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Book Details
Abstract
What place does spiritual need and healing have in the counselling room? Denying the spiritual dimension of personal distress can be potentially hurtful to clients, but the issue of spirituality is also fraught with professional and ethical issues for therapists. This book draws on original research to move the debate about spiritual need forwards in relation to therapeutic practice, supervision, and training.
An international team of contributors offer a diverse range of perspectives to critically explore a wide spectrum of spiritual issues, including prayer, pastoral care and traditional healing. Edited by a leading figure in the field, this book:
• Illuminates experiences of both clients and practitioners through detailed case vignettes
• Draws on cutting-edge research in this growing field
• Invites readers to address their own therapeutic practice with hands-on discussion points
This measured and thoughtful approach provides a fascinating insight to an often complex and controversial topic. As such, the book is essential reading for trainees and practitioners of counselling and psychotherapy.
WILLIAM WEST Reader in Counselling Studies and Director of Counselling Courses at the University of Manchester, UK. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and has written extensively on therapy and spirituality, qualitative research, supervision, humanistic therapy and culture.
The book is well structured, with much discussion of ethics, implications for practice, supervision and training. A plethora of examples and case studies make it accessible and engaging...It should be of interest to all therapists who are interested in the spiritual dimension of their work and willing to look beyond the confines of their own framework.' - Dr Els van Ooijen, Therapy Today
'This book has left me with an excitement about what we are engaging with when we enter into a therapeutic relationship, while acknowledging with West that we need to take great care, as 'therapeutic practice around spirituality and healing remains controversial''. Victoria Sherratt, Thresholds
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cove | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| List of figures and tables | xii | ||
| Notes on contributors | xiii | ||
| Acknowledgements | xvi | ||
| Foreword by Brian Thorne | xvii | ||
| Introduction | 1 | ||
| What is spirituality? | 3 | ||
| What is healing? | 4 | ||
| Summary of chapters | 5 | ||
| Who is this book for? | 9 | ||
| A question of style | 9 | ||
| Part One: Therapy and Spirituality | 11 | ||
| 1 Spirituality and Therapy: The Tensions and Possibilities | 13 | ||
| Introduction | 13 | ||
| A spiritual moment in therapy | 13 | ||
| What is spirituality and how does it relate to therapy? | 16 | ||
| Therapy, culture and spirituality | 18 | ||
| Evangelism in religion and therapy | 24 | ||
| Some promising developments | 26 | ||
| Conclusion | 27 | ||
| Discussion points | 27 | ||
| 2 When Clients’ Spirituality Is Denied in Therapy | 28 | ||
| Introduction | 28 | ||
| Background | 28 | ||
| Clients’ experiences of self-censorship and self-disclosure | 29 | ||
| Implications for practice | 33 | ||
| A model for integration | 43 | ||
| Conclusion | 46 | ||
| Discussion points | 47 | ||
| 3 Counselling and Pastoral Care | 48 | ||
| Introduction | 48 | ||
| Background | 48 | ||
| Three critical issues for contemporary pastoral care | 52 | ||
| Examples from practice | 54 | ||
| Implications for practice | 59 | ||
| Ethics and supervision issues | 60 | ||
| Guidelines for practitioners | 61 | ||
| Conclusion | 62 | ||
| Discussion points | 62 | ||
| 4 Integrating Prayer in Counselling | 63 | ||
| Introduction | 63 | ||
| Background | 63 | ||
| Overview of my research and the main findings | 64 | ||
| Implications for practice | 67 | ||
| Supervision issues | 75 | ||
| Conclusion | 75 | ||
