Christopher C H Cook
Biographic Data
| ID | 2074201 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christopher C H Cook |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christopher C H |
| FAMILY NAME | Cook |
| SIGNATURE | COOK C C H |
| AFFILIATIONS | Durham University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7700-7639 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1980 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Demon Possession, Theology, and Mental Health
Beliefs that human distress may be caused by demon possession have a long history and are very common around the world. They have been the subject of research across multiple academic disciplines and are a topic of theological as well as medical and scientific controversy. It is proposed that the theological diversity of perspectives may helpfully be represented as a spectrum of views ranging from theological realism to theological purity, with a…
The Psychological Type and Temperament Profile of Ordinands at Cranmer Hall, Durham, 2008–2016
This study explores the psychological type and temperament profile of 117 male and 80 female ordinands training at Cranmer Hall, Durham, over a nine-year period alongside earlier studies of Church of England stipendiary clergy. The data confirm the prominence of the Apollonian ( NF ) Temperament accounting for 41% of male and 54% of female ordinands. Among male ordinands there were preferences for extraversion (58%), intuition (70%), feeling (61%…
Exploring connections between prayer preferences and psychological type or temperament: Introducing the Durham Indices of Prayer Preferences (Dipps)
Building on earlier research concerned with connections between prayer preferences and psychological type or temperament, the present study focused specifically on prayer preferences associated with the orientations (extraversion and introversion) and the attitudes (judging and perceiving). Drawing on data provided by 207 Anglican and Methodist ministry training candidates this study proposed and tested the Durham Indices of Prayer Preferences (D…
Cynthia M. A. Geppert, Addiction and the Captive Will: A Colloquy Between Neuroscience and Augustine of Hippo
Hearing Spiritual Voices: Medieval Mystics, Meaning and Psychiatry
This open access book explores unusual perceptual, or perception-like, experiences. These are often meaningful to those who have them and may be sympathetically or unsympathetically interpreted by others. One interpretation, especially when voices are associated with unusual behaviour, is that they are evidence of mental disorder. Ostensibly such interpretations are sympathetic (showing concern for someone who is ill) but in practice they are use…
Spirituality and Psychiatry
Spirituality and Psychiatry addresses the crucial but often overlooked relevance of spirituality to mental well-being and psychiatric care. This updated and expanded second edition explores the nature of spirituality, its relationship to religion, and the reasons for its importance in clinical practice. Contributors discuss the prevention and management of illness, and the maintenance of recovery. Different chapters focus on the subspecialties of…
Spirituality and Psychiatry
By-Products or By Design? Considering Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind
Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind seeks to bring the theories and discoveries of the Cognitive Science of Religion to broader discussions of mental health. In doing so, the authors introduce auditory verbal hallucinations as one example of a supposed continuity between religious experiences and mental disorder. Based on up-to-date research into the phenomenological overlap between the voice-hearing experiences of those with and without…
The causes of human sexual orientation
Research on the causes of human sexual orientation has been marshaled in support of predetermined and opposing theological viewpoints. Whilst acknowledging that there is still much that is not known, the peer reviewed scientific literature clearly shows that a combination of genetic and environmental factors contribute to sexual orientation, with approximately one third of variance currently attributed to the former. Much of the known environment…
Sex, Gender and Human Identity: Science and Theology
Human identity is both shared with all other members of the species, Homo sapiens, and also, individually, something that is deeply personal and unique to each human being. Human diversity enriches our relationships with one another. For good or ill, we share collective identities that mark us out as both similar and different to others in various ways. Our relationships with one another help to define our individual identities, and are also shap…
Spirituality and mental health
In many contexts, emotional ailments have been considered problems of religious or spiritual origin. Historically, religious groups were often the primary providers of mental health care. This changed over time with advances in medicine and Freud’s writings framing religion/spirituality (R/S) as a sign of neurosis. In the early- to mid-twentieth century, mental health and R/S were often viewed by Western clinicians and patients as separate and an…
Spirituality, religion & mental health: Exploring the boundaries
The Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG) of the Royal College of Psychiatrists was established in 1999 in the historical context of increasing research and clinical interest in a more positive understanding of how psychiatry and spirituality/religion (S/R) might work together in addressing common concerns. Since then, SPSIG has made a significant contribution to clarifying the professional boundaries of S/R in psychiatry in …
Hearing spiritually significant voices: A phenomenological survey and taxonomy
Whereas previous research in the medical humanities has tended to neglect theology and religious studies, these disciplines sometimes have a very important contribution to make. The hearing of spiritually significant voices provides a case in point. The context, content and identity of these voices, all of which have typically not been seen as important in the assessment of auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVHs) within psychiatry, are key to under…
Mental health in the kingdom of God
Mental disorders are both common and disabling worldwide. They affect beliefs, emotions, identity and relationships in such a way as to impact upon the very essence of human experience. They are associated with stigma and prejudice, and they disproportionately affect those who are poor and those who belong to marginalized groups within society. Increasing attention has been given in recent years to the importance of spirituality for mental health…
Biblical and Theological Visions of Resilience: Pastoral and Clinical Insights
Spirituality and religion in psychiatry: The impact of policy
Research and debate on the importance of spirituality and religion in psychiatry has led to a number of national and international policy initiatives, intended to clarify the boundaries of good practice and improve the way in which such matters are managed for the benefit of patients. Significant amongst these is the 2015 position statement of the World Psychiatric Association, the only such policy statement to date which has been internationally…
WPA Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry
The WPA and the World Health Organization (WHO) have worked hard to assure that comprehensive mental health promotion and care are scientifically based and, at the same time, compassionate and culturally sensitive1, 2. In recent decades, there has been increasing public and academic awareness of the relevance of spirituality and religion to health issues. Systematic reviews of the academic literature have identified more than 3,000 empirical stud…
Perceptions of Physiotherapists in Relation to Spiritual Care
Few studies have examined the perceptions of health professionals towards spiritual care in the UK despite recent policies from the National Health Service (NHS) surrounding spiritual care provision. To the authors’ knowledge, no studies have examined the perceptions of physiotherapists either in the UK or worldwide. The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of Scottish physiotherapists in relation to spirituality and spiritual care in…
The Lived Experience of Dementia: Developing a Contextual Theology
A variety of themes are explored as the basis for developing a contextual theology of dementia. These include impairment, loss, dislocation, isolation, decline, and death. These themes represent immanent human concerns with various kinds of experiences of “self-emptying.” It is suggested that dementia presents a kind of “malaise of immanence,” within which there is progressive inability to focus on abstract transcendent concerns, and increasing p…
God put a thought into my mind: The charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God
The agentive aspects of communicative religious experiences remain somewhat neglected in the social sciences literature. There is a need for phenomenological descriptions of these experiences and the ways in which they differ from culturally defined psychopathological states. In this semi-structured interview study, eight congregants attending an evangelical church in London were asked to describe their experiences of God communicating with them.…
Religious psychopathology: The prevalence of religious content of delusions and hallucinations in mental disorder
BACKGROUND: Religious themes are commonly encountered in delusions and hallucinations associated with major mental disorders, and the form and content of presentation are significant in relation to both diagnosis and management. AIMS: This study aimed to establish what is known about the frequency of occurrence of religious delusions (RD) and religious hallucinations (RH) and their inter-relationship. METHODS: A review was undertaken of the quant…
Keynote 4: Spirituality and Health
In a fragmented world, which lacks coherent and integrated ways of understanding spirituality and health, there is nonetheless a growing research evidence base which supports the importance of spirituality and religion as variables of interest in the aetiology and treatment of a wide range of health-related conditions and disorders. Controversies concerning the interpretation and application of this evidence base easily polarize around immanent a…
The psychology of spirituality: An introduction, by Larry Culliford
The psychology of spirituality: an introduction, by Larry Culliford, London, Jessica Kingsley, 2010, 256 pp., £14.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-1849050043 Spirituality has become an increasingly importa
Spirituality and secularity: Professional boundaries in psychiatry
Spirituality is assuming increasing importance in clinical practice and in research in psychiatry. This increasing salience of spirituality raises important questions about the boundaries of good professional practice. Answers to these questions require not only careful attention to defining and understanding the nature of spirituality, but also closer attention to the nature of concepts of secularity and self than psychiatry has usually given. F…
The faith of the psychiatrist
Research suggests that spirituality and religion are significant variables contributing to mental well-being and that they can also play an important part in the treatment of mental disorders. The present paper reviews studies which show that psychiatrists are less likely than their patients to report religious affiliation. While mental health service users report that they wish spirituality to be addressed during their treatment, psychiatrists a…
Hearing spiritually significant voices: A phenomenological survey and taxonomy
