Spirit-Health Connections News

New Threats to Freedom tops the Press' best seller list for May!

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST

The book New Threats to Freedom is making its presence known! In this book, editor and author Adam Bellow has assembled an all-star lineup of innovative thinkers to challenge these insidious new threats. Some leap into already raging debates on issues such as Sharia law in the West, the rise of transnationalism, and the regulatory state. Others turn their attention to less obvious threats, such as the dogma of fairness, the failed promises of the blogosphere, and the triumph of behavioral psychology.

Contributors include: Anne Applebaum, Bruce Bawer, Peter Berkowitz, Max Borders, Richard A. Epstein, Jessica Gavora, Michael Goodwin, Daniel Hannan, Alexander Harrington, Mark Helprin, Christopher Hitchens, Robert D. Kaplan, James Kirchick, Greg Lukianoff, Barry C. Lynn, David Mamet, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Tara McKelvey, Mark T. Mitchell, Michael C. Moynihan, Chris Norwood, Glenn Harlan Reynolds, Naomi Schaefer Riley, Christine Rosen, Ron Rosenbaum, Stephen Schwartz, Lee Siegel, Christina Hoff Sommers, Shelby Steele, and Dennis Whittle.

Other books making the best selling list are:

Making Health Care Whole

Spirituality in Patient Care

Paleontology

Divine Love

Hand of God

Process-Relactional Philosophy

Big Questions in Science and Religion

Science and Creation

Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics

For more information about our publishing list, visit Templeton Press www.templetonpress.org

Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice cited as "useful and timely"

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

In its May/June 2010 issue Health Progress writes:

For nurses and other health care providers, Verna Carson's and Harold Koenig's text will provide useful and timely information on the role of spirituality in health care. The book's 13 contributing authors identify ways in which meeting patients' spiritual needs is both a form of caring and a way to provide meaning in practice. The editors used a variety of contributors within and outside of nursing, representing a broad range of religious and spiritual experiences. Many of us chose a health care profession in order to provide care and comfort to others, and this book helps the reader address a very important aspect: spiritual care.

For more information on Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice, click here.

www.templetonpress.org

Best Selling Titles for the Month of March 2010

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EST

For the month of March 2010, Making Health Care whole was the best selling title.

“Making Health Care Whole is a valuable and much-needed contribution. It provides health care professionals with descriptions, standards, tools, guidelines, and wise counsel in providing appropriate spiritual care for persons with serious illness. As health care pursues genetic and molecular approaches to the understanding and treatment of illness, Making Health Care Whole testifies to the essential role of treating the spiritual needs of persons as well.” —Myles N. Sheehan, SJ, MD, clinical professor of medicine, Stitch School of Medicine, Loyola University, Chicago

Other best selling titles are:

Spirituality in Patient Care

Technology and Religion
Big Questions in Science and Religion
Divine Love
Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion
Vision
In the River They Swim
Medicine, Religion, and Health

Visit our website for other great titles!

www.templetonpress.org

What Does Spirituality and Religion Have To Do with Aging?

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST

Dr. Stephen Sapp, Professor and Chair of Religion Studies at the University of Miami, recently wrote an interesting article in The Gerontologist titled What Have Religion and Spirituality to Do with Aging? Three Approaches.

Sapp’s three approaches consisted of three recently published books on aging and spirituality, one in which was a Templeton Press publication, Aging in the Church by Neal M. Krause.

Neal Krause says that the purpose of Aging in the Church “is to examine how social relationships that arise in church affect the physical and mental health of older men and women” (p. 3). He accomplishes his goal in this comprehensive yet comprehensible compilation of a great deal of social–scientific research (both his own and that of others) on the role that involvement in Christian congregations plays in various health outcomes among elders. The most empirical of the three books, this one pulls together a wealth of information in one place for researchers interested in its subject, as well as for those who might want to make a case that “going to church is good for you.”

To learn more about Aging in the Church, click here.

