Religion and spirituality aren’t important to all patients experiencing eating disorders. However, for some, their religion and spirituality form an important part of their identity and can impact their eating disorder experience. Research suggests that most patients think that it is appropriate for healthcare providers to ask about spiritual needs, at least in some circumstances.¹ And people may not be confident to disclose their religious and spiritual beliefs to their healthcare provider even if these are relevant to their care.¹ So, you may not know unless you ask.²
Some reasons to consider whether religion and spirituality might be relevant to the people in your care include:
For some people, religion and spirituality is deeply important and identity-defining. Acknowledging this enables a more individualised, person-centred approach, which has been identified as a need in eating disorder care.³ It may also enhance the provider-patient relationship by building trust.
Existing evidence suggests that Christian faith can interact with eating disorders in both helpful and unhelpful ways.⁴ If this isn’t recognised, healthcare providers may remain unaware of an important aspect of a person’s eating disorder. They may also miss a potential resource to support recovery.
People who value their religious and spiritual beliefs may sometimes be hesitant to engage with treatment if they feel that their beliefs may not be respected, or if the treatment misaligns with their worldview. This can also influence their interpretation of care.
For example, one Christian explained that after seeing a therapist who didn’t share her faith, she needed ‘to come home and unpack’ their discussion. She gave the example of her therapist’s suggestion that truth is relative, which did not align with her worldview.
For others, the commonly used therapeutic technique of externalising the eating disorder (distinguishing between ‘the eating disorder voice’ and ‘my voice’), implied that the eating disorder is a demonic entity. Their healthcare provider likely remained unaware of this unintended interpretation.
