Sadness, Depression, and the Dark Night of the Soul

This ground-breaking book contemplates how some religious individuals and communities conceptualise severe sadness and emotional distress, which might otherwise be described as pathological, as an essential ingredient for spiritual development. It explores the implications this may have for clergy and psychiatrists seeking to understand sadness.

Acknowledgments. Foreword. Preface. Part I. Setting the literary and historical contexts. 1. Depression and the medicalization of sadness: conceptualisation and help-seeking. 2. The role of the clergy in the management of sadness and depression, and their collaboration with mental health professionals. 3. Sketches on the Catholic Church and monasticism. Part II. Unfolding the narratives of sadness and spiritual growth. 4. The participants and their ways of life. 5. Conceptualisation of sadness, depression and the Dark Night of the Soul. 6. Coping and help-seeking for sadness and depression. 7. The role of the clergy in the care of sadness and depression, and their collaboration with mental health professionals. Part III. Stepping beyond the monastries' and parishes' walls. 8. The medicalization of sadness and the Dark Night of the Soul. 9. Religious coping with sadness and depression. 10. The clergy's role in assisting those suffering from sadness and depression. 11. A framework to differentiate normal sadness from depression. References. Appendix 1. Ethical Considerations. Appendix 2. Limitations of the study. Appendix 3. Finding the questions to get the answers. Appendix 4. List of tables and figures. Appendix 5. Summary of findings: main themes and sub-themes extracted from the participants' interviews.