5:30 pm

The Debut of Making Health Care Whole

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST

If you’re attending the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) in Boston this week, be sure to swing by the Templeton Press booth, #222, and pick up a copy of the recently released Making Health Care Whole by Betty Ferrell and Christina Puchalski! Better yet, stop by the author book signing tables on Friday, March 5th at 10:00 am in the exhibit hall to meet the authors in person!

Press staff will also be on hand at the booth, if you have any book proposals that you think might be a good fit for our list (you can familiarize yourself with our submission guidelines here).

www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=148

Healing Faith

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

In the January 18, 2010 issue of America, author Pat Fosarelli relates her personal story on her journey back to God.

Pat Fosarelli, MD, DMin, is assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and professor of spirituality and practical theology and assistant dean at the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University. In addition to the Templeton Press title, Prayers and Rituals at a Time of Illness and Dying, Fosarelli has authored or edited nine other books. She currently she lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

www.templetonpress.org

New Titles for Spring 2010 Announced

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST

Templeton Press is pleased to announce that a copy of our Spring 2010 catalog is now available on our website.

Our feature book for this eason is New Threats to Freedom. In New Threats to Freedom, editor and author Adam Bellow has assembled an all-star line up of innovative thinkers to challenge these insidious new threats. Some leap into already raging debates on issues such as Sharia law in the West, the rise of transnationalism, and the regulatory state. Others turn their attention to less obvious threats, such as the dogma of fairness, the failed promises of the blogosphere, and the triumph of behavioral psychology.

These threats are very real and very urgent, yet this collection avoids projecting an air of doom and gloom. Rather, it provides a blueprint for intellectual resistance so that modern defenders of liberty may better understand their enemies, more effectively fight to preserve the meaning of freedom, and more surely carry its light to a new generation.

Contributors include: Anne Applebaum, Bruce Bawer, Peter Berkowitz, Max Borders, Richard Epstein, Jessica Gavora, Michael Goodwin, Daniel Hannan, Alexander Harrington, Mark Helprin, Christopher Hitchens, James Kirchick, Greg Lukianoff, Barry Lynn, David Mamet, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Tara McKelvey, Mark Mitchell, Michael Moynihan, Chris Norwood, Glenn Reynolds, Naomi Riley, Christine Rosen, Ron Rosenbaum, Stephen Schwartz, Lee Siegel, Christina Sommers, Shelby Steele, and Dennis Whittle.

Visit New Releases to preview our exciting Spring 2010 titles!

http://www.templetonpress.org/catalog_download.asp

Should God be available on prescription?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST

Should our medicine be influenced by religious beliefs, either our own or those of our doctors?

Should God be part of medicine? Are spiritual beliefs relevant to our health? These are big questions with no easy answers.

Dr. Harold Koenig, professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina, asks “Can a spiritual life help us in the world: implications for mental health”.

He points out that religious belief can be both a hindrance and a help in patients with psychological problems. Those with psychosis may have religious delusions, while rigidly held beliefs can lead to unhealthy guilt in vulnerable people.

Dr. Koenig is an author of several Templeton Press books to include Medicine, Religion, and Health, Spirituality in Patient Care, and Faith in Mental Health.

To read more of the article featured in the Irish Times, http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2009/1013/1224256494146.html

Sacred Desire reviewed by Spirituality and Health Magazine

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

A synthesis of science and spirituality, their work will satisfy those who seek a biological explanation for experiences of the divine and provide a basis for a dialogue between science and spirit that promises to be life-changing. http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=134

Meeting the authors of Sacred Desire

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:30:00 EST

Recently we asked authors Nancy K. Morrison and Sally K. Severino a few questions related to their latest title, Sacred Desire.

Here’s what they shared:

Give us a quick summary of your book.

Sacred Desire shows how we can psychologically, neurobiologically, and spiritually grow in compassionate living during these turbulent times.

What’s your favorite part of the book and why?

The part of >Sacred Desire that we find most hopeful is the chapter entitled “Redemptive Attuning: Desire’s Continuing Journey.” This chapter takes Desire beyond healing into a spiritual journey where our urge to embody the sacred is safer and freer.

