Date of Award

Spring 4-22-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Expressive Therapies

First Advisor

Nicholas Suchecki

Abstract

Spiritual and non-ordinary experiences such as clear-hearing, visions, and spiritual perception are frequently interpreted within Western mental health systems through diagnostic frameworks rooted in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). For Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), these interpretations may overlook cultural, spiritual, and ancestral contexts in which such experiences hold meaning rather than indicate pathology. This literature review examines how DSM-5 frameworks conceptualize spiritual experiences in BIPOC communities and explores assessment practices that may reduce the risk of misdiagnosis.

A literature review methodology was employed, drawing on sixteen peer-reviewed articles representing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches across psychology, psychiatry, cultural studies, and expressive therapies. The analysis identified themes related to cultural meaning-making, racialized diagnostic disparities, cross-cultural interpretations of voice-hearing and visionary experiences, and critiques of DSM-based assessment models. Findings suggest that assessment of practices lacking cultural and spiritual inquiry may contribute to diagnostic bias, whereas culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches support more accurate clinical discernment. Implications for assessment processes and referral practices are discussed.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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