Healing and Psychotherapy: The Pentecostal Tradition

This paper explores the practice of healing in the Pentecostal movement. The practice of healing has a long tradition in Pentecostal practice. The meaning of divine healing and what could be components of a theology of healing are examined. It is important for pastoral counselors, pastors, and chaplains to be aware of the importance of divine healing for Pentecostal clients.     

Psychology in Indian Tradition

In the Indian tradition, psychology is the study of the person (jiva). The person is a composite of consciousness, mind and body, a unique blend of thought, passion and action. Consciousness is perceived as changeless and the permanent base of all knowledge and awareness. Mind is the interfacing instrumentality, a necessary link between consciousness and the body. The body is the physical base, and the frame that constrains and moulds consciousness reflected in the mind of the person. The person, in the existential condition, is seen as conditioned, her consciousness is clouded and consequently unable to know the truth and realize her full potential. This is considered to be a state of ignorance and suffering that needs to be overcome. The goal of Indian Psychology is to understand the human condition and to explore ways to elevate it to higher levels of being, to clear the clouds of ignorance, and to enable the person to attain a state of bliss where the truth is known and the person becomes perfect. Three ways of achieving such a state are suggested: work (karma marga), worship (bhakti marga), and wisdom (jnana marga), which appear to cater to the three basic aspects of the mind: volition, emotion and cognition. In essence, each of these is a distinct way of deconstructing the ego, which is believed to be the main obstacle to transcending existential limitations. The applications of IP include (1) holistic understanding of human nature, (2) exploring the extended spectrum of the human condition, (3) exploiting the hidden potentials for the common good, and (4) cultivating altruism in the person and conflict-free conditions in society.     

Some Developmental Aspects of Primary Process Manifestations in the Rorschach

A group of 27 male subjects were administered the Rorschach at ages 14 and 24. The protocols were scored for the main categories of the Holt Primary Process scoring system. A comparison of the two age groups indicates that at age 24 there is a decrease in the percentage of primary process responses and an increase in “adaptive regression.” Individual differences for all the primary process scoring categories remained highly consistent for the 10-year period spanned by the data. Adaptive regression was found to be significantly correlated with IQ, field independence (RFT), and Rorschach ratings of intellectualization at both ages. The results were viewed as suggesting that primary process manifestations on the Rorschach seem to be mediated by stable aspects of an individual's cognitive abilities and cognitive style.     

Empathy in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Present status and future directions

This paper considers the current status of the construct of empathy and the methodological difficulties experienced in researching empathy arising from the assumptions inherent in the ‘drug metaphor’. This paradigm assumes therapy to comprise active ingredients delivered by the therapist. Four areas of current concern are reviewed along a range from theory to appropriate research methodologies, and it is argued that the current demise of productive research is a function of both conceptual confusion and inappropriate research paradigms and methodological procedures. Accordingly, it is argued that empathy research requires conceptual clarity and comprehensiveness. A more collaborative research enterprise adopting the events paradigm in which a multidimensional approach to empathy is pursued in the context of additional components is recommended. The future of empathy in counselling and psychotherapy is reviewed according to the relation between theory and research in the area of the therapeutic bond, and between research and practice adopting the scientist-practitioner model.     

Book Review of Empathy in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Perspectives and Practices

Book reviewed in this article: Empathy in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Perspectives and Practices by Arthur J. Clark, 2007     

Leading and Learning in the Psychotherapy Supervision Seminar: Some Thoughts on the Beginnings of Supervisor Development

Supervisor development theories typically give focus to growth of the supervisor via practice. But in what ways does the foundational psychotherapy supervision seminar stimulate and first set in motion the supervisor development process? That question is subsequently considered. Based on personal experience in training supervisors via seminars and ongoing reflection about that learning process, five seminar-induced themes that potentially reflect beginning tensions of supervisor development are proposed, and their seeming evolution over the course of the supervision seminar is considered. Points that are raised include the following: (a) the supervision seminar is the first, primary stimulus of supervisor development and sets the stage for later growth via practice; (b) early themes that are identified in supervisor development theories also make appearance in the supervision seminar experience; (c) to best understand the full arc of supervisor development, the seminar as both developmental initiator and intervention preparedness foundation merits more careful scrutiny; and (d) through more completely understanding the seminar as instigator of supervisor development, supervisor educators might be better positioned to develop seminars that most constructively affect the very beginnings of the supervisor development process.     

