EXPLORING THE CONTOURS OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY IN CREATING COMMUNITY: A FOCUS ON PERSONS WITH PSYCHOSIS

For persons living with psychosis, religious and spiritual spaces are a readily available resource that can support recovery and community inclusion. However, these resources are often underutilized in treatment planning. This in-depth qualitative analysis explored the construction of community through faith spaces, religion, and spirituality for persons with psychosis. An ethnically and racially diverse group of 31 people with psychosis were interviewed at 3 time points over 8 months. Key supports and community members also were interviewed. A grounded theory analytic strategy revealed 3 themes: (a) creating community and increasing resilience through religion and spirituality, (b) barriers to engaging in religion and spirituality, and (c) facilitating inclusion in faith spaces. Faith spaces provided an environment in which the whole person was embraced, enabling a more coherent sense of self. These findings have implications for enhancing social capital and spiritual capital among persons with psychosis. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.