Religious doctors use psychiatrists less

CHICAGO, Ill., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A survey of religious beliefs of U.S. doctors found that religious physicians, especially Protestants, are less likely to refer patients to psychiatrists.

The study, published in Psychiatric Services, also found psychiatry to be the least religious of all the specialties.

"Something about psychiatry, perhaps its historical ties to psychoanalysis and the anti-religious views of the early analysts such as Sigmund Freud, seems to dissuade religious medical students from choosing to specialize in this field," study author Dr. Farr Curlin, of the University of Chicago, said in a statement. "It also seems to discourage religious physicians from referring their patients to psychiatrists."

Among the more than 1,000 physicians that responded to Curlin's survey, 39 percent were Protestant, 22 percent were Roman Catholic, 13 percent were Jewish and 10 percent listed "none" for religion. However, among psychiatrists, 27 percent were Protestant, 10 percent were Catholic, 29 percent were Jewish and 17 percent were "none."

When asked to whom they would refer a grieving patient, 56 percent of physicians indicated a psychiatrist or psychologist, 25 percent a clergy member or a religious counselor, 7 percent to a healthcare chaplain and 12 percent to someone else.