Indian Perspective on Psychotherapy: Cultural Issues

India is in a state of transition between massively transformed ‘modern’ lifestyles on one hand and the influence of traditional values and customs on the other. In view of the current realities of urbanization, migration, globalisation and societal transformation, the mental health treatment needs have become complex. The article highlights the existing mental health issues and traces the development of various psychotherapeutic techniques in India. An effort has been made to look into the basic tenets of the Indian culture which have a bearing on the conceptualisation and practical application of psychotherapy in the Indian setting. The cross-cultural relevance and adaptability of western psychotherapies in multi-ethnic and collectivistic Asian culture are discussed. In view of the differences between the eastern and western approaches to mental health, challenges in culturally-responsive adaptations are highlighted. It is seen that psychological interventions among masses are beneficial if indigenous approaches based on paradigms like themes from Gita, are cross-fertilized with western psychotherapy. However, there is a need to generate empirical evidence for indigenization of psychological treatments.     

Neither East nor West: Some Aspects of Religion and Ritual in the Indian Army of the Raj

This article examines the conversion of the Royal Pavilion estate, Brighton, Sussex, into a military hospital for Indian casualties of the Great War (1914 –1918) in order to suggest how the religious beliefs and practices of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers were provided for in the Indian Army of the Raj. The military hospital not only made arrangements for worship but also for the observance of caste rules and the performance of funeral rites. These arrangements are discussed with reference to the series ofHandbooks for the Indian Armyand to other contemporary sources. Furthermore, this article locates the Indian Army in the context of imperial ideology both in terms of the concept of the ‘martial classes ’ and the brotherhood of all soldiers of the Empire.     

Empathy: An Integral Model in the Counseling Process

Expanding on a framework introduced by Carl Rogers, an integral model of empathy in counseling uses empathic understanding through 3 ways of knowing: Subjective empathy enables a counselor to momentarily experience what it is like to be a client, interpersonal empathy relates to understanding a client's phenomenological experiencing, and objective empathy uses reputable knowledge sources outside of a client's frame of reference. Across the counseling process, empathy is integral to treatment strategies and interventions.     

工匠传统在心理治疗(咨询)中的复兴

作者站在科学史的高度,分析了学者传统对心理咨询的方向性误导。从精神分析、行为主义,以至人本主义,心理治疗显示朝向整体论的倾向。但此种倾向被作为科学时代范式的学者传统所阻碍。心理治疗仍专注于根本原因,而忽视效果;专注于学派提供的片面视野,而忽视解决问题的完整过程;重于知而轻于行。伊根博士的模式提供了真正整体论的．能将各种视野,方法有效组织起来的心理咨询路线图,它能将知行整合、创造心理咨询最大成效。推动了心理咨询方法论根本转变。     

Erotic Motherhood and the Ideal Son: Mythology as Psychotherapy in the Krishna-Bhakti Tradition

Through the lenses of D.W. Winnicott’s theory of development and Sudhir Kakar’s theory that the flux between fusion with and separation from Krishna in the Krishna-bhakti tradition is a reflection of the early childhood relational dynamics of mother and son, I will argue that the mythology of Krishna found in the Bhagavata Purana Book X implements the traditional Hindu notion of moksha but reshapes it in a uniquely psychologically adaptive way. In an attempt to meet the psychological needs of sons and mothers, the mythology of this text maintains a theme of fluctuation between fusion and separation between the gopis who function as mother figures and Krishna, the ideal son. Through the thematic focus on the flux between the gopis’ fusion with and separation from Krishna, the text embodies the Hindu soteriological concept of moksha as well as plays out the cultural relationship between mother and son.     

