| Sumario: | Despite evidence of the mental health benefits of religious/spiritual practices, it remains unclear how they support mental health within religions, and whether these practices can or should be used outside the context of religions. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of five people from different locations of the world, who were highly experienced practitioners of religious/spiritual practices within the relevant religious contexts. Using reflexive thematic analysis, two overarching themes were identified: (1) Mental well-being through engaging in religious/spiritual practices; and (2) Religious/spiritual practices as mental health interventions. Within a religion, religious/spiritual practices support mental health through both religious and physical pathways. When used outside the religion, practitioners may not benefit from the religious aspects of these religious/spiritual practices but may still benefit from the physical aspects. While generally positive about using religious/spiritual practices as mental health interventions, participants suggested interventions should be provided by trained professionals, and only if acceptable to recipients.
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