Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy Understanding and Addressing the Sacred

From a leading researcher and practitioner, this volume provides an innovative framework for understanding the role of spirituality in people's lives and its relevance to the work done in psychotherapy. It offers fresh, practical ideas for creating a spiritual dialogue with clients, assessing spirituality as a part of their problems and solutions, and helping them draw on spiritual resources in times of stress. Written from a nonsectarian perspective, the book encompasses both traditional and nontraditional forms of spirituality. It is grounded in current findings from psychotherapy research and the psychology of religion, and includes a wealth of evocative case material.

Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Bowling Green State University, where he has been on the faculty since 1979. He has published extensively on the vital role of religion and spirituality in coping with stress and trauma. Dr. Pargament has been a leading figure in the effort to bring a balanced view of religion and spirituality to the attention of scientists and professionals. He is a recipient of the William James Award for excellence in research in the psychology of religion, the Virginia Staudt Sexton Mentoring Award for guiding and encouraging others in the field, and the Oskar Pfister Award for his research and practice in religion and mental health. Dr. Pargament is a practicing clinical psychologist who has worked with people from diverse spiritual backgrounds. In 2011-2012, he will serve as Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Institute for Spirituality and Health of the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

I. Introduction 1. A Rationale for a Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy II. Understanding the Sacred 2. Spirituality: The Sacred Domain 3. Discovering the Sacred 4. Holding On to the Sacred 5. In Times of Stress: Spiritual Coping to Conserve the Sacred 6. In Times of Stress: Spiritual Coping to Transform the Sacred 7. Problems of Spiritual Destinations 8. Problems of Spiritual Pathways III. Addressing the Sacred 9. An Orientation to Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy 10. Initial and Implicit Spiritual Assessment 11. Explicit Spiritual Assessment 12. Drawing on Spiritual Strivings, Knowledge, and Experience 13. Drawing on Spiritual Practices, Relationships, and Coping Methods 14. Addressing Problems of Spiritual Destinations 15. Addressing Problems of Spiritual Pathways IV. Conclusions 16. Steps toward a More Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy