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Mental health professionals discussing spiritual care for psychiatric outpatients: a qualitative study of multidisciplinary meetings

Abstract Aim: To explore how mental health professionals address spiritual care for outpatients in weekly multidisciplinary care meetings (MDM), and to explore the barriers and facilitators in the ways health professionals address spiritual care in those meetings. Method: Two teams of mental health professionals providing care for psychiatric outpatients are included. Qualitative data were collected from audio recordings of multidisciplinary meetings and from focus-group interviews afterwards. Data were analysed using ‘open coding’. Results: Spiritual care was not frequently addressed mostly due to the requirements of the health insurance reimbursement system. Aspects of spirituality addressed in these meetings pertained mainly to meaningful daily activities. Addressing spiritual care was facilitated, on the other hand, by a holistic focus on health and recovery-oriented care. Conclusion: In ambulatory mental healthcare spirituality is sparsely addressed and, when addressed, few aspects of spirituality come into view. Facilitating healthcare professionals’ awareness of their clinical perspective is an essential step to improve spiritual care for psychiatric outpatients.