Religious issues in psychotherapy

Religious belief is important to a large proportion of our population. It has been found to be a potent neutralizer of death anxiety. Religion and psychotherapy shave values relating to self-actualization. It is the responsibility of psychotherapists to be aware of their own ambivalences and biases; to assess the significance of religious belief in the lives of their clients; to clarify conflicting views and values of client and therapist; to treat the client's psychodynamic problems; and respectfully to refer spiritual problems outside the domain of psychotherapy to the client's minister. An illustrative example from the author's practice is included.Based in part on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the California State Psychological Association, San Francisco, California, February 4, 1983. Dr. Sacks is Associate Dean Emeritus California School of Professional Psychology, Fresno. He has been in the private practice of psychotherapy for more than 30 years.     

Humanistic psychotherapy assumptions and christian counseling

This article examines eight assertions about the nature of humanistic psychotherapy which may be congenial with certain broad assertions or emphases of the Christian tradition (and, thus, Christian counseling). The humanistic assertions are that the focus of psychotherapy should be on the client's immediate experiencing which provides trustworthy self-knowledge, that freedom is real, that the proper therapist role is that of facilitator, that new ways of client thinking and acting are to be encouraged, that the body must receive therapeutic attention, and that honest mutual communication is critical. Christian emphases for which these are relevant include Old and New Testament understandings of the inner experience of God, the ongoing creative activity of God, individual responsibility before God, the unity of the individual, and how healing takes place.Past President of the American Psychological Association's Division of Humanistic Psychology. Except for minor revisions, this article was originally presented at the International Congress on Christian Counseling in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1988. Appreciation for help in its preparation goes to G. Clarke Chapman, Quentin L. Hand, Richard Kahoe, Mary Jo Meadow, Edward P. Shafranske, Orlo Strunk, and Beverly J. Tisdale.     

Inherent moral practice in group psychotherapy

The large amount and variety of group psychotherapy practiced today enjoins us to determine its morality, that is, its rightness or wrongness. In this essay group therapy and morality are briefly defined. Using the writings of both philosophers and psychologists, evidence of morality is sought in the intentions and actions of both the patients and therapist and in the group process itself. Paying attention to "personal valuative acts," which are moral in nature and in outcome, group psychotherapy results in the good of the patient, of the therapist, and of the art or practice of group psychotherapy itself.     

Developmental issues in psychotherapy research

Research on psychosocial interventions with children requires attention to developmental principles such as age-specific competence, maturational shifts, increasing cone of relevant contacts, and socioeconomic context of biological stages. Research strategies that include such variables should lead to ecologically sound investigations and the correct selection of outcome variables. A consideration of the specificity of treatment and controlled design alone are not sufficient to guide the study of the psychological treatment of developing organisms and persons.     

Existential issues in group psychotherapy

Existential issues in group psychotherapy derive from existential thought both as a philosophy and as a value system. Its origins derive from the weakening of traditional values and the growing alienation of man from himself. The unique features of existentialism can be applied to all forms of therapy. These features are universal to humankind. They are finiteness, aloneness, guilt, responsibility, and freedom. In including existential concerns as part of group psychotherapy, therapist and patients move more closely to bilateral relationships and subjective interactions.     

Religious belief,values, and psychotherapy

Conclusion Conflicts between religious values, personal needs, and the demands of society are inevitable in the lives of all. The healthy person is able to resolve these conflicts, or he learns to live with them. The unhealthy person incorporates them into his neurotic personality. They can become such as to block all progress in therapy. Unless they are handled in some direct fashion, the patient may never attain that inner freedom needed to reorient his distorted values and ideals. In some cases, therefore, the therapist may be forced to take an open approach to religious and moral values, even if this means influencing the patient's values in the direction of the therapist's value system.     

Writing as an aid in pastoral counseling and psychotherapy

Summary A method of spontaneous note-writing has been presented. When the material is handled like any verbal associations in a therapeutic session, this technique has been especially helpful with the majority of patients in facilitating free association, overcoming resistance, gaining access to deep material more quickly, working through the positive and negative phases of the transference and promoting insight. It helps patients to expose themselves earlier in treatment, to express their conscious thoughts, and to furnish material for discussion. It is a form of mental catharsis.This technique aids in showing the progress, trends, and method of therapy, and to observe the needs and strivings of the patient. In a few instances, due to particular problems, the method was not advantageous. It means additional work for both therapist and patient. It cannot take the place of spontaneous verbalization in the therapeutic session; however, it can aid both patient and therapist in facilitating treatment, and provides another adjunct to the procedural psychotherapy.     

Ethical and legal issues in group counseling

Legal and ethical issues involved in group work are reviewed and discussed. Variations in different professional ethics codes are discussed. Recommendations for consideration by group leaders are made.