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Spirituality and Psychotherapy

Paul D. Zak, LCSW, CAS

As a psychotherapist and former Roman Catholic priest, spirituality has been an important part of my identity and interest for many years. My psychotherapeutic work with clients often involves spiritual questions about good and evil, life’s meaning, and the beneficence (or malevolence) of God.

Too often psychotherapists omit discussion of their clients’ spiritual beliefs. But psychotherapy inherently deals with the deepest dimensions of human experience and the spiritual is an integral part of that depth work. In fact the root meaning of psychotherapy is care of the soul or spirit. It is derived from 2 Greek words: psyche = breath, spirit, soul and therapeia = cure. Much of the healing through psychotherapy is really spiritual work.

In my practice, I often encounter people who have been wounded by religion and yet at the same time have a healthy curiosity about spirituality. Other people do not differentiate between religion and spirituality and have dismissed both because of bad experiences. And still others embrace religion and/or spirituality as a valuable resource in their lives.

I am actively interested in people’s religious and spiritual experiences because they exert such powerful influences. When people have rejected organized religion it is most often because they have been wounded by it in some way: a judgmental spiritual leader who shamed them; a nun who used physical punishment during formative years; or more seriously, a priest, minister, or rabbi who sexually abused them. These wounds permeate the psyche and keep people trapped in the trauma with anger, fear, low self-esteem, shame, and bitterness. For those who want to preserve or discover a deeper spirituality, their memory of the woundedness by religion or religious figures often gets in the way. Healing is required in order for people to be able to move on and reclaim their lives. Psychotherapy can assist in the process, and we use the principles of trauma resolution to help.

For those not wounded by religion, but who find it a valuable resource, the denominational assumptions and dogma of organized religion can limit their curiosity, even as the daily practice of religion itself provides comfort and solace. Psychotherapy can provide a safe space to question, be curious, and take responsibility for developing one’s own spirituality free of some of the confinements of organized religion.

Because so many people have had a conflicted relationship with religion, sometimes they need a neutral context to work out their spiritual searching. Psychotherapy can provide a space in which to do spiritual work, if the psychotherapist is attuned to this deeper dimension of human life, and is able to see spirituality as multi-faceted. Psychotherapy can be a vehicle for a deeper appreciation of spirituality as an integral part of the human experience.

At its heart, spirituality is about relationship because we are in essence relational beings. Because of this truth we seek all kinds of relationships and they are essential to our growth and wellbeing. Central to many spiritual traditions is the notion of balance in relationship.

The most basic level is the relationship with ourselves. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of depth psychology, writes about the persona we show to the world, which is in part a false self. The persona is the mask we use to get what we need and want. It consists of defenses and stratagems which have helped us survive, and it hides the real Self. The Self consists of a deeper level of ourselves, which is more authentic and less defended. It includes the shadow. The goal of healthy integration is for us to be able to embrace our shadow (undeveloped and/or often disavowed aspects of ourselves) and come to a deeper relationship with the true or deeper Self. This requires much lived experience, introspection, reflection, and time.

Psychotherapy can be an important part of coming to deeper self-awareness because it helps us become conscious of the unconscious defenses which keep us in the persona. As one embarks on the journey to the Self, through the exploratory process of psychotherapy as well as through meditation, quiet and stillness, and reflection on life experience, one comes to discover a deeper Self, which is inextricably linked to the cosmos. When we work on the level of the Self, we discover we are one with all reality, that separateness is an illusion.

Ira Progoff, an American psychotherapist, who invented the Intensive Journal Method, writes about each of us being a well and, through the process of connecting with Self, we connect with the underground stream that feeds all of the wells. Some might experience this underground stream as God, the ground of being, the life force, or energy. Connecting with the deepest levels of the Self is an essential element of spirituality. But by itself it is not enough.

