title: Religious and spiritual assessment of the child and adolescent.
abstract: Assessment in child and adolescent psychiatry is a complex process that involves developmental, environmental, and experiential perspectives. Recently, there has been interest in including spiritual and religious assessment in the psychiatric assessment of children, but no well-recognized guidelines for such an assessment have been established. This article proposes an approach to spiritual assessment of children and adolescents that begins with developing an understanding of the family's spiritual and religious life, followed by a developmentally informed method of observing and talking with children and adolescents about their spiritual and religious beliefs. The article concludes with a discussion of ethical issues involved when the psychiatrist addresses issues of spirituality and religion with child and adolescent patients and their families.
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Suite 313 S, Emory Briarcliff, 1256 Briarcliff Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30306, USA. ssexson@emory.edu
authors.forename: Sandra B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Sexson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D029181:Spirituality