Whereas previous research in the medical humanities has tended to neglect theology and religious studies, these disciplines sometimes have a very important contribution to make. The hearing of spiritually significant voices provides a case in point. The context, content and identity of these voices, all of which have typically not been seen as important in the assessment of auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVHs) within psychiatry, are key to under…
Population and the Towns
The role of Christian commitment in predicting drug use amongst church affiliated young people
This research set out to establish which of four statements reflecting Christian commitment ('usually go to church on Sunday', 'have given my life to Jesus', 'read the Bible every week' and 'pray most days') were the most important predictors of never having smoked, drunk alcohol or tried drugs amongst a group of church affiliated young people. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 7661 participants aged 12-30. Agreement with the Christian…
William James' Varieties of Religious Experience and Jungian Varieties of Human Nature: The nature of the relationship between religious experience, belief and psychological type
In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience , William James pro posed that the varieties of religious experience and belief are dependent upon the varieties of human nature and human circumstances. In theory, these varieties are diverse. In practice, most of James' examples were from the western religious traditions. Furthermore, he employed a broad and complex understanding of religious experience, and focused primarily upon a restrictive …
Addiction and spirituality
Background Spirituality is a topic of increasing interest to clinicians and researchers interested in addiction. Aims To clarify the way(s) in which the concept of spirituality is understood and employed in practice by clinicians and researchers who publish papers on addiction and spirituality, and to develop a definition or description of spirituality which might receive widespread assent within the field. Design A descriptive study of 265 publi…
Psychiatry and mysticism
Psychiatry and mysticism are both concerned with human experience. Psychiatry is concerned with disorders of experience. Mysticism is concerned with that dimension of human experience which brings the individual into contact with transcendent reality in a particularly direct, unmediated and intimate way. Mystical experience may easily be misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorder. Even where a psychiatric disorder is appropriately diagnosed, there may …
Spirituality and secularity: Professional boundaries in psychiatry
Spirituality is assuming increasing importance in clinical practice and in research in psychiatry. This increasing salience of spirituality raises important questions about the boundaries of good professional practice. Answers to these questions require not only careful attention to defining and understanding the nature of spirituality, but also closer attention to the nature of concepts of secularity and self than psychiatry has usually given. F…
The faith of the psychiatrist
Research suggests that spirituality and religion are significant variables contributing to mental well-being and that they can also play an important part in the treatment of mental disorders. The present paper reviews studies which show that psychiatrists are less likely than their patients to report religious affiliation. While mental health service users report that they wish spirituality to be addressed during their treatment, psychiatrists a…
Keynote 4: Spirituality and Health
In a fragmented world, which lacks coherent and integrated ways of understanding spirituality and health, there is nonetheless a growing research evidence base which supports the importance of spirituality and religion as variables of interest in the aetiology and treatment of a wide range of health-related conditions and disorders. Controversies concerning the interpretation and application of this evidence base easily polarize around immanent a…
The psychology of spirituality: An introduction, by Larry Culliford
The psychology of spirituality: an introduction, by Larry Culliford, London, Jessica Kingsley, 2010, 256 pp., £14.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-1849050043 Spirituality has become an increasingly importa
God put a thought into my mind: The charismatic Christian experience of receiving communications from God
The agentive aspects of communicative religious experiences remain somewhat neglected in the social sciences literature. There is a need for phenomenological descriptions of these experiences and the ways in which they differ from culturally defined psychopathological states. In this semi-structured interview study, eight congregants attending an evangelical church in London were asked to describe their experiences of God communicating with them.…
Religious psychopathology: The prevalence of religious content of delusions and hallucinations in mental disorder
BACKGROUND: Religious themes are commonly encountered in delusions and hallucinations associated with major mental disorders, and the form and content of presentation are significant in relation to both diagnosis and management. AIMS: This study aimed to establish what is known about the frequency of occurrence of religious delusions (RD) and religious hallucinations (RH) and their inter-relationship. METHODS: A review was undertaken of the quant…
WPA Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry
The WPA and the World Health Organization (WHO) have worked hard to assure that comprehensive mental health promotion and care are scientifically based and, at the same time, compassionate and culturally sensitive1, 2. In recent decades, there has been increasing public and academic awareness of the relevance of spirituality and religion to health issues. Systematic reviews of the academic literature have identified more than 3,000 empirical stud…
Perceptions of Physiotherapists in Relation to Spiritual Care
