Spirituality...AND Science?

While it may seem contradictory, recent research at leading universities explores the intriguing connection between religion and health. Duke University has delegated an entire branch within their psychology program to this study.

This summer, the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health at Duke is hosting week-long intensives to post-doctorate professionals, approaching health in a surprisingly holistic manner. Topics of study will include:
-Resources for learning more about spirituality and health
-Previous research on religion, spirituality and health
-Applying findings to clinical practice
-Spirituality of the health care provider
-Theological considerations and concerns

As future Christian counselors, it is exciting to see this trend within psychology. While in the past, religious practices were viewed as neuroses, and a sign of psychological dysfunction, even non-religious psychologists now acknowledge the impact of spirituality on both physical and psychological health. Findings on how people use religion to cope raise questions about the use of spiritual interventions in therapy.

The door is wide open for Christians to engage their faith, and even conduct research to show the effectiveness of spiritually-based interventions. While professionalism definitely requires sensitivity to clients' preferences and religious orientation, it is exciting to see scientists hypothesizing on the inter-relationships of spirituality and health.

Rather than being shy or ashamed of our faith, Christian psychologists should be on the front lines (in both Christian and secular circles) of scientifically investigating, theorizing, and applying spirituality to the counseling experience. Negative stereotypes about a Christian counseling education as inferior can be easily reframed as critical preparation for helping clients address spiritual questions and explore the use of religious coping in their path toward psychological health.

The Tsunami...and Emotional Regulation

Speaking of the crisis in Japan, a recent CNN article reported, "Even after rescue, survivors struggle to come to grips with disaster." The Japanese people (and TV viewers all around the world) are grappling with the reality of death and loss. Many people are experiencing intense and crippling emotions.

Culture impacts how these emotions are regulated. Japanese culture is given to a strong sense of community pride and strength, Dr. Makino shares. While the Japanese word hone means honesty, tatemae means what is actually verbalized in an attempt to "save face." In a situation of crisis, tatemae always wins.

In a culture where it is shameful to appear weak and needy, it seems that many survivors are regulating emotion the best they know how--by denying the impact of trauma and belittling their powerful feelings. Because Japanese culture does not foster emotional regulation skills, survivors are having an especially difficult time responding to the tsunami crisis in a healthy manner that promotes psychological healing.

But the trauma is not just in Japan. Noting the impact among TV viewers, the APA suggests a plan for how Americans can manage personal distress triggered by watching footage of and hearing about the tsunami. Technical words aside, the APA is basically laying out guidelines for emotional regulation, noting the power of how emotions are handled in overall psychological health.

As future counselors, it is critical to note the impact of culture on how people experience and regulate emotion, as well as the emotional impact of events all the way across the world on the emotions people experience even here in the U.S. While no two people experience emotion in the same way, psychoeducational training like the APA provides can give people a framework for responding to trauma.

The crisis in Japan shows that, even in a fairly non-emotional culture, trauma has a way of activating deep, even overwhelming feelings. Often, people come to counseling in a time of crisis, whether it is environmental, like the situation in Japan, or interpersonal. It is our priviledge (and challenge) as counselors to validate and explore our clients' emotional worlds and help them develop strategies to integrate their emotional experience into their daily reality.

The Theology of "Tough"

"Trust God…get over it…pull yourself together.” The theology of "tough" is pervasive in many churches today, where people with deep soul wounds are told to say a prayer, trust God, and stop being so selfish.

In Hurt People Hurt People, Sandra Wilson paints a frightening picture of the reality of our brokenness:
Like a little girl who drags herself to the dinner table after being hit by a car, managing to crack a smile on her bloody face, despite her bruised and broken limbs.
If this girl’s parents did nothing, they’d undoubtedly be charged with child neglect…even abuse.

But when the wounds are invisible and the dislocated joints and bloody gashes are in the soul…not the skin…Christians often resort to the theology of “tough.”

“After all," many churches seem to communicate, “Jesus came to serve…we’re called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, not sit around and dwell on the past.” In their quest to be used by God, I am afraid many people (myself included!) have failed to realize the long-term impact of the brokenness in our lives on our ability to picture the whole Gospel to a hurting world. After all, if we ourselves haven’t experienced the healing power of the Gospel in the deepest places of our hearts, what do we have to offer non-believers except abstract theology…and religious rituals?

There is a certain pride that comes with being “tough”…with not letting things get to you. Wilson (2001) writes: “Many of us tend to deny the full extent of the damage done to us by excusing, minimizing, or discounting the hurt, as though whatever happened—no matter how horrendous—couldn’t have been all that bad since we survived” (p. 199). Sure, minimizing is a way to cope. But hiding is not the same as healing. And denial is not the same as sanctification. Being tough is not the same as being whole.

When I consider the ministry of Jesus, it seems no coincidence that he drew sick, broken, and hurting people like a magnet. And he often rebuked the “religious” people as living in prideful denial of their true needs. Perhaps denying or minimizing our needs isn’t holiness, like we think…maybe it’s little more than prideful independence re-packaged as self-made religion.

