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000356
Walter, O., Thomas, E. C., & Salzer, M. S. (2022). Exploring peer specialists’ experiences with spirituality in their work: Recommendations for future directions. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 45(1), 95–102. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000495
Westhead, M., & Georgiades, A. (2025). The Role of Spirituality and Religiosity in the Maintenance and Recovery of Psychosis: A Systematic Review. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 19(7). https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.70061
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bambang Kuncoro, Nur Rachmat, Betty Hidayati
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