| Discussion points | 76 | ||
| 5 Compassion in Psychotherapy | 77 | ||
| Introduction | 77 | ||
| Background | 77 | ||
| Findings from the research | 79 | ||
| Examples from practice | 84 | ||
| A nascent theory of compassion | 85 | ||
| Implications and guidelines for practice | 87 | ||
| Ethics and supervision issues | 88 | ||
| Diversity or culture | 89 | ||
| Conclusion | 90 | ||
| Discussion points | 90 | ||
| 6 Counselling, Spirituality and Culture | 91 | ||
| Introduction | 91 | ||
| Background | 91 | ||
| Literature context | 92 | ||
| Setting the scene: Why explore practitioners’ perspectives? | 93 | ||
| Focus group study | 94 | ||
| Findings from research | 95 | ||
| Matters arising | 100 | ||
| Implications for training and supervision | 102 | ||
| Ethical issues and international dimensions | 104 | ||
| Guidelines for practitioners | 105 | ||
| Conclusion | 107 | ||
| Discussion points | 108 | ||
| 7 Embodied Spirituality | 109 | ||
| Introduction | 109 | ||
| Inner awareness | 110 | ||
| Background | 110 | ||
| Findings | 111 | ||
| Illuminations | 122 | ||
| Conclusion | 127 | ||
| Discussion points | 128 | ||
| Part Two: Therapy and Healing | 129 | ||
| 8 When Counselling Becomes Healing | 131 | ||
| Introduction | 131 | ||
| My experiences | 131 | ||
| What is healing? | 133 | ||
| Unintentional healing in therapy | 134 | ||
| Ethics | 136 | ||
| Boundaries | 137 | ||
| Supervision | 138 | ||
| Taboo | 139 | ||
| Conclusion | 141 | ||
| Discussion points | 141 | ||
| 9 Traditional Healing in the Course of Counselling and Psychotherapy | 142 | ||
| Introduction | 142 | ||
| Background | 142 | ||
| The role of traditional healing in health and wellness | 145 | ||
| Concurrent use of traditional healing and western therapies | 146 | ||
| Why do clients in therapy consult traditional healers? | 149 | ||
| The case of Shiva | 151 | ||
| Ethical issues and their implications for therapy | 153 | ||
| Conclusion | 156 | ||
| Discussion points | 157 | ||
| 10 Assessing a Counsellor’s Use of a Seemingly Spiritual Gift | 158 | ||
| Introduction | 158 | ||
| Personal background | 159 | ||
| General background | 162 | ||
| Findings from research | 163 | ||
| Ethical considerations | 165 | ||
| Supervision | 167 | ||
| Matters arising | 168 | ||
| Conclusion | 170 | ||
| Discussion points | 171 | ||
| 11 Psychic Energy in Counselling | 172 | ||
| Introduction | 172 | ||
| Psychic experiences | 172 | ||
| Background | 174 | ||
| What is psychic energy? | 175 | ||
| Experiences in practice | 175 | ||
| Supervision issues | 178 | ||
| Implications for practice | 179 | ||
| Ethical issues | 182 | ||
| Guidelines for practitioners | 184 | ||
| Conclusions | 184 | ||
| Discussion points | 185 | ||
| Part Three: Research and Practice | 187 | ||
| 12 Research in Spirituality and Healing | 189 | ||
| Introduction | 189 | ||
| Background | 189 | ||
| Successful outcomes | 190 | ||
| What has already been done? | 192 | ||
| Approaching methodology | 195 | ||
| Approaching the topic | 198 | ||
| Guidelines for researching therapy, spirituality and healing | 200 | ||
| Conclusion | 201 | ||
| Discussion points | 202 | ||
| 13 Emergent Spirituality | 203 | ||
| Introduction | 203 | ||
| Background | 203 | ||
| Two contemporary examples of spiritual leaders | 205 | ||
| Further historical examples in the West | 206 | ||
| Emergent spirituality | 208 | ||
| Two examples from my research | 209 | ||
| Conclusion | 212 | ||
| Discussion points | 213 | ||
| 14 Practice around Therapy, Spirituality and Healing | 214 | ||
| Introduction | 214 | ||
| Challenges for the therapist in working with spirituality and healing | 214 | ||
| Models for working with spirituality and healing in therapy | 217 | ||
| Therapists exploring their spirituality | 219 | ||
| Guidelines for training and practice of therapists around spirituality and healing | 222 | ||
| Finally | 222 | ||
| Discussion points | 223 | ||
| Bibliography | 224 | ||
| Index | 245 |