On Spirituality

Thank you for sharing the contributions of Drs. James Griffith, Christine Puchalski, and Francis Lu in the June 18 article “Psychiatrists Urge More Direct Focus on Patients' Spirituality” based on a presentation they gave at APA's 2004 annual meeting.

While aware of the various caveats on diagnosis and transference cited in the article, I was particularly taken with Dr. Puchalski's point that “a willingness to elicit and address spiritual concerns is `essential,' not optional.” I also thought the acronym FICA (Faith, Importance, Community, and Address in Care) is a good way to get started on this important part of the “mental status” exam under “integrative processes,” not “part processes,” as stated by Dr. Karl Menninger in the Manual for Psychiatric Case Study, published by Grune and Stratton in 1962.