Living the Questions: Is It Ethical to Pray with Your Patients?

by Earbin Stanciell,MD | January 08, 2013 1:46 PM EST

I offer my patients two avenues or tracts to follow in my practice. One I call the wholeness tract and the second that I named the traditional tract. The traditional tract consists of what we would call the garden variety medication/ psychotherapy treatments. The wholeness tract involves addressing spiritual issues such as prayer and forgiveness along with some aspects of the traditional tract. A patient may opt out or into each tract at anytime during treatment. When I conduct a new patient eval I explain to my patients these two options if they are what I consider cognitively capable of engaging in the spiritual aspect of treatment. If a patient is to impaired to understand I automatically provide conventional treatment until a later date when that patient is in a better mental state to choose. I have these options written into a handout and include this information when patients sign consent for treatment. I have learned that patients appreciate the option to include the god of their understanding and religious tradition in their treatment.