Describe your writing process.

Because >Sacred Desire is about interrelatedness, it required at least two authors interrelating to write it. The process of writing, therefore, involved us individually and together.

Individually both of us were motivated to integrate spirituality and science. Individually we brought complimentary talents to the process. Nancy brought the “big picture” and Sally served as the “detail person.” We talked about our ideas together and Sally put them on paper.

We faced at least four challenges. Our first challenge was to find one voice. Because psychology, neuroscience, and spirituality each had its own language, our second challenge was to find one language that integrated them. Our third challenge was to conquer our fear of speaking out about spirituality, which is commonly looked down upon by our colleagues. Our final challenge was to find a publisher who would endorse our integration.

What would you wish to add or change?

Now that the book is published, we wish we had been clearer about the distinction between the vagus nerve and the vagal complex. In addition, we would like to realign the last part of the sidebar entitled “Spiritual Development.”

Since there is continuing research about how our bodies mediate our spirituality, we would like to add these findings as they emerge. For example, in addition to mirror neurons, Von Economo neurons are being implicated in fast intuitive assessments of complex social situations.

What did you learn from writing your book?

Sacred Desire seemed to have its own process of evolving. We learned that if we trusted and stayed within its innate flow, it would come to fruition in its time.

http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=134

Harold G. Koenig, Author of "Faith and Mental Health" Speaks Out on the Sodoni Incident

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST

“Certainly he knew [professional help] was an option, and could afford it,” said Harold Koenig, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Duke University Medical Center. “He would have been a hard person to counsel, though, given his long-standing negativity about life... These people don't usually seek professional help.”

Click on the URL for the complete article.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=8267603&page=1

Sally Severino, MD, Honored by Cambridge Who's Who for Excellence in Psychiatry

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:00:00 EST

RIO RANCHO, NM, March 31, 2009 /Cambridge Who's Who/ -- Sally Severino, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of psychiatry.

With an impressive background that spans 32 years, Dr. Severino specializes in the study of physical, mental and spiritual integration. She recently co-authored Sacred Desire: Growing in Compassionate Living, published by Templeton Press (2009). The work draws on numerous elements including neurophysiology, research regarding spiritual development, relationship studies and psychotherapy to make a connection between spirituality and the physical being. The book makes a strong case for the theory that human beings are "biologically wired" to seek a connection with the divine--a concept that Drs. Severino and Morrison refer to as "sacred Desire."

Prior to attaining her current position at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Dr. Severino spent 17 years in academic psychiatry at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and five years as Executive Vice-Chair, Department of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association, she served as the first woman president of the American College of Psychoanalysts. A board certified physician through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., she earned her MD from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is the recipient of the John J. Weber Prize for Candidate Research, Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research; the Wholeness of Life Award, Hospital Chaplaincy, Inc, New York City; the Presidential Award and the Laughlin Service Award, the American College of Psychoanalysts.

For more information about Dr. Severino and her new book, Sacred Desire: Growing in Compassionate Living, visit www.neurspirit.net.

To order a copy of Sacred Desire: Growing in Compassionate Living, visit www.templetonpress.org

About Cambridge Who's Who
Cambridge Who's Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major industry is represented by its 300,000 active members.

Cambridge Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, Cambridge Who's Who offers an online networking platform where members can establish new business relationships and achieve career advancement within their company, industry or profession.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/sally-severino-md-honored-by-cambridge-whos-who-for-excellence-in-psychiatry-94222.php

Medicine, Religion, and Health by Dr. Harold G. Koenig featured on Time.com

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:00:00 EST

Keeping (Or Finding) The Faith

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009

Not all that long ago, you'd have had a hard time finding a research institute, an academic department or even a decent conference exploring the link between spirituality and health. And with good reason. Health is science, spirituality is something else entirely, and people who say otherwise clearly need to sit down with a medical journal or two.

But that's all changing. Everyone's got a stake in getting human health right--whether families and individuals simply trying to stay well or governments trying to build a functioning health-care system that doesn't break the bank. With so much on the line, no one can afford to take options off the table.

