Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy

"Written with great clarity and intelligence, this book will be of benefit to all mental health practitioners, students of psychology, and those seeking a better understanding of their own process of psychological and spiritual transformation." —Tara Brach, PhD, Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge "In this wonderful book, Rick Johnson weaves together different theoretical perspectives in a way that welcomes religion, spirituality, and nature into the counseling and psychotherapy process. It's a delight to read Dr. Johnson's approach—an approach that teaches therapists how to empathically explore spirituality as an important dimension of human existence." —John Sommers-Flanagan, PhD, coauthor of Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice and Clinical Interviewing "Rick Johnson's book Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy is a rich introduction to the varied forms in which spiritual suffering enters the consulting room, the range of theories which address or fail to address this need, and specific attitudes and practices through which therapists can provide a non-doctrinal but open encounter with the spiritual needs of their clients." —James Hollis, PhD, Jungian analyst, and author of fourteen books, among them What Matters Most: Living a More Considered Life A practical integration of psychology and spirituality that builds upon existing psychological theories While many clients want spiritual and philosophical issues to be addressed in therapy, many mental health professionals report that they feel ill-equipped to meet clients' needs in this area. Providing a model that is approachable from a variety of theoretical orientations, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy supports therapists in becoming open to the unique ways that clients define, experience, and access life-affirming, spiritual beliefs and practices. Drawing on the author's research into spiritual issues as well as predictors of clients' psychological health, this reflective book presents an integrative approach to discussing the topic of spirituality. An essential resource for mental health professionals of all spiritual and religious persuasions, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy discusses: Client-defined spirituality Integrating spirituality with psychological theories Why clients become spiritually lost Practical steps for spiritual health and abundance in therapy Helping clients reclaim their real self How spiritually oriented therapy helps Guidance for therapists in differentiating their spirituality from their clients' to foster a more successful therapeutic relationship Filled with numerous cases and stories illustrating how spirituality can be a natural and beneficial part of the therapeutic process, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy enables mental health professionals to nonjudgmentally invite a collaborative exploration of the role of spirituality in their clients' lives.

Preface xiii Acknowledgments xxi About the Author xxiii 1 Spiritual Competencies and Premises 1 Central Premises 5 Spirituality and Religion 20 2 Client-Defined Spirituality 23 Remembering 28 External Presence and Inner Knowing 29 Transcendent and Ordinary Experiences 31 Present Moment Awareness 32 Interconnectedness 33 Love and Fear 35 Free Will 36 Creativity and Artistic Expression 38 Nature and Natural Beauty 39 Openheartedness 40 Personal Relationship 41 Thematic Integration 42 3 Integrating Spirituality With Psychological Theories 45 Freud 45 Jung 46 Object Relations and Attachment Theories 48 Interpersonal Theory: Horney 51 Humanism: Rogers 52 Control-Mastery Theory: Weiss 54 Internal Family Systems Theory: Schwartz 57 Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Linehan 59 Transpersonal and Integral Theories 60 Life Span Development Theories 62 Thematic Integration 65 4 Getting Lost: Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives 69 Why Clients Get Lost 71 A Spiritual Perspective 87 5 Spiritual Health and Abundance: Practical Steps 101 Being Open to Client-Defined Spirituality 101 Utilizing Spirituality for Resourcing 109 Inviting Spirituality to Inform Personal Integrity 111 Evaluating Life Structures 113 Remembering and Committing to Spiritual Practice 123 6 Integrating the Shadow 125 The Shadow 126 How Shadows Form 129 When Clients Marry Their Shadow 134 Integration 141 7 Self and No-Self 149 No-Self 150 An Integration of Self and No-Self 157 Helping Clients Reclaim Their Real Self 160 8 How Spiritually Oriented Therapy Helps 169 A Collaborative Team 172 Self-Awareness 174 Insight 179 Reexperiencing Relational Dynamics 181 New Relationship With the Real Self 184 Embracing Inner Health 187 Embracing Relationship Health 189 Utilizing Spiritually Oriented Therapy 190 Final Thoughts 193 9 Spiritual-Differentiation 195 The Identity and Differentiation Process 196 Characteristics of Well-Differentiated Individuals 201 Increasing Differentiation 213 Increasing Therapist Spiritual-Differentiation 217 References 223 Author Index 245 Subject Index 249