Special Aspects of Countertransference in Analytic Group Psychotherapy

The structure of health care delivery is in a period of rapid change. An understanding of psychotherapy service use patterns indicates the importance of time categories as well as the relevance of group techniques. Traditional interpersonal and psychodynamic group techniques may be modified for time-limited use without sacrificing basic values and with demonstrated effectiveness. Adapting to a more fiscally stringent practice environment requires the clinician to undertake a difficult process of transition. As professionals our task is to prepare ourselves for this challenge and to let the health care system know that proper practice guidelines are necessary to achieve effective treatment for our patients.     

Psychological Aspects of Genetic Counseling: XIII. Empathy and Decency

The issues confronting genetic counselees, the demands of the new genetics and other factors suggest strongly the need for greater attention to counseling procedures which convey understanding of clients and help them feel more hopeful and more capable of dealing with their life problems. This should include interventions to help them feel more effective in their coping efforts as well as such ego-bolstering techniques as the expression of kindness, the provision of appropriate rewards, and other attempts to raise the client's self-esteem. These attempts should be a standard part of all genetic counseling. The traditional arguments of potential harm and time limitations often used to avoid counseling efforts are viewed through the lens of countertransference.     

Psychotherapy Process Measure Research and the Evaluation of Psychotherapy Orientation: A Narrative Analysis

This article discusses the need for a systematic method that enables researchers to evaluate integrative therapy approaches using a range of therapy process measures. The Narrative System Process Coding (NPCS; Angus, Hardtke, & Levitt, 1996) is proposed as such a method, and is applied with the Experiencing Scale (Klein, Mathieu, Gendlin, & Keisler, 1970) and the Levels of Client Perceptual Processing (LCPP; Toukmanian, 1986) to three brief good outcome integrative therapy modalities to illustrate this need. The study found higher Experiencing Scale scores to be most strongly related to an experiential approach to therapy and to the NPCS internal narrative processes. Higher LCPP scores were most strongly related to the NPCS reflexive narrative process and to a perceptual-processing approach. The discussion initiates a discourse on the importance of explicating process measures' origins when comparing different therapy approaches in order to allow for the meaningful consolidation of process research findings.     

Aspects of Salvation: Some Unscholastic Themes from Calvin's Institutes

The difference of mood between Calvin and the scholasticisms that preceded and succeeded him derives from a more flexible approach to theology and its biblical basis. This thesis is tested by an exploration of the christological determinants of Calvin's doctrine of the atonement and the pneumatological mediation of sanctification and justification. Both treatments are argued to present careful defences of the Reformation against misunderstanding. Calvin's theocentrism and pastoral orientation mark his treatment, which steers clear of the perils of scholasticism. A final observation seeks to identify the undertow that always threatens Calvin's theology with shipwreck.     

Alternative Knowledges and the Future of Community Psychology: Provocations from an American Indian Healing Tradition

In the early years of this globalized century, alternative health knowledges and wellness traditions circulate faster and farther than ever before. To the degree that community psychologists seek collaboration with cultural minority and other marginalized populations in support of their collective wellbeing, such knowledges and traditions are likely to warrant attention, engagement, and support. My purpose in this article is to trace an epistemological quandary that community psychologists are ideally poised to consider at the interface of hegemonic and subjugated knowing with respect to advances in community wellbeing. To this end, I describe an American Indian knowledge tradition, its association with specific indigenous healing practices, its differentiation from therapeutic knowledge within disciplinary psychology, and the broader challenge posed by alternative health knowledges for community psychologists.     

Group Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Some Neurodermatoses

The relation of patient verbal activity to pretherapy symptom status and outcome was examined for ninety patients in time-limited group psychotherapy. For each half-hour segment the most verbally active member, or main actor (MA), was identified. Verbal activity was measured by counting the number of times each patient was MA during the course of the group. Outcome was assessed by administering a battery of instruments pre- and posttherapy and by obtaining direct ratings of patient benefit from the patient, therapist, and an independent rater: the number of times MA was found to be significantly correlated with four pretherapy measures, indicating that the most disturbed patients were most active in these group; the number of times MA was also correlated with patient and therapist benefit ratings, indicating that therapists and patients themselves agreed that those who spoke the most benefited the most. However, partial correlations between number of times MA and other outcome measures did not produce any significant relationships. Thus, it does not appear that patient verbal activity is related to outcome, as measured by objective instruments.