For that reason, investigators around the world backed by both public and private money are studying the faith factor in all manner of diseases and conditions. They have examined the spiritual-care needs of children with terminal illnesses and looked at how religion and superstition affect schizophrenia in China and how spirituality influences the well-being of college students in Malta and nuns in India. They have probed the links between religion and psychological woes too: neuroticism in Dutch twins, obsessive-compulsive symptoms in Italians, death anxiety among Egyptian nursing students and substance abuse in adolescents in Jerusalem. They have tried to measure the benefits of Bible therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease, as well as the impact of religious guilt and congregational criticism on doubting members of the flock. They've looked at the health effects of psychoactive sacramentals (think peyote) and the spiritual preferences of neo-pagans (think Wiccans and druids).

The fact that what began as a trickle of studies has become a torrent doesn't mean that everyone is happy, and many scientists will continue to have nothing to do with what they see as fluff. Still, the movable feast of institutes, academic treatises, self-help books, websites, healing centers and luxury spas with a spiritual bent grows steadily larger. Here is just a sampling of what's available.

Center for Spirituality and The Mind
University of Pennsylvania

Brain Scans: A workshop for high-tech imagery: this is your brain on prayer--or meditation or speaking in tongues. Researchers also study changes in blood pressure, hormones and immune-system function during spiritual practices. www.uphs.upenn.edu/radiology/csm/index.html

Center for Spirituality & Healing
University of Minnesota

Shaman Outreach: Fifty faculty members from a dozen academic areas conduct research into alternative medicine and healing traditions, including those of shamans serving the local community of Hmong immigrants from Southeast Asia. www.csh.umn.edu

Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
Duke University

Community of Scholars: Academic powerhouse that promotes research to improve our understanding of "spirituality, health and human flourishing." Aims to push the interdisciplinary field into a "new era of significance, visibility and impact." spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.html

National Center for Complementary And Alternative Medicine
National Institutes of Health

Federal Faith: Alternative medicine established this beachhead with the Federal Government in 1991. NCCAM funds research and serves as a clearinghouse for consumer information on acupuncture, herbs, hypnosis and more. nccam.nih.gov

Templeton Foundation
West Conshohocken, Pa.

Private Philanthropy: Family foundation established by the late philanthropist Sir John Templeton. Its mission is to address big questions and foster dialogue between science and religion through grants, prizes and book publishing. templeton.org

Books. Reads that range from self-help to scholarly

How God Changes Your Brain By Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman; Ballantine

Authors Newberg and Waldman have written a self-help field guide to the health benefits of spirituality. Just minutes of daily meditation can slow the aging process, build intimacy with family and friends and provide broader rewards even for nonbelievers. It appears that positive thinking is one of the many names of God.

Medicine, Religion And Health By Harold G. Koenig; Templeton Foundation Press

Koenig is a co-director of Duke's Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health. His latest book on the subject offers an overview of research into faith's effect on mental health, cardiovascular disease and mortality, as well as guidelines for health-care professionals on how they can integrate spirituality into the care they offer patients.

Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion And Medicine By Richard P. Sloan; St. Martin's Griffin

Dragging religion into clinical medicine, argues Sloan, is bad for both. Too much of the research is sloppy and funded by folks who have a stake in finding that belief is good for us. The result is bad science, bad medicine--and even bad religion when faith is trivialized by being treated like just another item in the health-care system's bag of tricks.

Religion and Healing In America Edited by Linda L. Barnes and Susan S. Sered; Oxford University Press

This rich collection addresses the multicultural world of spirituality that immigration has created in the U.S. The authors explore healing traditions usually left out of mainstream research into belief and health, such as those with roots in the Caribbean, Mexico and South Asia.

