Inquiry into the understanding and applications of DSM-IV category Religious or Spiritual Problem, V-Code 62.89 by American Psychological Association (APA) psychologists

The study examined whether and how psychological professionals are using DSM-IV category Religious or Spiritual Problem, V-Code 62.89, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) in their work with clients. A Clinical Experience Inquiry was designed for this study to examine education and training about, and understanding and application of V-Code 62.89 by the participants. Results were encoded using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for quantitative data analysis and semi-qualitative content analysis. It revealed that V62.89 is not being used in relation to spiritual emergence issues as the authors intended. Few clinicians are educated or trained to view spiritual transformation as a viable human condition. Respondents used V62.89 primarily to identify issues related to loss of faith, and in faith-based settings. The study suggests extensive modification of the definition for V62.89 prior to its inclusion in the DSM-IV (1994) may have diminished its effectiveness in practical application. It also suggests that spiritual emergence processes are being overlooked or misidentified by psychologists, as Axis I or Axis II disorders are most often used in diagnoses by practitioners (60.4%) without consideration of the psychospiritual development of the client. Some psychologists were not familiar with V62.89, having had no training or exposure to it. Others did not use V-Codes because they were viewed as being pathologically weighted. Still others did not use V-Codes because they diagnosed only for insurance purposes. Even among those respondents (11%) who purported to use V62.89 in their diagnosis, the fact that V-Codes are not billable to insurance companies hindered their use. Results suggest the need to allow for multiple or codiagnoses, as well as education and training to change the paradigm of psychologists to view spiritual emergence as a viable human developmental process to be addressed in psychological settings.*.;*This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Adobe Acrobat.