Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Counseling Psychology|Psychology|Spirituality'

This thesis explores the healing effects of surrender to and trust in the alchemical nature of the psyche to produce psychospiritual transformation toward wholeness and wellbeing. Through alchemical hermeneutic, heuristic, and intuitive methodologies the research explores healing outcomes of merging with the divine through a relationship with a guru, consciously being in a love relationship, and engaging with astrology as alchemical processes that help to integrate unconscious content into consciousness. The author observes the alchemical process in the merging of heaven and earth, or cosmos and psyche, as it weaves through her own life. She tracks the alchemy through which an interpersonal love relationship and encounters with the guru Mata Amritanandamayi produced both physical and emotional healing. The thesis also explores the psychotherapeutic use of astrology and suggests ways to integrate experiences of the divine, interpersonal love, and one's astrological chart into psychotherapy to support healing and movement toward wholeness.

This thesis uses hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies to draw together the myth of Chiron and the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing. Spiritual bypassing is the tendency to use spiritual beliefs, teachings, and practices to avoid dealing with one’s psychology, painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental issues. Chiron is a mythological figure who mentored a number of Greek heroes and Asclepius, the god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Chiron, like his mentee Asclepius, embodies the Wounded Healer archetype. Chiron’s wounding and healing journey can serve as a roadmap for spiritual practitioners on how to navigate out of bypass and deepen their path toward self-realization and individuation. Developing an archetypal awareness of one’s wounds appears to reveal the aspects of one’s psychology defended against in spiritual bypass. This emerging roadmap and lessons from Chiron’s journey may help therapists, healers, and spiritual teachers accelerate their own path and assist clients.

This thesis explores the spiritual-bypass phenomenon identified by John Welwood and how it can be a defense against wholeness as defined in Jungian psychology. Using hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies, and drawing on depth psychological theories, the author discusses the various forms of spiritual bypass and the underlying shadow dynamics, such as emotional repression. The author examines the nature of psychological and spiritual development through states and stages of consciousness development, healthy transcendence versus unhealthy transcendence, and the Jungian process of individuation toward wholeness. The research also explores contributing factors to spiritual bypass including the effect of early childhood attachment style and demonstrates the significance of integrating psychological development in a spiritual path. Finally, the author provides suggestions for therapists working with clients who may be in spiritual bypass.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Disorder of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS) are physiological and psychological symptoms known to arise in the aftermath of trauma. Although lifetime prevalence of trauma capable of resulting in PTSD is 50-90%, lifetime prevalence of PTSD is eight percent, indicating that there may be factors that protect against the development of such symptoms. Spirituality has been implicated as a possible moderator; spirituality may play a protective or restorative role in lessening the relationship between trauma exposure and trauma symptoms. The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine the moderating role of different aspects of spirituality, including cognitive orientation to spirituality, the experiential/phenomenological dimensions of spirituality, and religiousness, on the relationship between trauma exposure and trauma symptoms when such symptoms are defined to include both PTSD and DESNOS. Data collected from members of the general adult population using a cross-sectional online survey design indicated that the cognitive orientation to spirituality and the experiential/phenomenological dimension of spirituality both significantly moderated the relationship between trauma exposure and DESNOS symptoms; both of these aspects of spirituality buffer the strength of the relationship between trauma exposure and DESNOS symptoms. Religiousness was not found to moderate the relationship between trauma exposure and DESNOS, and none of the aspects of spirituality moderated the relationship between trauma exposure and PTSD. These findings add to what is currently known about the protective role of spirituality, provide additional data on the differences between PTSD and DESNOS symptoms, and set the stage for further research.

This thesis explores the psychotherapeutic value of working with the archetypal energies of two goddesses from the Hindu pantheon, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Considering that the field of psychotherapy stands on a Eurocentric tradition and that there is a concomitant need for therapists to be culturally sensitive and inclusive, this is significant and worthy of inquiry. This thesis asks what benefit working with Saraswati and Lakshmi would have for clients, as well as what their inclusion would mean for the field of psychotherapy as a whole. A qualitative approach is married with both hermeneutic and heuristic methodology in order to plumb the possibility that constellating Saraswati facilitates the cultivation of a discerning observing ego, whereas invoking Lakshmi supports the scaffolding of a robust sense of self-esteem.

