Spirituality and Beliefs Implications and Impact on Mental Illness and Psychiatric Disability

I wish to begin this paper by playing a short piece of music composed by Richard Einhorn and inspired by the life and writings of Joan of Arc. At the age of 13 in 1425 this shepherd girl from the village of Domremy in France began to hear voices. At sixteen these voices were telling her that she had been given a divine mission to reunite France. It is said that she heard the voice of God when the church bell rang. This piece is called 'The Final Walk' as she faces her execution. In 1920 nearly 500 years after her death at the hands of the church she was declared a saint.

The basis of this paper have been the musings, conversations and reading over many years of a person who has been endeavoring to explain why it is that people who have been through the experience of a mental illness provide the potential of connection with deeper parts of who we are in a way that is not commonly found. I have welcomed the writings of consumers themselves to give light to this question, some studies, and the current resurgence of discussion about the nature and need for the spiritual dimension in life. It has been unfortunate that

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Approximate Word count = 4288
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)