(YOU GOTTA HAVE) FAITH

Objective: The modern scientific tendency to disavow the relevance of faith is questioned, particularly in relation to psychiatric practice. An experience-near approach to psychiatric practice, inclusive of hum an values such as faith, is highlighted. Method: Drawing upon the phil osophical work of Jaspers and the developmental psychology of Stern, a model is built up of the flow of lived experience that relies to a la rge extent on what can be 'taken on faith' rather than 'known about'. An argument is presented that from this standpoint of 'lived reality', the separation of fact and value inherent in modern scientific though t is not valid. Conclusions: It is found that lived experience is infu sed with faith in three senses: that of faith-in-oneself, that of fait h-in-the-other; and that of transcendent faith. Each of these is shown to be relevant to praxis in psychiatry. Failure to include faith in p sychiatric thinking may lead to a distancing of the discipline from th e level of everyday experience.