(You gotta have) faith.

OBJECTIVE

The modern scientific tendency to disavow the relevance of faith is questioned, particularly in relation to psychiatric practice. An experience-near approach to psychiatric practice, inclusive of human values such as faith, is highlighted.

METHOD

Drawing upon the philosophical work of Jaspers and the developmental psychology of Stern, a model is built up of the flow of lived experience that relies to a large extent on what can be 'taken on faith' rather than 'known about'. An argument is presented that from this standpoint of 'lived reality', the separation of fact and value inherent in modern scientific thought is not valid.

CONCLUSIONS

It is found that lived experience is infused with faith in three senses: that of faith-in-oneself, that of faith-in-the-other; and that of transcendent faith. Each of these is shown to be relevant to praxis in psychiatry. Failure to include faith in psychiatric thinking may lead to a distancing of the discipline from the level of everyday experience.