Gay and Lesbian Spirituality: A Response to Donaldson

This article is a final response by the authors to S. M. Donaldson's comments (1998) on their article, “Spiritual Experiences of Gay Men and Lesbians.” The original article focused on the experiences and spiritual issues of self-identified gay men and lesbians.     

The Spirituality of Compassion: A Public Health Response to Ageing and End-of-Life Care

SUMMARY

The recent revival of interest in spirituality in later life marks a significant step forward in the person-centred care of ageing people. The benefits will, however, be of limited value if we do not attend to the settings in which spirituality is to be lived. In contemporary society many aged people are located in environments unsympathetic to spiritual belief and practice. Health care settings focus on professionally-assessed physical needs and are dominated by concerns about the cost of services. The national social policies that direct health care services and less directly shape older people's place in contemporary society are strongly influenced by globalised neoliberal economic policies characterised by individualism, competition, and greed. For robust and viable spirituality to develop at the individual level we need compassionate social policies that support interdependence within communities and between nations.     

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.     

Ontology and Spirituality: A Jungian Perspective

Rationality is very seductive. With our cognitive ability we are tempted to explore the world and reality. We hypothesize and theorize and we acquire the confidence that through this avenue we can capture reality. Nature however ignores our attempt and moves on leaving us in the despair of alienation. Jung invites us to move beyond our desire to capture reality. Jung invites us to the art of listening because nature seeks to direct. And the direction seems to point, suggests Jung, toward the path of spirituality.     

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     

Illness, Disease, and Sin: the Connection between Genetics and Spirituality - A Response.

In responding to Mathias Beck's thought-provoking article, it seems helpful to begin with an outline and comments on Beck's case as I understand it. For me, this overview throws up three problematic areas that I explore further under the headings of 1. examining the New Testament evidence, 2. sin as disobedience, and 3. obedience, grace, and freedom. Clearly, the author's thoughts in all their nuances are not always adequately accessible in translation. Nevertheless, I hope that I have grasped the main thread of his argument. If I am right in my interpretation then Beck still has work to do to clarify and make explicit what is not only barely implicit but what is obscured by his central theme: that obedience to God's will is the mainstay of our relationship to God.     

Counseling and Spirituality: A Historical Review

Evolution of the relationship between counseling and spirituality since 1840 is examined in terms of the number of publications that have appeared over time that include these terms. The author retrieved the data using the American Psychological Association's PsycINFO database. A similar search was done adding the term training. The rise of behaviorism and cognitive psychology is discussed as possible explanations for the absence of a discussion of spirituality in the early psychological literature. A. H. Maslow's (1969a, 1969b; Association for Transpersonal Psychology, n.d.) work; the evolution of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling; and multiculturalism are suggested as possible influences on the growth in the number of publications on spiritual and counseling issues over the last 30 years.     

Islamic Spirituality in America: A Middle Path to Unity

This article summarizes the concept of Islamic spirituality, with its emphasis on personal and community forms of worship. In addition to reviewing the pillars of faith that are the foundation of the Islamic religion, this article explains the concept of the “middle path.” The author shows how integration of various realms (spiritual, social, moral, and individual) allows the Muslim person to live a peaceful life, with the center of Muslim existence being God's unity. Through this concept of unity, Muslims may be able to assist the rest of the United States in working towards solutions for the loss of community in modern society. Implications for working with American Muslims are offered.     

Integrating Spirituality and Religion Into Counseling: A Guide to Competent Practice

Book reviewed in this article: Craig S. Cashwell and J. Scott Young, Eds. (2005). Integrating Spirituality and Religion Into Counseling: A Guide to Competent Practice.     

Marital Spirituality: A Quantitative Study

This study examines marital satisfaction as a multi-dimensional reality in relation to marital spirituality. Individual and couple scores are reported. While couple and husband scores presented a generally direct relationship to spirituality measures, wives' scores presented a more complex picture. Within couple differences, spiritual measures also presented a complex picture. When husbands scored higher than wives (one third of the cases), couple-satisfaction scores remained high. However when wives scored higher (two-thirds of the cases) couple-satisfaction scores dropped. Spirituality is discussed as a multi-dimensional, overarching component of marital functioning. A qualitative study is planned to follow the quantitative one.     