The Gospels present story after story of broken, battered, used-up people. Think Mary Magdalene. The prodigal son. The woman caught in adultery. Cripples. Demon possessed. The blind. The woman with an issue of blood. Not exactly “tough” people. All of the people that Jesus healed seemed to have one thing in common…and it was nout being "tough." It was brokenness. Humility. Desperation.

Maybe it’s time we saw the theology of “tough” for the lie it really is, and honestly appraised the soul wounds we carry. After all, untended pain doesn’t go away. It just goes deeper. It festers.

Jesus did not suffer the anguish of the cross so we could drag ourselves along, wincing with the pain of every step on our dislocated joints and holding up our bloody, festering wounds as evidence of our “great faith.” As future counselors and people-helpers, it important that we remember the true mission of Jesus, which is also our mission:
“to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners…” (Is. 61:1)

Can Spirituality Heal?

I went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting this weekend to fulfill a class requirement, and I couldn’t help but notice the influence of spirituality in these men and women's lives.

The role of the immaterial is unmistakable in AA's 12-step plan:

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction…
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity…

To AA members, the belief in a Higher Power is foundational to the healing process.

In a recent article on Psychology Today’s Spirituality Blog, David Elkins seems to agree: “Spiritual interventions heal—sometimes when traditional psychotherapy fails—because they untie the mental and emotional knots that prevent the life force from doing its work.”

Such statements may sound strange coming from psychologists, who have traditionally viewed religion as a form of psychosis. However, the growing interest in spirituality cannot be ignored by even the scientific community.

A recent survey of family physicians found that 99 percent of them believed that meditation, prayer, and other forms of spiritual practice had a positive influence on health.

As Christian counselors, the idea that spirituality can heal is not incompatible with Scripture, but depends heavily on how the terms “spirituality” and “healing” are used. In class, we defined “spirituality” as the ability to interact and engage in the immaterial realm. It follows, then, that spirituality is not a uniquely Christian term, for AA’s “Higher Power” could be Jesus, Allah, Brahma, the Sun god…or any other diety.

How a counselor understands “healing” and “health” shapes the way they approach therapy. Is healing merely an amelioration of symptoms? Are stability of self and display of social interest the primary measures of health? Biblically, health is not grounded solely in self-satisfaction, but, more importantly, in personal transformation. Dan Allender describes healing as “the use of our past to draw us into deeper relationship with God and his purpose for our lives.”

It is quite possible to have a deep personal spirituality and even to be psychologically healthy, and not experience the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. In today’s world, spirituality is a relative term…and a slippery slope.

So…can spirituality heal? Ask any of the AA members I spoke with, and the resounding answer is “yes.” In fact, they would likely tell you that apart from their spirituality, they would not be sober. For many people, interaction with the immaterial realm helps them cope and gives them hope.

But can spirituality save? No. As a Christian, spirituality—experience with the immaterial realm—is not the end, but rather, the means to the end of knowing Christ and being transformed.

Exorcisms as Psychotherapy?

A recent article in Psychology Today reports a widespread explosion of interest in exorcisms. In the U.S., there are over 500 publicly-known deliverance centers, while in Europe, hundreds of priests have sought training in exorcism because of the needs of their communities. If Hollywood is any reflection of cultural trends, people are interested in the supernatural. Just look at the popularity of movies like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Amityville Horror.

Science provides no explanation for immaterial beings such as demons. Thus, demonic activity has traditionally been seen as outside the realm of psychotherapy. However, in his studies as a forensic psychologist, Dr. Stephen Diamond raises some startling questions:
• Are there vital existential or spiritual questions addressed by exorcism that psychotherapy detrimentally neglects?
• Should psychologists consider certain techniques employed by exorcists when treating angry, psychotic, or violent patients?
• What can we learn about psychotherapy from studying exorcism?

“Our recent overemphasis on cognition, behavior, genetics, neurology and biochemistry must be counterbalanced by the inclusion of the spiritual and depth psychological dimension of human existence.” Could Dr. Diamond be acknowledging the legitimacy of spiritual influences in therapy? It certainly appears so, opening the door for discussion with our non-Christian colleagues.

As future counselors, it is critical to wrestle through the implications and involvement of the supernatural world in our practice. Diamond’s assertions of the necessity to re-examine the spiritual issues of our clients deserve a welcome “amen” from Christian counselors, who view personhood as both material and immaterial.

But this “amen” must surely be followed by a “what now?” for if secular psychology is seeing the need for examination into clients’ spiritual realities, Christian counselors must certainly have a voice in the discussion. Our understanding of personhood allows us to readily acknowledge the spiritual and biological influences of our clients’ behavior. More than that, Scripture teaches that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12)

The challenge, then, is dialoguing the truths of Ephesians 6:12 with our non-Christian colleagues in a professional context.