resources

resources

Instruments | Training Opportunities | Recommended Books | Support

Note: None of the resources below are paid endorsements. Instead, these resources include instruments I developed and validated for practice and/or research, trainings/books/links I frequently recommend, and links for mental/emotional health support.

instruments from my research

Please feel free to use these instruments in your practice and/or research, citing the appropriate article from which they originated. I also love hearing about how others use these instruments, so please reach out and let me know if/how you plan to use them! If you’re a mental health care provider, I hope you’ll consider using them to contemplate various facets to integrating spirituality in mental health care.

Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale (RSIPAS; 2014, 2016)
The purpose of this scale is to measure mental health care providers’ self-efficacy, attitudes, perceived feasibility, behaviors, and together, their overall orientation toward integrating clients’ religion/spirituality into mental health treatment.

CLICK HERE for RSIPAS v1 (Oxhandler & Parrish), developed for social workers [source | articles that cite RSIPASv1]
CLICK HERE for RSIPAS v2 (Oxhandler), developed for interdisciplinary groups of mental health care providers, including social workers, counselors, psychologists, nurses, and/or marriage and family therapists. [source | articles that cite RSIPASv2]

Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale – Client Attitudes (RSIPAS-CA; 2018)
The purpose of this scale is to assess mental health clients’ attitudes regarding integrating their religion/spirituality into mental health treatment. The items largely mirror the RSIPAS in order to compare clients’ and providers’ views.
CLICK HERE for RSIPAS-CAv1 (Oxhandler, Stanford, & Ellor) [source | articles that cite RSIPAS-CA]
[coming soon!] RSIPAS-CAv2 (Oxhandler, Pargament, Pearce, Vieten, Moffatt) [source | articles that cite RSIPAS-CAv2]

Social Workers’ Integration of their Faith-Christian Scale (SWIF-C; 2019)
The purpose of this scale is to explore the impact of social work [practice] on one’s faith, the impact of faith on one’s social work [practice], the impact of faith on one’s social work identity, and potential conflict between one’s faith and social work [practice]. The scale was developed with a Christian sample and items were tailored to mirror a Christian faith tradition, but the authors are interested in adapting it for other faith traditions.
CLICK HERE for SWIF-C (Oxhandler, Chamiec-Case, & Wolfer) [source | articles that cite SWIF-C]


Relevance of Religion/Spirituality & Mental Health (RRSMH; 2021)
The purpose of this scale is to measure mental health clients’ perceptions of the relevance of religion/spirituality to mental health in both positive and negative ways. This scale was developed with a national sample of current mental health clients.
[coming soon!] RRSMH (Oxhandler, Pargament, Pearce, Vieten, & Moffatt) [source | articles that cite RRSMH]


New instruments coming soon:
Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Scale – Educators (Oxhandler & Polson)
**developed with a national sample of graduate-level social work educators

training opportunities

Spiritual Competency Training in Mental Health (SCT-MH; led by Pearce & Pargament with input from Vieten and myself)
This training was developed by a research team I’ve been partnering with since 2016, funded by the John Templeton Foundation (#60971). To learn more about our team’s line of research, please visit this site.

Spirituality and Social Work: Online Post-Master’s Certificate Program
Led by Dr. Anthony Nicotera and Dr. Edward Canda through NYU’s Silver School of Social Work.

Duke University’s CME/CE Integrating Spirituality into Patient Care

Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy Training Program
Led by Dr. Russell Siler Jones through the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.

Partnership Center’s 2020 Spirituality and Mental Health Webinar Series
Led by the U.S. Department of Heath & Human Services Partnership Center/Center for Faith & Opportunity Initiatives

UT Austin’s Summer Statistics Institute
I recommend this training to all of my doctoral students or faculty who want a refresher on statistical analyses/research methods.

recommended books/readings

Check out my regularly updated list of recommended books on Bookshop (affiliated link).