Few studies have examined the perceptions of health professionals towards spiritual care in the UK despite recent policies from the National Health Service (NHS) surrounding spiritual care provision. To the authors’ knowledge, no studies have examined the perceptions of physiotherapists either in the UK or worldwide. The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of Scottish physiotherapists in relation to spirituality and spiritual care in…
The Lived Experience of Dementia: Developing a Contextual Theology
A variety of themes are explored as the basis for developing a contextual theology of dementia. These include impairment, loss, dislocation, isolation, decline, and death. These themes represent immanent human concerns with various kinds of experiences of “self-emptying.” It is suggested that dementia presents a kind of “malaise of immanence,” within which there is progressive inability to focus on abstract transcendent concerns, and increasing p…
Spirituality and religion in psychiatry: The impact of policy
Research and debate on the importance of spirituality and religion in psychiatry has led to a number of national and international policy initiatives, intended to clarify the boundaries of good practice and improve the way in which such matters are managed for the benefit of patients. Significant amongst these is the 2015 position statement of the World Psychiatric Association, the only such policy statement to date which has been internationally…
Biblical and Theological Visions of Resilience: Pastoral and Clinical Insights
Spirituality and mental health
In many contexts, emotional ailments have been considered problems of religious or spiritual origin. Historically, religious groups were often the primary providers of mental health care. This changed over time with advances in medicine and Freud’s writings framing religion/spirituality (R/S) as a sign of neurosis. In the early- to mid-twentieth century, mental health and R/S were often viewed by Western clinicians and patients as separate and an…
Spirituality, religion & mental health: Exploring the boundaries
The Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG) of the Royal College of Psychiatrists was established in 1999 in the historical context of increasing research and clinical interest in a more positive understanding of how psychiatry and spirituality/religion (S/R) might work together in addressing common concerns. Since then, SPSIG has made a significant contribution to clarifying the professional boundaries of S/R in psychiatry in …
Hearing spiritually significant voices: A phenomenological survey and taxonomy
Whereas previous research in the medical humanities has tended to neglect theology and religious studies, these disciplines sometimes have a very important contribution to make. The hearing of spiritually significant voices provides a case in point. The context, content and identity of these voices, all of which have typically not been seen as important in the assessment of auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVHs) within psychiatry, are key to under…
Mental health in the kingdom of God
Mental disorders are both common and disabling worldwide. They affect beliefs, emotions, identity and relationships in such a way as to impact upon the very essence of human experience. They are associated with stigma and prejudice, and they disproportionately affect those who are poor and those who belong to marginalized groups within society. Increasing attention has been given in recent years to the importance of spirituality for mental health…
By-Products or By Design? Considering Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind
Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind seeks to bring the theories and discoveries of the Cognitive Science of Religion to broader discussions of mental health. In doing so, the authors introduce auditory verbal hallucinations as one example of a supposed continuity between religious experiences and mental disorder. Based on up-to-date research into the phenomenological overlap between the voice-hearing experiences of those with and without…
The causes of human sexual orientation
Research on the causes of human sexual orientation has been marshaled in support of predetermined and opposing theological viewpoints. Whilst acknowledging that there is still much that is not known, the peer reviewed scientific literature clearly shows that a combination of genetic and environmental factors contribute to sexual orientation, with approximately one third of variance currently attributed to the former. Much of the known environment…
Sex, Gender and Human Identity: Science and Theology
Human identity is both shared with all other members of the species, Homo sapiens, and also, individually, something that is deeply personal and unique to each human being. Human diversity enriches our relationships with one another. For good or ill, we share collective identities that mark us out as both similar and different to others in various ways. Our relationships with one another help to define our individual identities, and are also shap…
Spirituality and Psychiatry
Spirituality and Psychiatry addresses the crucial but often overlooked relevance of spirituality to mental well-being and psychiatric care. This updated and expanded second edition explores the nature of spirituality, its relationship to religion, and the reasons for its importance in clinical practice. Contributors discuss the prevention and management of illness, and the maintenance of recovery. Different chapters focus on the subspecialties of…
Spirituality and Psychiatry
Psychology (25 works) · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology (23 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Philosophy (13 works) · Psychiatry (13 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Spirituality (12 works) · Alternative medicine (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Epistemology (10 works)