Measuring Spirituality as a Universal Human Experience: A Review of Spirituality Questionnaires

Spirituality is an important theme in health research, since a spiritual orientation can help people to cope with the consequences of a serious disease. Knowledge on the role of spirituality is, however, limited, as most research is based on measures of religiosity rather than spirituality. A questionnaire that transcends specific beliefs is a prerequisite for quantifying the importance of spirituality among people who adhere to a religion or none at all. In this review, we discuss ten questionnaires that address spirituality as a universal human experience. Questionnaires are evaluated with regard to psychometric properties, item formulation and confusion with well-being and distress. Although none of the questionnaires fulfilled all the criteria, the multidimensional Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire is promising.     

Between the Ability to Imagine and Actually Seeing: The Intersubjective in Reclamation

When working with severely damaged, neglected, and deprived patients, the analyst relies on the faith that the intersubjective analytic space can be the site of a live relationship. In this regard, the unique technique of “reclamation” might be used with patients in a moment of imminent danger or of a sense of psychic death and involves an active response to the sense of emergency in countertransference. Reclamation is based on the analyst/therapist's ability to conduct intersubjective dialogue between the various spaces of internalized object relations, and the author attempts to extend the possibility of its technical application by considering reclamation as intersubjective.     

Spirituality in Counselor Training: A Content Analysis of Syllabi From Introductory Spirituality Courses

The authors discuss the results of a content analysis of 14 syllabi of introductory courses on spirituality in counseling. Course syllabi were examined to determine trends in the content of these courses and to determine if the instruction is consistent with 9 competencies developed at the Summit on Spirituality. Results suggested that there was substantial variance in the extent to which the competencies were covered in the syllabi. The authors discuss implications for teaching courses on spirituality in counseling.     

A Review of Integrating Spirituality and Religion Into Counseling: A Guide to Competent Practice

Book reviewed in this article: Craig S. Cashwell and J. Scott Young, Eds. (2005). Integrating Spirituality and Religion Into Counseling: A Guide to Competent Practice     

Psychosynthesis: A Foundational Bridge Between Psychology and Spirituality

Pastoral psychologists have long tried to establish a working model that encompasses the seemingly conflicting disciplines of science and religion. Psychosynthesis, a transpersonal psychology and therapeutic approach, offers such a model of the human personality, in which the psychological and spiritual perspectives can converge. This article explores psychosynthesis psychology and therapy as a theoretical framework for pastoral psychology. Although psychosynthesis psychotherapy relies on an array of techniques, it fundamentally works with the clients’ will while emphasizing, exploring, and cultivating their relationships on all levels—intrapersonal, interpersonal, and with the Higher Self. In addition to the subconscious, psychosynthesis includes a higher psychological plane, called the superconscious, from which our higher ethical, aesthetic, scientific, and spiritual values are derived. This article begins by introducing psychosynthesis concepts and techniques. It then provides qualitative findings showing that psychosynthesis counseling helped to awaken spirituality in three out of eleven clients who had formerly identified themselves as atheists. In addition, testimonies are included that show that psychosynthesis counseling also helped all eleven clients to attain personal growth. Finally, the counselor describes her experience of psychosynthesis as a Christian in the therapeutic setting. The framework of psychosynthesis psychology and its techniques are viable methodologies for anyone searching to incorporate spiritual growth into a psychological working model.     

Spirituality and Recovery from Cardiac Surgery: A Review

A large research literature attests to the positive influence of spirituality on a range of health outcomes. Recently, a growing literature links spirituality to improved recovery from cardiac surgery. Cardiac surgery has become an increasingly common procedure in the United States, so these results may provide a promising indication for improved treatment of patients undergoing surgery. To our knowledge, a comprehensive review of the literature in this area does not exist. Therefore, this paper reviews the literature relevant to the influence of spirituality on recovery from cardiac surgery. In addition, it proposes a conceptual model that attempts to explicate relationships among the variables studied in the research on this topic. Finally, it discusses limitations, suggests directions for future research, and discusses implications for the treatment of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.