For teaching on or studying religion/spirituality in mental health and related helping professions:

  • Canda, E. R. (1998). Spirituality and social work: New directions. Haworth Pastoral Press.
  • Canda, E.R. & Furman, L.D. (2020) Spiritual diversity in social work practice: The heart of helping (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Carlson, L. E., & Shapiro, S. L. (2009). The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. American Psychological Association.
  • Ellor, J. W., Netting, E., & Thibault, J. (1999). Understanding religious and spiritual aspects of human service practice. Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press.
  • Froese, P. & Bader, C. (2010). America’s four Gods: What we say about God and what that says about us. Oxford University Press.
  • Garland, D. (2015). Why I am a social worker: 25 Christians tell their life stories. NACSW Press.
  • Garland, D. & Yancey, G. (2014). Congregational social work: Christian perspectives. NACSW Press.
  • Griffith, J.  L. (2010).  Religion that heals, religion that harms: A guide for clinical practice. Guilford Press.
  • Jones, R. S. (2019). Spirit in session: Working with your client’s spirituality (and your own) in psychotherapy. Templeton Press
  • Kahle, P. A., & Robbins, J. M. (2004). The power of spirituality in therapy: Integrating spiritual and religious beliefs in mental health practice. Haworth Press.
  • Koenig, H. G. (2005). Faith and mental health: Religious resources for healing. Templeton Press.
  • Koenig, H. G. (2011). Spirituality and health research: Methods, measurements, statistics, and resources. Templeton Press.
  • Koenig, H. G. (2017). Religion & Mental Health Book Series: [Protestant Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism] and Mental Health: Beliefs, Research, & Applications.
  • Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
  • Koenig, H. G. (2007). Spirituality in patient care: Why, how, when and what (2nd ed.). Templeton Foundation Press.
  • Miller, G. (2003). Incorporating spirituality in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and technique. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Miller, L. (2015). The spiritual child: The new science on parenting for health and lifelong thriving. St. Martin’s Press.
  • Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. Guilford Press.
  • Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. The Guilford Press.
  • Pearce, M. (2016).  Cognitive behavioral therapy for Christians with depression:  A practical tool-based primer. Templeton Press.
  • Richards, P. S., & Bergin, A. E. (2005).  A spiritual strategy for counseling and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.
  • Vieten, C., & Scammell, S. (2015).  Spiritual and religious competencies in clinical practice:  Guidelines for psychotherapists and mental health professionals. New Harbinger Publications. 

For faith leaders considering ways to better address mental health needs in their community:

Compassion in Action: A guide for faith communities serving people experiencing mental illness and their caregivers (offered by HHS’s Partnership Center)
Grace Alliance
Hope for Mental Health

For Research Methods:

  • Structural Equation Modeling with MPlus – Barbara Byrne
  • Internet, Phone, Mail, & Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method – Don Dillman, Jolene Smyth, Leah Christian
  • Research Methods for Social Work – Allen Rubin & Earl Babbie
  • Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling – Rex Kline

For Faculty Development:

  • Dare to Lead – Brené Brown
  • Practical Tips for Writing Scholarly Articles – Rich Furman
  • Deep Work – Cal Newport
  • Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport
  • How To Write a Lot – Paul Silvia
  • Start with Why – Simon Sinek

Books that have served my own spiritual journey/formation:

  • The Essential Rumi – Coleman Barks
  • Pilgrimage of a Soul – Phileena Heuertz
  • All about love – bell hooks
  • Chasing Slow – Erin Loechner
  • Making All Things New – Henri Nouwen
  • All Along You Were Blooming – Morgan Harper Nichols
  • Present Over Perfect – Shauna Niequist
  • Everything Belongs – Richard Rohr

Check out my GoodReads page.

support


Emergency Resources*

Local Resources*

Online Resources*

*A special thank you to Robert Vore for compiling these lists on his website and allowing others to freely share them!