Epilogue: Proposal for a World Psychiatric Association Consensus or Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry

In 2004, one of us (PJV) wrote a discussion paper entitled ‘Religion, spirituality and psychiatry: A field wide open for discussion and research’ [1] and in 2005, on behalf of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Section on Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry (SRSP), this was circulated amongst colleagues around the world as a basis for discussion. Amongst other groups, this paper was sent to the Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in London, United Kingdom. It was agreed by the SIG and the SRSP that there might be benefit in agreement by WPA on a shorter position paper on the same theme. In November 2006 the SIG and the SRSP agreed towork together on this important project. A position paper was duly drafted, also by one of us (CCHC), and approved by the Executive Committee of the SIG.