The next dimension of spirituality is connection to—relationship with—our immediate circle: family, created family, and friends. Integral to a growing spirituality is concern about and love for people beyond ourselves. Psychotherapy is often an important part of helping people connect and/or repair relationships with others as well as enhance and deepen existing relationships. Spirituality is as much about connection to others as it is about connection to the life force, for God or the life force manifests itself to us through others as well as through our own experience. Often the community of a religious congregation strives to foster this level of connection. Sharing a creed and common traditions provides the bond for relationship. However, self-awareness and connection to community are still not sufficient.

There is more, for our relationships extend beyond the familiar. Part of spirituality is also relationship to the broader community of which we are a part—the human community, state, nation, and the world. If indeed we are all one, then part of spirituality is to be concerned about and work for social justice in our world. Psychotherapy can assist with this because it helps people become more aware that they are part of interconnecting systems and are deeply affected by their environments. If someone is the recipient of societal prejudice and discrimination, for example, this is internalized on some level, leading them to think of themselves as “less than,” or damaged goods. Part of the role of psychotherapy is to help people understand that their personal or social conflicts have deeper and broader causes than simply individual actions or omissions. An example is members of minorities who deal with anger. Often the root issue is that the anger is actually a healthy response to the systemic discrimination they experience. Simply to do anger management without helping them face and work though the broader social reality of discrimination is to do a disservice to people. Spirituality and psychotherapy join hands to confront social injustice. This is integral to a growing spirituality and comes from the oneness of all being. This dimension also includes working for the wholeness of the earth. Ecological issues, concern about global warming, the use and misuse of resources are all part of spirituality.

The final dimension of spirituality is our relationship to Higher Power, God, or Source, whatever it is that we consider to be ultimate reality. Paul Tillich, a German-American Lutheran Theologian, referred to this ultimate reality as the ground of being. If all of the other parts of spirituality help us develop various levels of relationship, then at some point we are in relationship with our own interpretation of the ground of our being. This dimension of spirituality reminds us that while we as humans have our place in the grand scheme of things, we are not in fact all that there is. We are part of something larger, or, as some would say, someone larger. Psychotherapists must be comfortable with helping people articulate that which gives their lives meaning and often this involves their connection with the God of their understanding. Sometimes psychotherapy helps people heal from the false gods they have been subjected to while growing up: judgmental, vengeful, or capricious characters snooping into every corner of their lives with continual condemnation. These images of god are the projections of their caregivers and some churches, meant to keep people in fear and obedience. These are not authentic manifestations of our ground of being. They are too small and petty.

As we mature spiritually, God, Source, or Higher Power becomes bigger and bigger and is experienced as unlimited love and acceptance. We are all part of God-consciousness. The Source is within each of us as well as beyond us. Humans are one with all of creation and a special part of creation, with a responsibility for stewardship of the earth. Some believe that traditional figures such as Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammed or modern-day inspirations such as Martin Luther King, Bishop Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa, are particularly clear manifestations of Source or God on earth. But whatever one believes, each person who wishes to grow spiritually must come to terms with the ground of being, whatever or whoever that might be.

Spirituality therefore has many dimensions. It is balanced relationship with ourselves, the people in our immediate circle, the broader social fabric, the earth itself, and the ground of being. All of these interpenetrate each other and someone can be spiritual when acting on any of these levels. Not all of us will act equally on all levels but the invitation is to see ourselves as part of all of these levels. Psychotherapy at its heart helps people to increase their self-awareness and sense of connection. And if it is truly “soul” work, then it is at home with all of the levels of spirituality and encourages people to explore broadly and freely as they work out their relationship to themselves, each other, the world, and the ultimate.

CG Jung. Vol 11 of the Collected Works of CG Jung Psychology and Religion: West and East.
Ira Progoff. The Well and the Cathedral: An Entrance Meditation.
Paul Tillich. Systematic Theology, vol 2.

© copyright 2010 Paul D. Zak. All rights reserved.

Paul Zak, M.Div, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Palm Springs, CA. He works with individuals and couples/relationships to help people come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of their lives. He is a licensed clinical social worker (LCS 17633), a Certified Addictions Specialist (CAS 3582), and holds a Master of Divinity degree. He can be reached at 760-898-4581. His website is: www.pauldzak.com