Preview

Integrating Body and Mind: a Psychospiritual Approach to Therapy

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
7229 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Integrating Body and Mind: a Psychospiritual Approach to Therapy
Integrating body and mind: a psychospiritual approach to therapy
Dr Bronwen Rees, Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK

In the West there are unprecedented numbers of people presenting themselves as depressed, addicted or over-anxious. Our understanding is that this is as much a social, existential and spiritual crisis as much as medical. In such conditions traditional medical models do not always work, indeed, they may often contribute to the crisis. This article argues that we need to take account of both the spiritual and the psychological in the therapy room. It goes on to describe some of the fundamental principles of Core Process Psychotherapy, a psychotherapy developed by Maura Sills at the Karuna Institute in Devon which is underpinning by an understanding that the spiritual and the psychological ‘co-arise’. One of the key differentiating features of this approach is the Buddhist understanding of personality – such that the therapist is not engaged with developing a higher, or more integrated self, but is engaged in a process of joint inquiry into what is arising in the moment. It goes on to explore the notion of therapy as a spiritual journey, and finally suggests some meditative approaches which underpin CPP training.

'… we are kept there [ in the psychotherapeutic session] by that sense of wanting something deeply important, which is never identifiable with what we believe we want. Moreover, this inarticulate desire makes us feel a woeful inferiority. We feel inferior because we simply can't grasp why we are engaged in psychotherapy, what it is, whether it is going well or even going on at all, or when it is over. And since we know so little, we rely so much on positivisms, the positive sciences, the positivities of spiritual teachings, the moral positions of ideologies. We clutch at these bright and rigid straws because the base on which we stand, the soul, is endless and unfathomable.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    England, S., Ganzer, C., Foster, P. R., & Tosone, C. (2006). " The Speech of the Suffering Soul": Four Readings of William Styron 's Darkness Visible. Psychoanalytic Social Work , 13 ((1)).…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    O’Hanlon H., Weiner-Davis, M. (1989). In Search of Solutions: A New Direction in Psychotherapy. New York: Norton.…

    • 1711 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Eck, Brian E. (2002). An Exploration of the Therapeutic Use of Spiritual Disciplines in…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mind-Body Dualism

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It is based on the epistemological belief that the subjective concepts interpreted by the therapist would project certain levels of predisposition based on the therapist’s point of view. In addition, the study fails to consider overemphasizing of unconditional positive regards would lost the authenticity to identify the hidden characteristic of an individual, and focus on the here-and-now failing to investigate the real origin of the individual’s problem to make further prevention will cause the individual to be unable full insight about themselves. Perhaps the most serious disadvantage of this approach is individuals in these positive atmospheres will develop adaptability and independency incompetence, eventually lead to the evolvement of discrepancies between idealism and phenomenalism (Higgins,…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are various aspects of self – actualisation and obstacles that can be identified during therapy. Some of them are described in this essay: locus of control, conditions of worth, positive regard and self- regard.…

    • 2723 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ethics Hser 511

    • 8231 Words
    • 33 Pages

    Pomerantz, A. M. (2004). Discussing distinct aspects of psychotherapy at different points in time. Ethics and Behavior, 15(14), 351-360.…

    • 8231 Words
    • 33 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cartesian Compromise

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Meissner, W.W. (2007). Mind, Brain, and Self in Psychoanalysis: Therapeutic Implications of the Mind-Body Relation. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 2007, Vol. 24, No. 2, 333-354.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The primary purpose of psychodynamic counselling is to help clients make sense of current situations; of memories associated with present experience, some of which spring readily to mind, others which may rise to consciousness as the counselling develops; and of the images that appear in fantasies and dreams.” (Jacobs)…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    My Philosophical Approach to Counseling Definition of Existential Therapy One survey taken by Corey suggests a definition of Existential Therapy include two key elements: Existential Therapy is essentially an approach to counseling and therapy rather than a firm theoretical model, it stresses core human conditions. Normally, personality development is based on the uniqueness of each individual.…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy (8th Edition ed.). Fullerton, California, USA: Brooks/Cole.…

    • 3290 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This model influences counselors approach in the sense that keen attention is paid in the main areas considered to influence a person 's well being (Meier, 2011). Considering spirituality in approaching different issues in counseling practice offers desirable results, which might not be realized through physical consideration.…

    • 1957 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Mind-Body Connection

    • 2271 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The mind has an incredible power. We see it as we go through our everyday activities, constantly displaying the wonders of logic, thought, memory and creativity. Yet, can the mind be more powerful than we know? Is it possible to reduce or even eliminate pain, illness and disease by using the natural powers it possesses? Can the mind heal?…

    • 2271 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Choice Theory Paper

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Roth, A., and Fonagy, P. (2005). What works for whom? A critical Review of Psychotherapy…

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the differences and similarities associated with Carl Roger’s Client-centered theory and Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. The focus of the comparisons will fall into the three main topic areas: that of optimal personality development, that of the nature of problem formation, and that of the process of learning and change.…

    • 2460 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Carl Ransom Rogers Theory

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Dr. Rogers believed that in order for psychotherapy to be successful, it was important and necessary for a therapist to provide, what Rogers called, unconditional positive regard to the patient. What Dr. Rogers was saying is that a therapist needs to accept the client and their condition as they are and allows the patient to openly express himself or herself, whether it be in a negative or a positive manner. According to Rogers, the therapist also needs to offer their patient with moral support and without any kind of judgement…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics