Tesi sul tema "Spiritualité – Psychologie"

This study examines the manifestations of the integration of somatic, transpersonal, and Western psychology in the context of actual psychotherapeutic process. Two main research questions were explored: “What are the characteristics of the integration of somatic, transpersonal, and Western psychotherapeutic processes?” and “Do the lived experiences of the participating therapists reveal an overarching theory that may describe the integration of somatic, transpersonal and Western psychology in the context of the process of psychotherapy?”. Data was collected from interviews with 8 licensed psychotherapists trained in somatic and transpersonal work who integrate these areas of expertise in their clinical work. The data was analyzed using a grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006) method, guided by principles of integral inquiry (Braud, 1998). The integration of these frameworks allowed the data to include applications of different research designs as well as participants’ alternative ways of knowing. This study resulted in a model that describes a possible integration of somatic, transpersonal, and Western psychotherapeutic processes as well as the characteristics of that integration. The model is based on four coexisting components. The first component describes two ways in which integration was identified: a mindful awareness of the multidimensional nature of inner experience, and therapeutic exploration of content relating to somatic, transpersonal, and Western psychologies. The second describes the therapist's personal and professional psycho–spiritual–somatic journey, as well as the attitude she holds toward the client. The third describes the process that allows integration to occur, and the fourth describes the outcomes of this work. These four components expand and deepen the existing literature on somatic, transpersonal, and Western psychotherapies, and are the foundation for a suggested working model concerning the actual practice of integrative psychotherapy.

Research has shown that providing therapy clients with a treatment consistent with their preferences can increase the effectiveness of the therapy, possibly by reducing the dropout rate or by increasing the level of therapeutic alliance. Client preference and spirituality/religion were identified as two of four areas that can be responsibly adapted to the client while still maintaining evidence based practice. The purpose of this study is to examine if an individual who reports as highly spiritual will prefer a mindfulness based therapy (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) over a traditional evidence based treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).

Archetypal psychology relativized the notion of ego and brought the notion of psyche as soul to the fore by highlighting Soul’s distinction from Spirit. Psychotherapy became a soul-making process, but Soul’s longing for union with Spirit and the ego’s longing for relationship with the Self was neglected. Using alchemical hermeneutics, this thesis investigates the bringing into consciousness of the repressed Spirit in depth psychology by reviewing literature in the broader field of psychotherapy and the personal experience of the writer that points to a love relationship between the opposites of Soul and Spirit, ego and Self. This thesis also puts forth a call for action within post-Jungian thinking toward an awareness of the dynamically poetic tension of opposites, and posits that the divine archetype of the Opposites is the primary animator of the production of the human mind, reintroducing Jung’s archetype of the transpersonal Self in a more relational manner.

This dissertation used the exploratory single-case study method to address the research question of: How and to what extent has Uta Hoehne, a licensed psychologist, applied Alice Bailey's principles of esoteric psychology in a humanistic/transpersonalbased clinical practice?

Alice Bailey was an esotericist in the first half of the 20th century whose principles of esoteric thought resonate with many of the founding principles of humanistic/transpersonal psychology. Bailey wrote extensively about a type of psychology she called esoteric psychology (EP), which uses principles potentially applicable to clinical psychology. Uta Hoehne is a present-day licensed psychologist and skilled esotericist whose clinical practice has humanistic/transpersonal psychology roots.

She has applied EP techniques successfully in her clinical practice, originally as a supplement to conventional therapeutic techniques.

The research question was investigated using three data sources: 10 structured interviews with Hoehne; other Hoehne source data including published articles on her nonprofit Web site, approximately 200 unpublished documents, 60 hours of lecture recordings; and interviews with two of her senior students, also licensed psychologists.

The data involved general background information, the clinical use of esoteric psychology principles including what she called "higher psychic powers and energy," the esoteric perspective and protocol for multiple categories of DSM-IV-TR psychological disorders, and specific clinical tools with potential general application in humanistic/transpersonal psychology clinical practices. Also, the effectiveness of esoteric psychology techniques in others' clinical practices was addressed with two of Hoehne's students.

Content analysis yielded five principal categories that encompass esoteric psychology in general and Hoehne's specific clinical practices in particular. These categories concern esoteric psychology's perspective, orientation, understanding of disease, practices, and interface with humanistic/transpersonal psychology, and each contains further subthemes.

Hoehne's apparent success in therapeutic outcomes with application of Bailey's esoteric principles in a clinical practice with humanistic/transpersonal psychology roots demonstrates the appropriateness of further research into both the theory and practice of esoteric psychology and of consideration of a more general application in other humanistic/transpersonal psychology clinical practices. A clear resonance is revealed between these two approaches to psychology, and their areas of confluence and difference may work together to address the greater unfolding of human potential.

This dissertation seeks to formulate an integral psychology framework to better understand the nature and unfoldment of postformal, or postconventional, characterizations of individual consciousness evolution. To this end, an extensive critical evaluation and problematization of the disparate theoretical literatures indicated that while the egocentric and cosmocentric dimensions have been taken into account by various models, the psychocentric, or more specifically, the evolutionary soul dimension and its role in postconventional development has been largely overlooked.

With this background, there appeared to be hardly any substantial signs of agreement in the extensive and rapidly expanding literatures on human development. Such division has resulted in increasingly heated disagreements and debates concerning controversies of shape, goals, and, particularly, direction (e.g., structural-hierarchical versus spiral-dynamic models). Further, it was found that egocentric and cosmocentric biases bring to the fore a related set of problems that, in present-day formulation, can be summarized as the issue of epiphenomenalism along with the problem of identifying a facilitative agent (an ontological reference point that might help explain the how and why of stage change), which has apparently all but escaped developmental psychologists.

As a dialogue partner, the study adopts Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s rich integral acumen concerning the psychic being as an alternative assumption ground to both reveal and challenge some of the taken-for-granted assumptions found to underlie much of the ongoing theoretical debate. The guiding purpose of this dissertation, then, has been to advance the fields of both Western and integral yoga psychologies by contributing new and unique pathways to postconventional development—an integral psychology framework that places the deeper inmost source of evolution at the very center of a comprehensive whole person vision of human growth and development.

This study examined the experience of radical, defined as root, change through mindfulness and spirituality. The heuristic qualitative research model was utilized to illuminate that phenomenon as experienced by 13 co-researchers ranging in age from 34 to 83. A review of the literature revealed a paucity of research on the experience of radical self-change through mindfulness and spirituality. Heuristic analysis of data obtained from in-depth interviews produced six core themes of radical self-change through mindfulness and spirituality: suffering on autopilot, connecting catalyzes waking up, practicing shifts entrenched habits, opening to spiritual growth, healing relationships with self and others, and sustaining wellbeing. Unique findings of this study suggest that radical change is facilitated by intensive long-term engagement in mindful-spiritual oriented practices in settings that offer mutual support, mentors and guides, and mind-body connection, in addition to psychotherapy. Findings also suggest that type of multi-faceted intervention protocol facilitates healing of early-life complex interpersonal trauma and its after effects. Included is a discussion of results of this research, which may benefit mental health clinical practice, professional development, and social and educational planning.

Keywords: radical self-change, mindfulness, and spirituality

Positive psychology provides the theoretical framework for this replication and extension study of Holder, Coleman, and Wallace (2010). Their results indicated that spirituality (especially the domains of communal and personal) predicted students' (N = 307) happiness (across three dependent measures), even after controlling for temperament (Faces Scale (communal, r = .45, personal, r = .44; p < .05), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form (communal, r = .44, personal, r = .48; p < .05), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (communal, r = .34, personal, r = .38; p < .05). The present study used archival data drawn from students in grades 4 through 6 (approximately 8 to 12 years old) attending private (faith-based) schools in Western Washington. Similar to the Holder et al. results, this study revealed positive correlations between spirituality and happiness, even after controlling for gender, grade level, and temperament. Extending the work of Holder et al., participant grade level was included in the regression model in order to account for developmental differences among children, but grade level did not contribute significantly to the overall prediction of students' happiness levels. Gender was also of little predicative value. Implications for theory, research, and practice are included.

This dissertation compares the integrated vipassana movement of North America and the school of psychology. The comparison examines both healing practices and ontological paradigms. The integrated vipassanā movement in the United States is defined by that element of vipassanā teachings that blends Theravāda Buddhist practices with American cultural mores as promoted and disseminated by Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Existential-humanistic psychology is here represented by the teachings of Rollo May, James Bugental, and Irvin Yalom. This inquiry seeks to apprehend the nature and efficacy of compassionate and caring present-moment attention in the context of two distinct ontological orientations. The analysis begins with each tradition's description of humanity's most fundamental flaw: dukkha and angst. The examination of these maladies of life is followed by a comparison of these traditions' respective portrayals of health and harmony: Buddhist liberation as compared with existential freedom. This study then examines and compares the way in which these traditions employ the blended healing practices of compassion and present-moment awareness. The findings include the observation that the Theravāda concept of no-self and the existential notion of the groundlessness of being provide for two distinct kinds of healing: one promotes a grace born of skillfully encouraging a depth of surrender of self, and the other speaks to creating an authentic world for oneself. This dissertation finds that the two traditions offer practices and orientations that may be used complementarily.

