Encountering the Sacred in Psychotherapy
Subtitle: How to Talk with People about Their Spiritual Lives
Edition: 1st edition
Publisher: The Guilford Press
Published: October 19, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 320
ISBN-13: 9781572307018
Subjects: Psychotherapy; Religious experience; Religious aspects; Psychology; Religious life; Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior; Psychotherapy - General; Psychology & Psychiatry / Psychotherapy; Psychology-Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior; Psychotherapy patients
First sentence: In these pages we hope to show ways to open therapy to the spiritual lives of people who consult us; to listen for and to their experiences; to learn about their religious beliefs, spiritual practices, and sustaining faith communities; and to recognize and respond when these powers are used destructively.
Description: "This book guides therapists in exploring the creative and healing possibilities in people's spiritual and religious experience, while countering ways it can do harm. James L.

Griffith and Melissa Elliott Griffith integrate ideas from a range of therapeutic perspectives - as well as wisdom gleaned from over 20 years of work in the field - to help therapists listen and respond when spiritual or religious themes are invoked; ask appropriate questions about beliefs, practices, and communities; and work collaboratively to identify personally meaningful resources for change. Modeling an open, receptive stance, the book demonstrates ways to honor an individual's language, ideas, and traditions even in the absence of specific cultural knowledge or common traditions.

Filled with evocative personal accounts and therapeutic dialogues, this is a compelling resource for novice and experienced clinicians alike."--BOOK JACKET.