As more people practice meditation, yoga, and participate in workshops for personal transformation, increasing numbers of them are having experiences related to spiritual awakening. The problem is they don't know the territory. An intense spiritual experience can seem overwhelming and scary and even be confused with going crazy. This practical book is the classic text, newly updated in 2006 (3rd edition), defining the problems that can arise when someone is disoriented by intense spiritual experiences. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in spiritual experiences and their relationship to mental health and mental illness. It distinguishes the differences between various mental pathologies and indicators of spiritual awakening. It clearly describes the kind of care one needs in a spiritual emergency process and how the care is dramatically different than conventional psychiatric treatment. It traces the history of how signs of spiritual awakening have been perceived in the past. Graduate schools of psychology use this book as a text because it is such a clear statement about the nature of spiritual crises and appropriate treatment. However, it is written in a style that is also appropriate for any adult reader. The author, a transpersonal psychologist, has written five other books on spiritual healing and awakening. The title of the first edition of this book was "A Sourcebook for Helping People in Spiritual Emergency" and was published in 1988.

A feast of revealing narratives expose the amazing story of how people deal with critical points in personal transformation, also known as spiritual emergency. With the increase of interest in yoga, meditation, mental health recovery, and recovery from addiction there is renewed interest in care that is not based on medication as much as empathy and compassionate companionship. This book helps anyone who doesn't have a language to understand intense inner experiences and confuses them with mental illness. If you have felt disoriented by intense spiritual experiences this book will help you understand where you are and where you may be heading. It is a map of the journey of spiritual awakening written by a psychologist who knows the territory well. Reading it may make the difference between heading off to the hospital to get drugs to stop the symptoms or staying home and knowing you are OK. Just because you have had a conversation with your spirit guide, or talked to the spirit of someone who has passed away doesn't mean you are having a breakdown. It could mean you are having a breakthrough to a higher level of functioning. The author is a psychologist and knows the territory.

This new edited collection explores the intersection of spiritual direction and counselling/psychotherapy, and the relationship between the two. Citing the influencing effect prayer and counselling have had on each other, the contributors offer insight into the similarities and differences of spiritual direction and counselling, and of what the disciplines have to learn from each other. Advocating the importance of addressing the spiritual dimension of care in areas such as mental health and social care, this book promotes a synthesis of pastoral guidance and psychological counselling. The chapters offer insight to the healing role spirituality and prayer can play when counselling for trauma, sexual abuse or loss of a loved one. Whether discussing training counsellors to be spiritually literate, or exploring how spiritual accompaniers can take a psychologically-informed approach, all the contributors bring their extensive experience to bear working with spiritual and psychological issues.

An account of the philosophy, theory, practical applications and wider relevance of Spiritist therapies to be published in the English language. It explores how Spiritist centers and psychiatric hospitals are established and financed, with specific examples from Brazil and the USA.

Olga Bogdashina argues persuasively that, contrary to popular belief, spirituality plays a vital role in the lives of many people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Drawing on interdisciplinary research from fields as diverse as psychology, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, neuroscience and religion, as well as first-hand experiences of people on the spectrum, she shows how people with ASD experience their inner worlds and sense of self, and how this shapes the spiritual dimension of their lives and vice versa. She presents a coherent framework for understanding the routes of spiritual development and 'spiritual giftedness' within this group, offering insights that will inform understanding of how to support and nurture spiritual wellbeing in people with ASDs. This book gives a voice to both verbal and non-verbal individuals on the autism spectrum whose spiritual experiences, though often unconventional, are meaningful and profound. It is essential reading for all those interested in the spiritual wellbeing of this group, including pastoral carers and counsellors, ministers of religion, spiritual leaders, parents and carers and individuals on the autism spectrum.

Presents in-depth conversations with five quite different but highly experienced and mature psychotherapists who bring their spirituality into their professional practice. Interviews reveal how these therapists think about the relationship of their spiritual lives to their therapeutic work, and how they actually work with that understanding in clinical circumstances. Their insights anticipate and address important critiques of spirituality that come from classical psychological practice. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This three-volume set addresses how the role of spirituality and its constructive expressions in various religions—and outside of formal religion—enhances human personality and experience. Theologian and acclaimed scholar J. Harold Ellens now offers a breakthrough work on the positive impact of faith. In The Healing Power of Spirituality and Religion, an extraordinary group of scholars discuss the latest scientific research into the connection between belief and psychological and physical well-being. Each volume of The Healing Power of Spirituality focuses on a specific aspect of the scientific exploration of faith and well being: volume one examines the healing power of personal spiritualities like I Ching and Transcendentalism; volume two looks at the subject in the context of Christianity, Judaism, and other world faiths; and volume three explores the psychodynamics of healing spirituality and religion, including the role of biochemical and chemical reactions in heightening psychospiritual apperception.

The proposed text addresses a major problem in teaching and informing practitioners and trainees about the application of spirituality within the field of coaching. Its purpose is to inform the coaching profession about how spirituality is being utilized by various coaches across the life, wellness, and executive coach domains. The goals are to provide definitions, applications, ethical considerations, and speculation on the future of the profession on a wide range of applications. The content of the book will be a succinct series of case studies while providing cutting-edge tools and interventions for the coaching profession. Both editors are certified coaches as well as licensed mental health practitioners in the counseling and social work fields. The goal of this book is to offer guidance for the coach whose client brings direct or indirect spiritual content into the coaching session. Each chapter highlights established coach skills such as active listening, powerful questioning, and goal setting. The text brings together both seasoned spiritual coaches who have influenced this new and growing area coaching profession, and new spiritual coaches who bring their own diverse knowledge. The contributors describe their work in a diverse array of case studies, with their wide range of backgrounds and approaches, so that others can learn. Case Studies in Spiritual Coaching can be used as a primary text for courses that teach spiritual or intuitive coaching and/or courses that teach any coaching domain such as life coaching, wellness coaching, or executive coaching. This book may also be used as an adjunct text for courses that include an introduction to spirituality within the coaching profession.

Identifying, illuminating and enhancing understanding of key aspects of women and girls' faith lives, The Faith Lives of Women and Girls represents a significant body of original qualitative research from practitioners and researchers across the UK. Contributors include new and upcoming researchers as well as more established feminist practical theologians. Chapters provide perspectives on different ages and stages of faith across the life cycle, from a range of different cultural and religious contexts. Diverse spiritual practices, beliefs and attachments are explored, including a variety of experiences of liminality in women’s faith lives. A range of approaches - ethnographic, oral history, action research, interview studies, case studies and documentary analysis - combine to offer a deeper understanding of women’s and girls' faith lives. As well as being of interest to researchers, this book presents resources to enhance ministry to and with women and girls in a variety of settings.