Spirituality in Older Adults: A Cross-Cultural and Interfaith Perspective

The definition of spirituality poses a variety of problems for the development of theory and research, as well as practical problems for persons interested in promoting the spiritual well-being of older adults. Although any definition of spirituality is problematic, a definition is proposed that comes out of the writer's clinical experience and is relevant to his understanding of the aging process in different cultural and religious contexts. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the relevance of the definition to the experience of older persons from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Reflections on the case studies suggest ways that an appropriately trained advocate might have helped the persons in these illustrations make changes in their situations that might have improved the quality of their lives. Material from the case studies is also used to clarify differences among terms such as spirituality, religion, religiosity, and piety. The paper proposes to be a contribution to a theoretical foundation for studying and working with spirituality in older adults.     

A Jungian Perspective on Therapy at the End of Life

This paper explores the insights of Carl Gustav Jung with respect to pastoral care and counseling. Particular focus is given to a reading of the theorist that raises the possibility for, and challenge of, pastoral psychotherapy at the end of life. Jung's writing offers an important lens for examining a critical challenge of our age–the means by which pastoral caregivers assist persons to live fully and meaningfully even at life's end. The author asserts that the role of the pastoral caregiver is crucial for helping people to bring their own lives to completion. has served as hospice chaplain, parish pastor, and campus minister. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student and CPE supervisor-in-training at Claremont School of Theology and Methodist Hospital of Southern California.     

Discipleship and Spirituality from a Christian Perspective

Spirituality is an important aspect of being a human. One may approach this topic from a purely psychological or religious perspective. In this paper, it is argued that spirituality as defined from a purely psychological perspective is inadequate to capture the depth of this human experience because it misses the core of spirituality—discipleship. Following Foster’s (1998) Streams of Living Water, it will be argued that discipleship is the core of Christian spirituality, and each of these streams provides an important context for fostering one’s relationship to the transcendent.     

Ontology in Cognitive Perspective

Ontology cannot be left to the natural sciences, if only because it deals also with hypothetical and fictional objects. It pivots about proto-categorical issues relating to the features of objects of any and all kinds. This brings into its range issues that test the limits of knowledge by asking questions that are inherently unanswerable (for example: “What is an instance of an occurrence that no one ever mentions?”). And it raises issues of norms and values that science (in its usual configuration) does not address.     

Alchemy and the erotic transference: A Jungian approach

Abstract

In The Psychology of the Transference Jung showed a series of pictures which he discovered in an ancient alchemical text, the Rosarium philosophorum. He connected these to the effects of the transference in psychotherapy. This may seem an unnecessarily obscure way of looking at the transference, yet it makes remarkable sense. Although alchemy is often considered the sole province of Jungian analysis, it can also be seen as illuminating a psychodynamic approach to counselling. Written from a post-feminist viewpoint, a critical approach is taken to certain key Jungian terms. The paper is illustrated with two clinical examples.     

Sexuality and Spirituality: A Humanist Account

Typical accounts of spirituality define it by association with religious faith and especially one's relationship with God. Without impugning the validity of theological considerations, this humanist account treats spirituality apart from them. Whereas the standard model of the human being is bipartite (body and mind), this paper distinguishes two dimensions within the human mind—psyche and spirit—and thus proposes a tripartite model (organism, psyche, and spirit). Attention to human spirit grounds an account of spirituality, and attention to organism and psyche introduces sexuality into the picture. Then, the reconciliation of sexuality and spirituality is nothing other than the integration of the human being: organism, psyche, and spirit. Granted that human spirit entails its own criteria for unbounded unfolding, such integration would generally express the ideals of spirituality proposed by the various religions. Psychotherapist and educator at     

Spirituality and Multimodal Therapy: A Practical Approach to Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling

The purpose of this article is to describe how the dimension of spirituality can be added to an existing counseling theory, multimodal therapy (MMT; A. A. Lazarus, 1984), to provide counselors with a practical approach to incorporating clients' religious and spiritual beliefs in the counseling process. An explanation of MMT is given, as well as its supporting research. The context of spirituality in counseling is discussed, and the process by which it can be integrated into the MMT model is explained. Two case studies are described to demonstrate how spiritual issues can be assessed and used to strengthen the counseling process. Finally, implications for counseling are discussed.     

The Dream in Terminal Illness: A Jungian Formulation

It is a central assumption of Jungian theory that psychical transformation occurring during the critical developmental stages of the life cycle is anticipated, inspired, and orchestrated by the archetypal symbol. In this way, archetypal dreams are afforded particular significance during these transitional stages. The present paper purports to consider the clinical and theoretical implications of this understanding with reference to the dying process. The concepts discussed are illustrated by a series of dreams of a terminally ill cancer patient, which are elucidated by way of the method of amplification. Thematic analysis of the dream series supports Jung's conceptualization of death and dying as being a critical stage of the individuation process, characterized by profound psychical development of a specific and purposeful nature. The value of using dreams in the psychotherapeutic care of dying patients and their families is discussed, with case illustrations. It is suggested that such an approach may foster creative development, assist patients to integrate meaningfully subjective experiences pertaining to dying, and counteract the sense of isolation experienced by the terminally ill. The need for further research and the development of specific treatment modalities is highlighted.     

Spirituality in Clinical Practice: The Perspective of Brazilian Medical Students

Journal of Religion and Health - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the beliefs, opinions, and experiences of medical students from a Catholic confessional university concerning spirituality...     

The group's search for wholeness: A Jungian perspective

In attempting to address a common group concept from a Jungian perspective, this paper starts by taking competing models as all contributing to laying the foundations of a generally accepted general theory. The theory of the invisible group as elaborated by Agazarian and Peters is taken as one of the most clearly stated models of the group-as-a-whole, and Jung's more obscure concepts of the self, the archetypes, individuation and the collective unconscious are used, not as a competing theory, but as a way of enlarging and enriching what is already known. First an outline of the invisible group theory is given. The theoretical clarity of this model is then contrasted with the richness of the group's fantasies about itself, and it is suggested that these point to a group self which represents the group-as-a-whole. Seen in this way, there are many similarities with Jung's treatment of individuation at an individual level, which are drawn out. Although Jung's model is more difficult to grasp in its paradoxes, it is often nearer to the experience of the group as it continuously and progressively defines itself. Finally, the limitations of models that try to define the group-as-a-whole are examined by looking at the boundaries between the group-as-an-individual and the outside world, which parallels Jung's attempts to view the self as both being the individual and transcending the limits of the individual, so that the group can be seen to develop in its search for wholeness.