BACKGROUND: Achieving holistic care is an important goal for nurses. While much is made of the bio-psychosocial model of holistic care, reflecting the allopathic bias inherent in the Western medical model, the issue of spirituality is mostly neglected. Where acknowledged, spirituality is often limited to recording the client's religion. This article asserts that religion and spirituality are not synonymous, although spirituality might sometimes be reflected through religious practices. CONCLUSION: With the move towards provision of modern mental health services in the community, the community mental health nurse will increasingly care for individuals for whom the spiritual is part of their daily lives and not a symptom of their illness. This is set against the backdrop of a multicultural society and as such will call for holistic nursing skills.
BACKGROUND: Achieving holistic care is an important goal for nurses. While much is made of the bio-psychosocial model of holistic care, reflecting the allopathic bias inherent in the Western medical model, the issue of spirituality is mostly neglected. Where acknowledged, spirituality is often limited to recording the client's religion. This article asserts that religion and spirituality are not synonymous, although spirituality might sometimes be reflected through religious practices. CONCLUSION: With the move towards provision of modern mental health services in the community, the community mental health nurse will increasingly care for individuals for whom the spiritual is part of their daily lives and not a symptom of their illness. This is set against the backdrop of a multicultural society and as such will call for holistic nursing skills.