The Relationship between Psychology and Spirituality: An Initial Taxonomy for Spiritually Oriented Counseling and Psychotherapy

Abstract

The authors present a theoretical and visual taxonomy of the possible relation-
ships that can exist between the domains of psychology and spirituality. These focus
on the context of spiritually oriented counseling and psychotherapy with the aim of
further developing this field as an academic discipline and clinical specialty. Atten-
tion is paid to how Individual Psychology fits the taxonomy.

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Holism in Psychotherapy and Spiritual Direction: A Course Correction

Abstract

The authors offer a course correction for understanding the term holism as used in spirituality oriented psychotherapy literature. This is done to allow the relationship between psychotherapy and spirituality to expand beyond limited dualistic conceptualizations. They first address numerous sources from which spiritually oriented psychotherapy arose and then explore the ill-defined relationship between the psychological and the spiritual dimensions of human existence. Next, holism is distinguished from 2 common forms of dualistic “elementarism” that are frequently misrepresented as holism. The authors conclude by presenting a holistic conceptualization of the relationship between the dimensions of psychotherapy and spirituality.

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Adlerian Life-Styles among Catholic Priests

For more than 15 years the Catholic Church has experienced what has come to be called a vocational crisis. That is, there has been such a decline in men entering the priesthood that the church has been unable to maintain its former level of ministerial activity. Coinciding with the lack of incoming clergy is the number of priests petitioning Rome for dispensation of their vows. Even with John Paul’s emphasis on the permanence of the priesthood and consequent actions to retard laicization (Catholic Almanac, 1980, 1979), there remains a number of priests who either do not wait for the proper indult or choose not to ask at all.

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Religious and Spiritual Problem V-Code: An Adlerian Assessment

Abstract

Considers the adequacy and clinical usefulness of the V-code, religious and spiritual problems, in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition’ (DSM-IV) and how Individual Psychologists might use it. Code in its developmental context; Review of literature stressing religious and spiritual understanding of clients; Alfred Adler’s Gemeinschaftsgefuhl.

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More Articles…

1. Individual Psychology and the Study of Spirituality
2. Internet and Faith
3. One Framing of the Issue: Adlerian Psychology with Pastoral Counseling
4. The Transformative Experience Questionnaire (TEQ): Spirituality in a Couples Context
5. Spirituality: Life Task or Life Process?
6. Spirituality in the Adlerian Forum