Medicine of the Person: Faith, Science And Values in Health Care Provision

Medicine of the Person is an international, multi-faith exploration of the demonstrable need to integrate the scientific basis of healthcare more fully with spiritual, religious and ethical values.

Informed by the principle of 'medicine of the person', the contributors argue for a medical practice which takes account of personal relationships, spirituality, ethics and theology in keeping with the ideas and beliefs of Paul Tournier, an influential Swiss general practitioner whose thinking has had a substantial impact on routine patient care relevant to national health services. Bridging the gap between the basic sciences and faith traditions, the contributors discuss notions of personhood in different faiths and its consideration in spirituality and mental health issues, general practice issues, public health, home care for the elderly and neuroscience.

This volume offers a broad spectrum of approaches to the needs of patients and is a key text for students of the health disciplines, and practitioners and managers in these fields.

John Cox is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Keele and a consultant adult psychiatrist. He is Secretary General of the World Psychiatric Association and has published widely in the field of Perinatal Mental Health from a sociocultural perspective. He was elected President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1999. Alastair V. Campbell is Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor of Medical Ethics in the Medical Faculty of the National University of Singapore. He is a former President of the International Association of Bioethics and is a member of the Medical Ethics Committee of the British Medical Association. He has published extensively in both medical ethics and pastoral theology. Bill Fulford is Professor of Philosophy and Mental Health at the University of Warwick, and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Oxford. He is the founder and editor of the first international journal for philosophy and mental health, PPP: Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology. He has published widely on philosophical and ethical aspects of mental health.