Pilgrimages. When a spa is spiritual enough, thank you very much

1. Chiva-Som, Hua Hin, Thailand

2. The Raj Maharishi Ayurveda Health Spa Fairfield, Iowa

3. Mii Amo Spa at Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Ariz.

4. Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya Playa del Carmen, Mexico

5. Ten Thousand Waves Santa Fe, N.M.

6. Ananda in the Himalayas Rishikesh, India

7. Canyon Ranch, Lenox, Mass.

8. COMO Shambhala Retreat Uma Paro, Bhutan

Websites. Online sources for seekers

The Government on Health
Washington weighs in with a guide that includes an A-to-Z index of topics, including spirituality and health.

One-Stop Faith Shop: Beliefnet.com
Explore your faith, and check out tips on health, finance, love and more. Also has blogs, prayers, news, and guidance for contacting your guardian angel.

Onscreen Magazine: Spirituality-Health.com
A bimonthly that celebrates the "Soul/Body Connection" and "reports on the people, the practices and the ideas of the current spiritual renaissance." Polls and self-tests too.

The Doctors Speak: webmd.com
Medical site that also covers prayer, spirituality and health topics.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1879175,00.html

Dr. Harold Koenig, author of Medicine, Religion, and Health presents testimony to the US house of Representatives

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

Dr. Harold Koenig, author of Medicine, Religion, and Health presents testimony to the US house of Representatives.

Harold Koenig, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center and associate professor of medicine, was scheduled to testify yesterday in Washington, D.C., at a hearing of the House Science and Technology Committee’s subcommittee on research and science education.

Koenig — founder and former director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Religion, Spirituality and Health and founding co-director of the current Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center — was to offer an overview of original research published in social, psychological, behavioral, nursing and medical journals since the 1800s examining relationships between religion/spirituality and health.

Koenig was to discuss what the research implies for improving public health and patient care, promoting community resiliency following natural disasters or acts of terrorism, and easing the economic burden of providing health care and protecting our population.

http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2300

Read the Testimony here:
http://science.house.gov/publications/Testimony.aspx?TID=14951

http://insidedukemedicine.org/home/2008/09/18/koenig-is-in-the-house/

Spirit-Health Connections website officially launched

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST

Spirit-Health Connections
Resources for Integrating Health and Healing
From Templeton Foundation Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...

October 1, 2008/West Conshohocken, PA—A recent article on CNN.com titled "How to Talk to Your Doctor about God" quoted one physician as saying, "religion is the last taboo in medicine." Religious belief can indeed be one of the most difficult things for patients to discuss with their health care providers, but that may be changing as more and more health care professionals are equipping themselves with the tools they need to help address the spiritual needs of their patients.

Now medical professionals, patients, spiritual care providers, researchers, and students have online access to resources for integrating health and healing. Spirit-Health Connections is a new website containing cutting edge research, information on recent publications, and news about this relatively young field of study.

Visitors can browse the content either by subject or by their own personal role in the spirit-health arena. Doctors, nurses, and anyone in the allied health care professions will find a great deal of information particularly relevant to their work in pages crafted especially for Health Care Providers. Pages for Spiritual Care Providers is designed principally to meet the needs of parish nurses, hospital or military chaplains, palliative care providers, and others who are often called upon to provide comfort to those who are suffering. Researchers and educators who will be shaping the future of the medical profession will also find special sections just for them, full of bibliographic and pedagogical resources to help with their efforts.

Beginning this month, a media section will feature video and audio files available for free downloads, and, in the bookstore, visitors can purchase any of the resources from which most of this content has been drawn. If one gets through all of these materials and still has unanswered questions concerning the relationship between religion and health, Spirit-Health Connections offers an Ask the Expert section, where visitors can interact with recognized experts on the subject.

