The Project for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Durham University presents its final seminar for 2017, ‘Sadness, Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul. The role of the clergy in the care of sadness and depression, and their collaboration with mental health professionals’.
The seminar will be presented by Dr Glòria Durà-Vilà, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Medical Lead for the Neurodevelopmental Pathway in Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust, and Honorary Lecturer at the Research Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London. She will be discussing the findings, published in her recent book “Sadness, Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul”, of the qualitative study she conducted amongst 57 practising Catholics in Spain: students, priests, and contemplative monks and nuns. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and ethnography their understanding of severe sadness, coping mechanisms and help-seeking behaviour were explored.
The seminar will take place on Thursday 9 November 2017 (4.30-6pm) in Seminar Room B (D/TH004), Dept. of Theology & Religion, Abbey House, DH1 3RS, Durham. Further information about the seminar can be found here.
If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to Charidimos Koutris in order to ensure that a place will be available for you.
More seminars in this series are planned for 2018 – please see the project webpage for details.