The concept of ‘existential’, used frequently in Scandinavian healthcare journals, is associated with various, often unclear, meanings, highlighting the need for a more accurate understanding of the concept. In this integrative review we analyse how the concept has been used in Scandinavian healthcare journals from 1984 to 2020, exploring the trajectory of the concept, its definitions and its applications. A secondary aim is to offer some clarity regarding how the concept may be used in future healthcare research and provide a definition of ‘existential’ based on our findings. Our findings show that while the concept is increasingly used, it is rarely defined, and there appears to be no consensus on the concept’s meaning. We categorise applications of the concept into five overarching themes: (1) Suffering and re-orientation, (2) Meaning and meaninglessness, (3) Existential philosophy in relation to health (4) Existential questions as approaches to care and (5) Usage and demarcation of existential, spiritual and religious concepts. Based on the findings, we propose a definition of the concept of ‘existential’ in the healthcare context. The study contributes to, and underscores advantages and limitations of, the use of the concept in healthcare research.

Poor health often motivates people to engage in religious and spiritual approaches to healing. However, there is limited research on such experiences from a northern European perspective. This article investigates healing experiences related to Christian faith and practices in Norway by thematic analysis of 25 semi-structured interviews with individuals who have experienced healing of different ailments. In so doing, healing events across diverse contexts are characterised, and the results show that such experiences not only feature practices in which other people are present in prayer, preaching, and the laying on of hands, but also spontaneous extraordinary encounters with a divine being through visions and voices. The healing events are further described as experiences of transformational, powerful touch. In light of the lived body theory, these transformational experiences can be understood as re-inscriptions of health that are manifested in the intertwined bio–psycho–social–spiritual aspects of the body.

This study provides an account of leaving a context of perceived spiritual abuse within some Pentecostal fellowships in Norway. We discuss how our 16 informants discovered the need for change and sought support to navigate challenging departure processes characterized by emotional strain. Three empirical themes emerged: (1) God’s will, as conveyed by leaders, evoked shame, (2) there were various sources of help in leaving a context of perceived spiritual abuse, and (3) the acknowledgment of vulnerability provided space for new images of God. Throughout the leaving process, many informants underwent a profound shift in their perceptions of God, marked by a heightened awareness of their vulnerability. This transformation encompassed a deep-seated desire to embrace their humanity and to accept the relevance of their thoughts and feelings. Acknowledging their own vulnerability allowed them to have more humanized images of God. Our analysis employs Kenneth Pargament’s notion of orienting systems and his theory of religious coping to elucidate how their images of God changed. The process led to a perceived sense of freedom from spiritual abuse. We understand the informants’ experiences of leaving the church and affiliated organizations as instances of deconversion through what empirically emerged as “deprogramming” processes in our material. Deprogramming involves disentangling individuals from what they perceived was conveyed and thus “programmed” by spiritual leaders. Deprogramming processes emerged as a new exploration of images of God, shame, power, and human vulnerability.

The aim of this article is to investigate the power dynamics at play in open and announced healing practices in Norway and Madagascar. The main research question is: What characterizes the power dynamics at play in healing practices in Norway and Madagascar? We analyzed empirical material by using a power theoretical approach to describe the exercise of power. Through a study in two different ecclesial and cultural contexts, we indicate the (il)legality of exercising “power over” in healing practices, how the “power from” concept can be misused to justify a “power over” attitude – but can also moderate the use of this attitude – and how crucial it is to practice a relational, mutual interdependency.