Abstract
In an ever increasing secular and pluralist society, it can be easy to dismiss religion as irrelevant or outdated, particularly in Western societies. However, it is notable that religion remains to be a prevalent part of people’s lives and culture as a whole. This thesis sought to discover the influence that religiosity can have on clinical practice and well-being. Part A of this portfolio presents an empirical paper that utilised Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to gain an insight on the experiences of disclosing faith in the workplace for six evangelical Christian psychologists. The findings illuminated the centrality of their faith, and the impossibility of separating it from their professional identity. Psychologists engaged in both implicit and explicit religious self-disclosure which allowed them to integrate their faith within the remit of their role, in spite of the challenges they encountered. As holding religious identity was seen as an asset by the participants, suggestions were made on how to develop religious staff members’ confidence to “bring their whole self to work”, particularly in NHS settings. </p><p class="ql-align-justify"></p><p class="ql-align-justify">Part B of this portfolio presents a systematic literature review that utilised thematic synthesis to analyse qualitative research on the experiences of religious mental healthcare professionals. The findings build on the previous study and also drew attention to the inseparability of religious identity and values from professional work. The review highlighted the value of religion in participants’ personal and professional lives, and the opportunities this afforded them, along with the challenges that they faced in the workplace.As such, implications for the well-being of religiously-affiliated professionals were highlighted and recommendations were made as to how they might be supported to manage this.