Current psychological research into religiosity can be located into two paradigms: the cross-cultural psychology interpretive tradition and the cultural psychology interpretive tradition. To generate support for the latter paradigm, American and Mainland Chinese respondents were asked to describe a religious or spiritual other as a way of exploring the impact of individualism-collectivism cultural values on expressions of religiosity. Statements from Chinese respondents were expected to have more socially related content compared to American respondents. Responses were analyzed using a linguistic analysis computer program with attention given to social process, family, friends, and humans content. Raters were also instructed to generate categories based on the content of the responses. No significant differences were found between American and Mainland Chinese respondents on all four content categories. Religious self-rating was found to significantly predict family content, while religious and spiritual self-ratings significantly predicted humans content. Raters also generated 11 categories from American responses, and 10 categories from Mainland Chinese responses. Methodological and theoretical implications are also discussed.

This study employed a quantitative correlational research design to determine the extent of the relationship between professionals' spirituality, stress, and different dimensions of burnout in the workplace. Instruments included the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS) Burnout Inventory. The study was conducted among male and female full-time employees working in an office setting located in the United States of America ( N = 92) using an internet-based questionnaire service. Results indicate that spirituality was positively correlated with the Exhaustion and Cynicism burnout dimensions, and negatively correlated with the professional efficacy burnout dimension. The findings suggest that spirituality is a crucial predictor of occupational stress and burnout in the workplace and could be used as a coping strategy.

This study researches the journey of transformative learning experiences of adult men and women who have adopted a positive attitude in dealing with challenging and life-threatening issues. By applying a Western grief model and the principles of “living the present moment” and “letting go” derived from Buddhist psychology, this study aims to identify ways to transform mental suffering and grieving into positive energy that may help to provide comfort to individuals in despair.

The research paradigm is transpersonal and the method of this study is narrative analysis. A combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews as well as email exchanges with eight individuals who shared their personal experiences in adopting a positive attitude in overcoming difficult situations were employed. These participants have battled and conquered their unique life-challenging situations.

The stories of these individuals document their challenges with grief and include insights learned from these experiences and the ways in which they transformed these experiences into catalysts for positive energy. Seven themes became evident and significant in their journey in coping with suffering, and paved the way for their transformational learning experiences. They are: a) Reaching acceptance, b) the importance of a support network, c) making meanings of suffering, d) impermanence, e) letting go of the past, f) living in the present moment, and g) spirituality. It is hoped that this transformational learning experience will enable other people from diverse demographic, professional, and cultural backgrounds to embrace a Western grief model in combination with Buddhist psychology to better cope with their loss or grieving, and help them to understand the opportunity for growth these life challenges can present.

Everyone experiences loss and difficult challenges in the course of a lifetime. How we view and react to them determines the effect they have on the rest of our lives. This study will contribute to the need for more research in this area by asking the following question: “How do actions derived from Buddhist principles help to alleviate suffering among people facing challenges of change?”

This qualitative study involved the creation and assessment of a seven-week heart-focused psycho-spiritual inquiry program, Map of the Heart. The program’s curriculum was comprised of heart-based practices and theories designed to develop heart-centered awareness. The purpose of this investigation was to reveal and understand the personal experience and expression of heart intelligence and to define it and its personal meaning while illuminating the clinical relevance of Map of the Heart curriculum in the field of counseling psychology.

The curriculum was organized into six weekly themes based upon core heart feelings associated with the Four Immeasurable Truths, Buddhist virtues, and practices for cultivating the heart. Informed by East-West psychology, the curriculum highlighted perennial philosophy from both Eastern and Western religions and indigenous and psychological traditions, integrating spiritual discipline with Western neuroscience research and psychotherapy practices.

The research design used heuristic phenomenology and co-operative inquiry to explicate the individual and group experience of heart intelligence. Data analysis was primarily derived from a series of one-on-one semi-structured interviews and group dialogue sessions with nine state-registered psychotherapists.

Research findings indicated that Map of the Heart may support psycho-spiritual and clinical skills development and may encourage personal and interpersonal conflict resolution. Co-researchers reported increased experiential awareness of their own heart center and a defined ability to connect internally, reinforcing therapeutic intuition, perception, and sensitivity, subsequently strengthening the therapeutic alliance. Increases in therapeutic presence, empathic listening, attunement, and accurate mirroring were also reported. Co-researchers reported a greater ability to work more effectively with difficult clients and complex mental health issues. As a result, transformative changes in the client were observed. Co-researchers indicated that they were able to effectively use aspects of the curriculum for therapeutic intervention and clinical directives, where the heart became a focal point of the session. For example, the client focused on their own heart center by implementing heart breathing and other heart-related exercises to facilitate self-inquiry and emotional self-regulation.

Map of the Heart offers the beginnings of a theoretical template and experiential basis upon which psychotherapists, psychologists, and mental health care and other professionals can access and integrate the spiritual, psychological, and physiological terrain of the heart for therapeutic process and intervention. Further investigation is necessary to determine a more comprehensive psychology and theoretical orientation of the heart.