Faith and Health: Psychological Perspectives [Hardcover]

Thomas G. Plante (Editor), Allen C. Sherman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2001

This volume reviews and integrates the growing body of contemporary psychological research on the links between religious faith and health outcomes. It presents up-to-date findings from empirical studies of populations ranging from healthy individuals to those with specific clinical problems, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and psychological disorders. Drawing on multiple perspectives in psychology, the book examines such critical questions as the impact of religious practices on health behaviors and health risks; the role played by faith in adaptation to illness or disability; and possible influences on physiological functioning and mortality. Chapters reflect the close collaboration of the editors and contributing authors, who highlight areas of thematic overlap, debate key methodological questions and concerns, and outline a cohesive agenda for future research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a very useful compendium....Faith and Health provides food (manna?) for thought and for reflection and the editors should be complimented for the care with which they have defined the problems. The book will provide a valuable summary of current research and much needed caveats about too much rapture about conclusions."--Medscape

"Kudos to Plante, Sherman, and their contributors. This fine volume demonstrates that the study of religion and health is not a passing fancy. Faith and Health presents an up-to-date, comprehensive account of the impressive advances that are taking place in theory, research, and practice. It reveals a field whose landscape is shifting to greater richness and complexity. Wonderfully balanced, the book helps bridge the gap between openness and skepticism, the bitter and the sweet, what we know and what questions remain. This cutting-edge volume should find its place in the library of every student of religion and health."--Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD, Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, author of The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice

"The study of religion, spirituality, and health is one of the most intriguing and controversial areas of health science. This volume provides a much needed survey of progress to date in this field. The book is an ideal introduction to the findings and methodological challenges in the study of religion and health, and will be of great use to researchers and students alike. I highly recommend it."--Norman Anderson, PhD, Professor, Harvard School of Public Health, Former Associate Director, National Institutes of Health

"With the emerging interest in positive psychology, the scientific study of religion has resurfaced as a compelling focus for research. And, in this new field, there can be no more fascinating question than whether religious faith influences beliefs, emotions, and behaviors that are relevant to health and illness. Plante and Sherman have assembled an excellent volume that examines the health consequences of religious practice and faith. The range of perspectives is impressive, from the historical to the psychoneuroimmunological, with a strong emphasis on application. This is a book with a broad audience, and I am likely to use it in my undergraduate and graduate courses in the psychology of emotion and health psychology. Allied health professionals will find much of interest here as well."--Peter Salovey, PhD, Department of Psychology, Yale University

"This rich and wide-ranging collection of essays offers essential resources for addressing the highly complex issues raised by the search for relationships between religion or spirituality and health. No researcher in the field can afford to be uninformed by the provocative findings, trenchant criticisms, and astute recommendations that fill this volume, just as no practitioner should undertake religion-related interventions without considering the scientific, ethical, and practical issues raised therein."--David M. Wulff, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wheaton College

About the Author

Thomas G. Plante, PhD, is Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Santa Clara University. He is also Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Consulting Associate Professor in the School of Education at Stanford University. The author or editor of several books and more than 80 journal articles, Dr. Plante is a licensed psychologist, Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, and Fellow of the American Psychological Association. His research interests include faith and health, ethics, and the psychological benefits of exercise. He has a private practice in Menlo Park, California.

Allen C. Sherman, PhD, is Clinical Director of Behavioral Medicine and Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Arkansas Cancer Research Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is a licensed psychologist and marriage and family therapist. Dr. Sherman's research focuses on quality of life and psychosocial adjustment among cancer patients, psychological interventions, and psychosocial predictors of disease outcome.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (October 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572306823
• ISBN-13: 978-1572306820
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Medical Books > Administration & Medicine Economics > Health Risk Assessment

More About the Author

Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP is professor of psychology at Santa Clara University and adjunct clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has served as psychology department chair, acting dean of the school of education, counseling psychology, and pastoral ministries, and director of the spirituality and health institute at Santa Clara University. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Youth for the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops and President-elect of the psychology and religion division (division 36) of the American Psychological Association. He was born and raised in Rhode Island and received his ScB degree in psychology from Brown University, his M.A. and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas, and his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical and health psychology from Yale University. Prior to coming to Santa Clara in 1994, he was a staff psychologist and on the clinical faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of mental health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, California. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited 14 books including Sin against the Innocents: Sexual Abuse by Priests and the Role of the Catholic Church (2004, Greenwood), Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned: Perspectives on Sexual Abuse Committed by Roman Catholic Priests (1999, Greenwood), Faith and Health: Psychological Perspectives (2001, Guilford), Do the Right Thing: Living Ethically in an Unethical World (2004, New Harbinger), Contemporary Clinical Psychology (1999, 2005, 2010, Wiley), Mental Disorders of the New Millennium (Vols. I, II, and III, 2006, Greenwood), Spirit, Science and Health: How the Spiritual Mind Fuels Physical Wellness (2007, Greenwood), Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy: Thirteen Tools for Enhancing Psychological Health (2009, American Psychological Association), and Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health (2010, Greenwood) as well as published over 150 scholarly professional journal articles and book chapters. His area of clinical and research interest focuses on stress and coping, the influence of aerobic exercise and perceived fitness on psychological functioning, faith and health outcomes, psychological issues among Catholic clergy and laypersons, and ethical decision making. He has been featured in numerous media outlets including Time Magazine, CNN, NBC Nightly News, the PBS News Hour, New York Times, USA Today, British Broadcasting Company, National Public Radio, among many others. He has evaluated or treated more than 600 priests and applicants to the priesthood and deaconate and has served as a consultant for a number of Church dioceses and religious orders. Time Magazine referred to him (April 1, 2002) as one of "three leading (American) Catholics." He maintains a private practice in Menlo Park, CA where he lives with his wife, Lori (also a psychologist) and son, Zachary. His hobbies include running and managing a small home vineyard where he and his family grow syrah grapes for wine making under the TLZ Plante Family Vineyard label.