Please visit Spirit-Health Connections at: www.spirit-health.org

CONTACT: Sharon Kelly, Publicist, 484-531-8380, publicity@templetonpress.org

http://www.spirit-health.org

CNN article, "How to talk to your doctor about God", features Dr. Harold Koenig, the author of Medicine, Religion, and Health

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

CNN article, "How to talk to your doctor about God," features Dr. Harold Koenig, the author of Medicine, Religion, and Health

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/09/11/ep.faith.medicine/index.html

Aging in the Church: How Social Relationships Affect Health by Neal Krause is now available

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 09:35:00 EST

Aging in the Church: How Social Relationships Affect Health by Neal Krause is now available

http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=127

Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet by Harold G. Koenig is now available

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 09:35:00 EST

Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet by Harold G. Koenig is now available

http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=124

Harold Koenig, author of Spirituality in Patient Care, featured in Newsweek

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST

The Advocate: 'Patients Want To Be Talked To'
A Duke Professor Says Religion Has A Place In Medical School--And In Practice

By Claudia Kalb | NEWSWEEK
Nov 10, 2003 Issue

Harold Koenig, director of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health at Duke, has been studying the role of faith in healing for almost 20 years. A leading researcher in the field, he recently wrote "Spirituality in Patient Care." He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Claudia Kalb:

KALB: How did you get interested in the intersection of religion and health?

KOENIG: It seemed amazing that some patients with devastating illnesses like stroke or cancer coped as well as they did. And so I wanted to find out what they did to help them through these difficult circumstances.

How accurate would you rate the research?

In the area of mental health, I think it's pretty good. So many studies have been done in so many different populations by so many investigators with the vast majority--two thirds--finding significant association between religious beliefs and well-being: life satisfaction, hope, purpose, meaning, lower rates of depression, less anxiety, lower suicide rates. The research in the area of physical health is not as solid.

Should medical students be required to take a religion-and-health course?

Yes. I think unless medical students have that training, they are not going to address those issues, or they're going to do it in a way that may interfere with the patient's rights.

Should doctors take spiritual histories of patients?

Yes. If we didn't ask questions for fear that they would induce guilt, we wouldn't ask about smoking, drinking or sexual activity.

Is it acceptable for doctors to pray with patients?

Certainly, if the patient asks the doctor, "Would you pray with me?" and the patient is religious and from the same background--and the situation is serious. If the doctor has tried everything and is running out of things to do, I think it's appropriate to bring it up. Before the doctor asks the question, though, he or she needs to be absolutely certain that the patient's answer is going to be yes. That's why the spiritual history is critical.

What is driving the interest in religion and health?

As we moved into the later 20th century, we recognized that there are questions of meaning and purpose that science just doesn't have very good answers to. Also, patients want to be talked to. They are tired of [being] treated like bodies, just physical bodies. Plus, older adults in America today are a very religious population.

How do you respond to critics?

If the critics say physicians shouldn't address spiritual issues, doctors may avoid it completely rather than do it in a sensitive way or refer patients to chaplains.

What are your religious beliefs?

I'm a Christian, and Christianity is an important part of my life. It helps me to cope with my illness [a form of arthritis], raise my children and stay married.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/60520

Authors Dr. Harold Koenig and Verna Carson will be featured as keynote speakers of the 14th Annual Dynamics of Elderly Caregiving Conference

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:00:00 EST

Authors Dr. Harold Koenig and Verna Carson will be featured as keynote speakers of the 14th Annual Dynamics of Elderly Caregiving Conference. The conference is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, 2008, 6-9 p.m. and Friday, April 4, 2008, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the St. Clair Street Senior Center.

Duke Doctors Explore Spirituality and Healing

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST

A group of doctors at Duke University think belief plays an important role in patients' recovery and overall health.

http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/health___fitness.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-02-12-0009.html

Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What, Second Edition, by Harold G. Koenig, M.D. is now available

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:30:00 EST

Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What, Second Edition, by Harold G. Koenig, M.D. is now available.

http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=105

Dr. Harold G. Koenig, author of Spirituality and Patient Care, was recently featured in an article by the Los Angeles Times

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:30:00 EST

Dr. Harold G. Koenig, author of Spirituality and Patient Care, was recently featured in an article by the Los Angeles Times.

http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-bestyounow25jul29,1,3175989.story

What Do I Say? Talking with Patients about Spirituality by Elizabeth Johnston Taylor is now available

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:00:00 EST

What Do I Say? Talking with Patients about Spirituality by Elizabeth Johnston Taylor is now available.

http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=102