The Tao of Communication and the Constancy of Change

SUMMARY

Lao Tsu and Virginia Satir seemed to have spoken a common language when it came to speaking about the art of knowing, being and doing. It is as if they sang from the same sheet of music. This article combines their melodies, intensifying the power of each's message. In a back and forth, fugue-like dialogue between Lao Tsu and Satir, the author explicates her understanding of the sacred work of change and actualization in a six part invention; the Six A'S.     

The Dying Process of a Conscious Woman—Virginia Satir

SUMMARY

This article relates the author's experience with Virginia Satir in the last eight days of her life. The detail of incidents and interactions is most revealing of Virginia's ability to deal with such a poignant time in her own life in an open, focused manner and in a process like she taught others. There is a strong spiritual and human quality that the reader will find deeply moving.     

Experiential Learning

SUMMARY

The following article is about three things: my impressions of Virginia Satir's work, my personal experience of her, and the profound connection between the work of Virginia Satir and Dr. Eugene T. Gendlin's Focusing work.

My attraction to both of these great teachers is not surprising. They both share a type of wisdom which in metaphysics is often described as “intelligence lovingly applied.”

In this article I hope to convey what I see as an organic and compatible overlap between Satir and Gendlin which will hopefully be useful to the readers of this publication.     

Family Reconstruction

SUMMARY

The author claims that a process developed by Virginia Satir and called “Family Reconstruction” by her, is the epitome of her contribution to the field of therapy. This article describes the process, its goals and theory, the conditions necessary for an effective therapeutic breakthrough. How this therapeutic process can be powerfully effective in healing couple's relationships is shown. In a final note, Nerin suggests that Satir's model not be dubbed “communication theory,” but called “eco-psychological.”     

Virginia Satir's Process of Change

SUMMARY

This article describes Virginia Satir's theoretical base out of which grows the theory and practice of her process of change in psychotherapy. Her theory is set in a context of other psychothcrupeulic theories and is described with case examples of application. Virginia's process of change is applied to individual, couple and family therapy particularly its application to cultural change is discussed.     

"Wholly Aflame": Erotic Asceticism in the Work of Sara Maitland

Abstract

The writing of the Christian feminist novelist Sara Maitland has explored the interplay of eroticism, masochism and asceticism in women's spirituality. Maitland's 1984 novel Virgin Territory and 1987 essay "Passionate Prayer: Masochistic Images in Women's Experience" condemns how, in patriarchal Christianity, a model of romantic relationship with God, when compounded by the symbolism of women's sinfulness, results in spiritual masochism for women. In her later work, Maitland's writing takes a more ambivalent attitude, wanting to preserve the "otherness" of historical women mystics and martyrs, also admiring the "purity" of the extremity of their devotion. This reflects Maitland's advocating of an excessive and "unsafe" spirituality, given representation in her fiction and in her pursuit of a solitary lifestyle, as explained in 2008's A Book of Silence.     

Virginia Prince: Transgender Pioneer

SUMMARY

This article gives an overview of the life and work of Virginia Prince. It provides a synopsis of her major publications, situates her work in the context of its time and assesses her contribution as a major pioneer of transgendering.     

Satir's Formula for Therapeutic Endurance

SUMMARY

Of the many factors thai accounted for Virginia Satir's ability to create change in intransigent couples and families, the sine qua nan may have been her therapeutic endurance (ability to “hang in there” with tough clients). Satir's formula for therapeutic endurance was her constant belief in the intrinsic worth of each individual—the wonderful human being myth—and its corollary thai all people arc capable of changing     

“Working with Couples: Satir and the Tao,”

SUMMARY

One of Virginia Satir's greatest gifts to the world was the use of herself as an instrument of healing. By daring to use all of her-self-body, mind and spirit-the connections Virginia made with others were warm and real. Besides being authentically caring, Satir worked out of a pluralistic and comprehensive theoretical base to individualize each intervention. By co-creating strong, trusting relationships she inspirited others with her own life-force energy, and enabled them to become more fully human. Able to put her own ego needs aside, Virginia modeled how to join common sense with a sense of high purpose.     

Some Recollections of Virginia Satir

SUMMARY

The following excerpts are taken from several hours of conversation with Virginia Satir in which Virginia shares her personal reminiscences of herdevelopment as a therapist and the intellectual environment that stimulated some of her most creative work. She reflects on her association with Gregory Bateson and other prominent theorists in the field. In deceptively concise language, she puts forth her own seminal ideas on the complex nature of change and the processes that underlie family therapy and group therapy.     

Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions of play as a mean to support spirituality. Findings show that 45.5% of surveyed teachers mentioned play as a way intentionally used in the classroom to nurture children’s spirituality. It is posed that developmentally appropriate approaches to early childhood education would be enhanced by including spirituality in their understanding of the child, as well as intentionally nurturing spirituality in educational settings, by providing free, child-centered, child-directed play and opportunities for children to experience spiritual moments, defined as feeling wonder, awe, joy, and inner-peace.     

Bridging the Divide

Abstract

Women who consider themselves traditional or conservative in the context of religious practice often experience tremendous conflicts regarding the integration of same-sex emotional and sexual feelings with their religion and spirituality. Current religious teachings about homosexuality make this combination difficult as only heterosexual sexuality within marriage is permitted in most orthodox faiths. Further, the way that spirituality and sexuality are conceptualized as opposing dichotomous categories (e.g., body vs. soul) presents women with a framework where integration does not seem possible. Observant women who come to psychotherapy often experience tremendous distress, guilt, depression, and even suicidality due to the conflict between their sexual feelings and religious doctrine. Relieving the distress, and resolving the conflicts while honoring the emotional complexity of sexual feelings, spirituality, and religious orthodoxy can present tremendous dilemmas for the practitioner as well as the client. Using the example of psychotherapy of an Orthodox Jewish woman who integrated same-sex desire into her life, this article describes psychotherapy process and alternative ways of viewing spirituality and sexuality that permit possible resolutions for clients.     

Virginia Satir's Triad Theory for Couples Therapy

SUMMARY

Virginia Satir's understanding of the fundamental building block of all human relationships, the triad, surpassed that of her colleagues. She went beyond their themes of conflict, opposition and pathology to emphasize the positive, constructive and nurturing potential of every human triadic interaction. Couples therapy is a triad and the author focuses on this specific context to illustrate some of the rich and varied uses of Satir s theory of triads.     

The Tao of Virginia Satir

SUMMARY

This article looks at the Tao of Virginia Satir which is exemplified by her apparent effortless manner of facilitating change with respect and congruence. She worked with the ‘rejects’ of the psychiatric community and was successfully able to make changes to their lives by contacting their inner ‘spirit’ while loving them. Her apparently simple and respectful Tao of communication and ability to contact the life force accounted in part for the powerful transformations she made with individuals and large systems.     

The Triadic Concept in the Work of Virginia Satir

SUMMARY

For Virginia Salir the primary family triad is the major source of learning during the developmental years. In spite of the difficulties inherent in its structure, the triad holds the potential of being a great source of strength and nurture for the individuals involved. The various ways in which Virginia has used the triadic concept in her work are discussed.     

Couple Therapy and Spirituality and Religion

Abstract

The current state of the art of the integration of couple therapy with spirituality and religion is presented. Each of three waves of this integration identified in this article have seen an increase in the literature in this area, although only a limited amount in each wave has addressed couple therapy specifically. In the first wave, from 1990–1994, articles set forth arguments for why spirituality should be integrated in therapy. During the second wave, 1995–1999, publications focused on the ways that including spirituality in therapy can enhance as well as harm the therapeutic process. In the third wave, 2000-present, attention has shifted away from whether to include spirituality to how it should be included, and the literature of this period features many practical interventions and suggested guidelines for integrating spirituality and religion into therapy and training. The article concludes with recommendations for further developing the integration of spirituality and religion into couple therapy models, research, and training.     

Radical Otherness: Sociological and Theological Approaches

Abstract

This article reports two studies on the development of the Embodied Spirituality Scale (ESS), an instrument designed to measure the level of integration between one's experience of sexuality and spirituality. Both studies were limited to specifically Christian samples. Study 1 reports the initial construction of the ESS. Participants in Study 1 consisted of 128 women and 64 men (ages 16 to 75, M = 22.7 years). Study 2 reports a validation study of the ESS. Participants in Study 2 consisted of 125 female (46.5 per cent) and 142 male (52.8 per cent) adults between the ages of 18 and 78 (M = 47; SD = 10.9). The results offer empirical support for the concept of embodied spirituality as an integral relationship between sexuality and spirituality. The results also suggest that, as a measure of embodied awareness, the ESS may offer clues to the nature of the ‘active ingredient’ in the relationship between spirituality and health.