Exploring prayer as a spiritual modality.

BACKGROUND

What does it mean to focus on the spiritual in occupational therapy? What interventions would qualify as spiritual modalities? This paper attempts to define the boundaries of what may be considered legitimate uses of spirituality in occupational therapy by using the example of prayer.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this paper was to provide an in-depth analysis of the use of prayer in practice.

METHOD

Medical and allied health journals were searched using the terms spirituality, spirit, religion, and prayer. Identified articles were synthesized to identify potential advantages and disadvantages of using prayer in therapy.

FINDINGS

Prayer can be considered an appropriate occupational therapy intervention so long as four questions can be answered positively.

IMPLICATIONS

To answer these questions, guidelines are provided that will lead the therapist through a decision making process to determine the appropriateness of incorporating prayer into any clinical situation.