1024-25: Beyond Psychosis: The Connection Between Spiritual Crises and Addictive Behaviors 

This presentation explores the misdiagnosis of spiritual crises as a mental illness in addiction care, highlighting the importance of proper screening and assessment. Participants will learn to differentiate between spiritual emergencies and psychosis and gain practical tools for integrating spiritual assessments into holistic care, improving patient outcomes in addiction recovery.

Presenters:  Rosemary E. Smentkowski, DNP, MSN Ed, PMHNP-BC, CARN; Queen O. Henry-Okafor, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC

Disclosures:  The APNA planners and faculty have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Off-label uses will not be discussed during this presentation.

Session Length:  2 hours

Target Audience:  RN, APRN

Learning Outcome:
Upon completion of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Identify at least three clinical indicators that differentiate spiritual crises from psychiatric disorders.

Key Takeaway(s): 

• Not all altered states are pathophysiological. Clinicians must be equipped to distinguish between spiritual emergencies and mental illness to provide care that is validating and nonjudgemental.
• Effective recovery often requires addressing spiritual connection. Recovery models that incorporate spiritual exploration, meaning-making, and integrative therapies can foster deeper, sustained healing.

Keywords:  Spiritual Emergency, Addiction, Psychosis, Holistic Care

Nursing Continuing Professional Development:
2.0 contact hours.  * In order to receive contact hours, you must: Listen to the entire presentation, complete the reflection activity, evaluation, and honor statement before the expiration date. Once all steps are successfully completed, a certificate will be generated online and available for you to print immediately. Contact hours cannot be awarded unless all required components are completed. 

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Release Date:  December 15, 2025
Access to this course will end:  December 1, 2028

*For an uninterrupted learning experience, please download and use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, etc. If you continue to experience issues, you may need to update your browser.