jh n Commentary on “Existential and Spiritual Needs in Mental Health Care: An Ethical and Holistic Perspective”

Based on a review of pertinent philosophical and health care literature, this article posits that address-ing existential and spiritual needs in mental health care is both an ethical and a legal requirement. The essential message is that those working in mental health care need to understand that existential and spiritual issues are significant components of mental health concerns and important resources in the pro-cess of healing. Although biomedical interventions such as medications are important for treating men-tal health concerns, the author notes that if mental health treatment is based primarily within a bio-medical rather than a holistic model, critical spiri-tual and existential issues may not be identified and incorporated into care. As noted in the article, exis