ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the meaning of spiritual health and looked particularly at the extremes of life–old age and childhood. It focuses on the importance of considering the spiritual dimension in mental illness and illustrates how this incorporation may be crucial to promoting healing in homeopathic medicine. In ancient times in many traditions, medicine was considered a gift of the Divine. In Egypt, Bast the cat deity was thought to confer health and happiness. Over centuries, the spiritual dimension in medicine diminished in importance. The spiritual dimension of a person is like a beverage that has different characteristics. It might resemble the bubbly effervescence of a carbonated drink or the mellow velvet of a long matured glass of wine. People who work with children need to recognise that sometimes it may be important and appropriate to focus on religion and the spiritual dimension. Psychiatrists are increasingly recognising the importance of acknowledging and encompassing the spiritual dimension of their patients.