This thesis explores Spanish Christian mystic John of the Cross’s concept of the dark night of the soul as a process of conscious suffering that leads to empowerment, meaning in life, and enhanced wholeness. In addition, this thesis considers depth psychological concepts of individuation and Self, and the depth psychological notions of the teleological function of suffering and conscious suffering in relation to the dark night of the soul. The work of C. G. Jung, James Hillman, Thomas Moore, James Hollis, and Barbara Sullivan, among others, is considered. Using heuristic methodology, this thesis presents the story of the author’s personal experience in the darkness to illustrate how conscious suffering leads to personal transformation. Finally, the author provides a guideline for therapists working with clients who are experiencing a dark night of the soul.

Loss of a child is the most complex death a person can experience. This event is multifaceted, containing intricate layers of mourning woven throughout the bereaved parent’s lifetime. Despite considerable attention emphasizing grief reactions of the bereaved, relatively few studies have recognized the unique mourning of bereaved parents, including dreams related to their child. This hermeneutic phenomenological study investigated the lived experience of six bereaved parents who have encountered significant dreams of their child. The study utilized a depth psychological lens based on Jung’s concept of the numinous—perceived as the mystery, the inexpressible, and that which pertains to the Divine. Data analysis yielded four supraordinate themes: Deepened Relationship with Self, Extended Relationship with Others, Intensified Relationship with It, and Heightened Relationship with God/Higher Power. This research sought to depathologize bereaved parents’ mourning and to cultivate awareness of the effects of dream encounters in order to foster hope and healing for the bereft parent. Results revealed that numinous dreams hold infinite potential, create a sense of meaning, and guide the bereaved parent toward psychological and spiritual transformation.

This thesis combines alchemical hermeneutic and participatory phenomenological methods to study the synchronicity of spontaneous trauma healing through reparative heart-centered attachment, group, and psyche work. It seeks to identify the archetypal, shamanic, noetic, mythopoetic, and psychodynamic power of groups to transform traumatic wounds—in light of Donald Winnicott’s “good enough” and somatic gestalt concepts—into altruistic, compassionate, mindful acceptance, and resiliency. It explores ideas of healing through examining the history of trauma, the effects of trauma on attachment and relational behaviors, neuroscience, universal ideas of compassion, mindful awareness, yoga, and meditation. The author immersed herself in different groups and self-healing practices and then processed her experiences through Jungian, psychoanalytic, somatic, depth, spiritual, meditation, and traditional lenses as described by Carl G. Jung, Donald Kalsched, Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Joseph Campbell, Andrew Solomon, and Mary Main.

Problem: The literature suggests that religious orientation and ethnic identity inform the religious coping process, which is better understood in the context of a particular stressor. However, research on this topic is limited, particularly among ethnic minorities.

Method: A survey was used to collect data on religious orientation, ethnic identity, and religious coping from a sample of 319 adults who had lost a significant other within 36 months of the study. A total of 11 variables were measured using The Means-Ends Spirituality Questionnaire, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Revised, and the Brief RCOPE.

Results: A canonical variate labeled "religious engagement" was a predictor for religious coping. Further analyses using multiple regression found that variables associated with traditional religious expressions (Devotional Spiritual Means), spiritual ends with a transcendental focus (Approach-unseen-autonomous Ends, Avoidance-unseen-external Ends), and Ethnic Identity were relevant predictors of Positive Religious Coping while Transcendental Means was a relevant predictor of Negative Religious Coping.

A stepwise discriminant analysis found that "ethnic identity and conservative religious orientation" discriminated between ethnic groups. Cases with higher levels of ethnic identity and conservative religious orientation were more likely to be classified as Black/African American or Hispanic/Latino/a, while those with lower levels were more likely to be classified as White.

Conclusions: When coping with bereavement, individuals who engage in traditional expressions of spiritual worship and strive to achieve ordinary and transcendental spiritual goals are more likely to rely on a secure relationship with the sacred, a belief that life has meaning, and a sense of connectedness with their religious community. Also, individuals who place greater value and emotional significance in their sense of belonging to their ethnic group are more likely to engage in positive religious coping. Thus, counseling psychologists should strengthen their multicultural and spiritual competencies in order to provide ethical and effective services to a population that is increasingly diverse.

