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In 2000 the American Psychological Association, in an important attempt to bring religious issues and traditions to the attention of psychotherapists, included in its Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity a chapter on psychotherapy with Eastern Orthodox Christians. This chapter discusses the pivotal efforts of Metropolitan Hierotheos and Archbishop Chrysostomos to bring together the ancient teachings of the Christian East with the science of modern psychology. In this work, the relationship between psychology and religion is analyzed. It presents an analysis of the teachings of the Eastern Church Fathers on the world, man, and the psychological aspects of the union of man with God. Archbishop Chrysostomos works into his presentation the extent of his own research as well as the writings of Metropolitan Hierotheos, which include attempts to evaluate the place, significance, and the effectiveness of Orthodox psychotherapy in secular psychotherapy and its application in the clinical setting.
Whatever else he or she does, the pastoral counselor, same as the priest at the Divine Altar, enters into a call and response relationship, invoking Gods presence and seeking to be receptive to Gods activity unfolding in the here and now. The intention of pastoral counseling must be to offer Christ to the other (and receive Him) while serving at the altar of the human heart.
Ultra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem are isolated from the secular community that surrounds them not only physically but by their dress, behaviors, and beliefs. Their relationship with secular society is characterized by social, religious, and political tensions. The differences between the ultra-orthodox and secular often pose special difficulties for psychiatrists who attempt to deal with their needs. In this book, two Western-trained psychiatrists discuss their mental health work with this community over the past two decades. With humor and affection they elaborate on some of the factors that make it difficult to treat or even to diagnose the ultra-orthodox, present fascinating case studies, and relate their observations of this religious community to the management of mental health services for other fundamentalist, anti-secular groups.
This book provides practitioners with the information they need to increase their competency in working sensitively with members of each of the major faith communities in North America. This volume examines over 2 dozen religious denominations and faith traditions in the context of clinical practice. Chapter authors describe the unique history, beliefs, rituals, and practices of the religion as well as commonly held views on social and moral issues such as divorce, homosexuality, birth control, abortion, suicide, and euthanasia. Worldviews, including conceptions of a deity, life after death, and the purpose of life, are also discussed. /// Within the context of the particular faith, chapter authors describe the therapeutic process, including building relationships with clients from that tradition, assessment and diagnosis, common clinical issues, and interventions most congruent with the faith. Additional resources that help psychotherapists to deepen their understanding of a particular faith are also recommended. This book helps all practitioners to more fully honor and make use of the unique religious beliefs and spiritual resources of their clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).
Traditionally, psychoanalytically oriented clinicians have eschewed a direct focus on symptoms, viewing it as superficial turning away from underlying psychopathology. But this assumption is an artifact of a dated classical approach; it should be reexamined in the light of contemporary relational thinking. So argues Mary Connors in Symptom-Focused Dynamic Psychotherapy, an integrative project that describes cognitive-behavioral techniques that have been demonstrated to be empirically effective and may be productively assimilated into dynamic psychotherapy. What is the warrant for symptom-focused interventions in psychodynamic treatment? Connors argues that the deleterious impact of symptoms on the patient's physical and emotional well being often impedes psychodynamic engagement. Symptoms associated with addictive disorders, eating disorders, OCD, and posttraumatic stress receive special attention. With patients suffering from these and other symptoms, Connors finds, specific cognitive-behavior techniques may relieve symptomatic distress and facilitate a psychodynamic treatment process, with its attentiveness to the therapeutic relationship and the analysis of transference-countertransference. Connors' model of integrative psychotherapy, which makes cognitive-behavioral techniques responsive to a comprehensive understanding of symptom etiology, offers a balanced perspective that attends to the relational embeddedness of symptoms without skirting the therapeutic obligation to alleviate symptomatic distress. In fact, Connors shows, active techniques of symptom management are frequently facilitative of treatment goals formulated in terms of relational psychoanalysis, self psychology, intersubjectivity theory, and attachment research. A discerning effort to enrich psychodynamic treatment without subverting its conceptual ground, Symptom-Focused Dynamic Psychotherapy is a bracing antidote to the timeworn mindset that makes a virtue of symptomatic suffering.
The Christ, Psychotherapy and Magic is a Christian priest's appreciation of occultism, with a particular focus on the Qabalah. Far from condemning occult thinking, he finds it has much common ground with the Christian perspective and contemporary developments in psychotherapy. Drawing on the works of Dion Fortune, Gareth Knight and others, he appraises the theology and assumptions of occultists and examines how Christian mysticism coheres with the Tree of Life. While his ideas may be challenging and thought-provoking for many occultists as well as for many Christians, his spectrum is broad and his criticisms carefully considered. He also provides a lucid overview of the Tree of Life which makes the book an incredibly valuable introduction to the Qabalah, especially as a guide for aspiring Christian Qabalists. Originally published in 1969, this book came about through Anthony Duncan's friendship with occultist Gareth Knight, and directly inspired Knight's major work Experience of the Inner Worlds. "Now at least one clergyman has got the point and in this book urges his fellow Christians not to dismiss occultism either as a cranky fad or as 'a black art'." - The Guardian
Does my life have any deeper meaning? Does God really care about me? How can I find and follow my moral compass? What do I do when my faith is shaken to the core? Spiritual trials, doubts, or conflicts are often intertwined with mental health concerns, yet many psychotherapists feel ill equipped to discuss questions of faith. From pioneers in the psychology of religion and spirituality, this book combines state-of-the-art research, clinical insights, and vivid case illustrations. It guides clinicians to understand spiritual struggles as critical crossroads in life that can lead to brokenness and decline--or to greater wholeness and growth. Clinicians learn sensitive, culturally responsive ways to assess different types of spiritual struggles and help clients use them as springboards to change.
Ancient Christian Wisdom and Aaron Beck's Cognitive Therapy details a colorful journey deep into two seemingly disparate worlds united by a common insight into the way our thinking influences our emotions, behaviors, and ultimately our lives. In this innovative study about mental and spiritual health, readers are not only provided with a thorough introduction to the elegant theory and practical techniques of cognitive therapy, they are also initiated into the perennial teachings of ascetics and monks in the Greek-speaking East and Latin-speaking West whose powerful writings not only anticipated many contemporary findings, but also suggest unexplored pathways and breathtaking vistas for human growth and development. This groundbreaking interdisciplinary volume in the art of pastoral counseling, patristic studies, and the interface between psychology and theology will be a coveted addition to the working libraries of pastors and psychologists alike. In addition, it is ideal as a textbook for seminary classes in pastoral theology and pastoral counseling, as well as for graduate courses in psychology dealing with the relationship between psychological models and religious worldviews.