Spirituality in Guiding Clinical Practice in Mental Health Care

Dr. Elaine Drysdale is a physician who attained a BA in Psychology prior to her medical degree, and following medical school, she specialized in Psychiatry.  She is a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Drysdale has worked as a psychiatrist in various medical settings, including over 25 years as a psychiatrist to the Leukemia Bone Marrow Transplant Program in British Columbia, and to the British Columbia Cancer Agency in palliative care programs. She has given numerous lectures at both, national and international professional settings on several topics including psychiatry in cancer care, bone marrow transplantation, and near-death experiences (NDEs). Dr. Drysdale co-led a weekly supporting group of breast cancer metastatic patients for six years, helping women live fully while coping with dying. She was asked to give eulogies at many of the 35 funerals of the group members, which she considered an honor. She has had an interest in NDEs for approximately 30 years and has used these experiences in treatment of suicidal patients, as well as taught about NDEs to patient grieving families, physicians, and other health care professionals. She believes that awareness of NDE provides a hope-filled new paradigm for many patients in coping with the anxiety of a life-threatening illness.  In 2018, Dr. Drysdale talked in the Congress of the U.S. Spiritist Medical Association, in Miami and since that time she has talked at various Spiritist events.