It is not the existence of depressive symptomology, but understanding the function and effect that should be central in how to best support patients. Even in cases of milder depression, phase-of-life issues, or adjustment-related depressive episodes, the myth of a magical pill, here an antidepressant, appeals to the human desire for cessation of whatever unpleasantness may be arising. As a collective, clinicians may be placating clients’ psychological defenses and natural desire to suppress or dissociate at the expense of allowing a soulful opportunity to work through and resolve challenges. Utilizing a primarily hermeneutic approach, the author contemplates various studies supporting psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and combined therapies. Ultimately, the case is made for decision-making processes that place higher value on the greater context of potential soul opportunities for resolution and healing as well as individuation and growth.

Standards for integration of spirituality and religion within mental health training continue to be ambiguous. Although increased attention has incorporated such diversity into multiculturalism, proficiency remains inadequate among non-religiously affiliated individuals and institutions. This study examined competence levels utilizing the Revised Spiritual Competence Scale II (SCS-R-II) and the Spiritual and Religious Competency Assessment (SARCA). Participants were 125 students attending accredited counseling, psychology, and social work schools in the United States. Counselor trainees scored highest on both measures as did students with very strong personal religious affiliation and attendees of Christian affiliated schools. Implications and future recommendations are discussed.

How do envisioning dreams like fairy tales inform the therapist’s ability to talk with their clients about dreams? Using the research methodologies of heuristics and hermeneutics, the author tended to a dream while enrolled in a graduate program in psychology. He explains his dream as an imaginative story that reflects many of the ideas and concepts of depth psychology. The mythopoetic function of the unconscious is explored in relation to archetypal, historical, and fairy tale figures appearing in the dream, such as Bilbo Baggins, Trickster, Cleopatra, the Dalai Lama, and Frederick Douglass. Threads of depth and applied psychology are woven into the discussion, creating a link between the author’s dream and fairy tales. The research suggests that dreams, when envisioned as imaginary tales, are less frightening and more palatable, inviting selfdiscovery and transformation in the process of psychotherapy.

This pilot study examined the impact of Christian meditation and biofeedback on levels of stress, anxiety, and depression of seminary students in Southern California. Participants were randomly assigned to practice Christian meditation or biofeedback for 4 weeks, three times per day, and to keep a log of their practice times.The study included 20 seminary students all of whom were theology students and who were recruited from two seminary campuses in Southern California. The participants were of various ethnic backgrounds with the majority being European Americans. The average age was 31. The results from a paired samples t-tests indicated that both biofeedback and Christian meditation significantly reduced the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by the participants. ANCOVA indicated that neither intervention was more effective than the other. The implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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.

The present study examined the impact of student involvement, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidant, and spiritual well-being on grade point average, self-esteem, and life satisfaction of college students at a large public university. Two hundred and sixteen students, over the age of eighteen, completed the anonymous online survey. Consistent with previous research, the current study found that spiritual well-being was a significant predictor of student self-esteem and life satisfaction, but was not a significant predictor of grade point average (GPA). Results indicated that attachment anxiety was a significant predictor of self-esteem and life-satisfaction; however, attachment avoidance was not found to be a significant predictor of GPA, self-esteem, or life satisfaction. While student involvement was not a significant predictor, significant differences were found between students who identified as a member of a fraternity and sorority and those who were not. In addition, correlations were found between self-esteem and life satisfaction. The current findings suggest that spiritual well-being and attachment style play an integral role in the development of self-esteem and life satisfaction in college students.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the material world as well as the imaginal inner world was infused with spirit and spirits. They believed in a wholly integrated reality, which included the physical forms of nature as well as the unseen images, gods, goddesses, powers, symbols, and meanings that go beyond a rational intelligent comprehension but rather present a harmonized inner and outer perception of reality.

This study utilizes an alchemical hermeneutic research methodology, which advocates research with soul in mind using meditative transference dialogues to inform the scholarly research and interpretation of resources used to investigate the spiritual substance of these important concepts such as the psyche to matter problem, and the possible loss of soul in a modern materialist paradigm. This inquiry explores how ancient Egyptian sacred science relates to the variety of ways in which humankind has defined soul and spirit, how this ancient Egyptian way of being could be integrated in modern modalities of science, and how this integration would impact today's understanding of reality.

The study proposes how a modern shift into this ancient cosmology might benefit today's sciences, medicine, and most significantly the practice of psychotherapy, which, from a conventional perspective, is presently considered from a largely materialistic perspective, with little or no regard for the unseen and the immeasurable presence of soul. Conclusions are drawn regarding the personal impact of the study on the researcher, efforts toward a methodology of psychotherapy practice integrating the concepts of ancient Egyptian sacred science, and the limitations of adopting a modern cosmology rooted in an ancient way of being.

Despite the increase of attention in the counseling profession to spirituality, extant literature examining spirituality and adolescent mental health is limited (Powers, 2005; Van Dyke, Glenwick, & Kim, 2009). Few studies were conducted related to the spirituality of adolescents in residential treatment settings (Dew, et al., 2008; Hawke, Hennen, & Gallilone, 2005; Taylor, 2005). In particular, no studies were conducted to determine the relationship between spirituality and goal attainment or symptom change of adolescents in crisis residence. The purpose of the study was to identify the extent to which there is a relationship between spirituality and spiritual/religious coping, change of symptoms, and therapeutic goal attainment of adolescents in crisis residence.

A correlational design was used to examine the relationship between spirituality, spiritual and religious coping, goal attainment and symptom change of adolescents in crisis residence. A canonical correlation was conducted. The two sets of variables under investigation were spirituality (as measured by the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale and Brief Religious and Spiritual Coping Scale) and treatment outcome (as measured by the Goal Attainment Scale of Stabilization and the Target Symptom Rating Scale).

The participants in this study were adolescent clients from an acute care psychiatric facility in the southern gulf coast. Male (n = 47) and female (n = 37) adolescent participants ranged in age from 12 years to 17 years. Ethnicity and religious preference of the adolescents were reported.

Results of the study indicated that no statistically significant relationship existed between spirituality and treatment outcome for adolescents in crisis residence.

Spirituality may not be an essential component to crisis stabilization of adolescents. Rather, counselors should be aware that spirituality is a uniquely personal construct. Counselors who utilize spiritual principles as the primary tool for stabilization of adolescents may want to rethink their treatment protocols. For adolescent clients in crisis who place much importance on spiritual matters, addressing spirituality in treatment may be beneficial to attaining goals and reducing symptoms. However, adolescent clients who place no importance on spirituality may still achieve the same treatment outcomes in crisis residence. Additional studies that explore individual perceptions of spirituality, investigate the results of infusing spirituality into treatment strategies, and take into account individual diagnosis with this population would be useful.

Money is one of the strongest driving forces in society today. Its power over the human experience is widespread, yet many people are blind to their relationship with money and the psychological effects it has on them. Money has become a taboo topic in present-day society; even in psychotherapy it is swept under the rug. Employing heuristic methodology, this thesis uses a depth psychological approach to explore how awareness of one’s relationship with money can facilitate the healing of wounds caused by the misuse of money. The author uses her personal experiences with the money complex, along with existing research, to better understand this phenomenon. The findings show that in raising awareness around one’s own money complex, one finds that money may be used as an instrument of the soul rather than just a mere instrument of functioning, or surviving, in today’s modern society.

This thesis explores the potential for soul-making in the prison violence-prevention program known as GRIP—an acronym for Guiding Rage into Power. The author utilizes hermeneutic methodology to explore the meaning and evolution of the concept of soul-making within the literature of depth psychology. Using heuristic methodology, the author then analyzes what he perceived to be a profound demonstration of soul-making among the members of the GRIP prison group he cofacilitated. The findings indicate that by combining a downward move into the underworld of emotional woundedness and psychopathology with a vertical orientation that includes contact with ego-transcendent archetypal energies, the inmates participating in the GRIP program had an opportunity for deep healing and genuine soul-making.