Psycho-Spirituality

Traditional psychiatry and psychology seem to focus on the negative aspects of mental and emotional health. However, the good news is there's a rebirth of positive psychology in Western culture.

As people progress through life, psychological changes and symptoms are seen as opportunities for positive growth rather than pathologic processes that must be eliminated. Unfortunately, the past few decades have also witnessed more people without a clinical diagnosis who feel "missing" in their lives.

Though mind and body were once considered distinct entities, they are now recognized to be interconnected.

Health and healing practitioners and clients alike still neglect a third factor - the role of spirituality. There is no doubt that spirituality plays a significant role in health and longevity. Yet, despite this, we often forget spirituality and rarely include it during client sessions.

Psycho-spirituality should not be confused with religion. Using spirituality in a client session involves taking into account the client's belief systems and helping them develop a concept of spirituality that is unique to them. Spiritual philosophy may or may not be related to the client's religious beliefs (or lack thereof). To determine which approach to take and how overt our psycho-spiritual perspective is, we need to pay attention to spiritual paths and beliefs within the contemporary worldview of the people.

From a psycho-spiritual perspective, trauma can be viewed as an opportunity for a quantum leap in consciousness in people who have experienced (post) trauma. Some clients are thankful that the trauma occurred because they learned something so profound or became someone so different. It may be possible for some individuals to reach this state of acceptance and contentment on their own, but for many, it may require psycho-spiritual guidance.

Traditional approaches to eating disorders focus on the obvious (food, weight, fat, and body image) but fail to recognize that a physical eating disorder may reflect a spiritual need to be fed and nurtured. Once again, the emphasis is on developing a personalized plan based on the individualized approach.

Attention-deficit concerns can be addressed through spirituality. Considering today's increasingly mobile and high-tech world that forces us to multitask, these concerns are increasingly relevant. Photos of various meditation poses can be beneficial to increase focus and clarity of thought.

Another very effective method for personal growth is the Sufi technique for healing depression, an ancient wisdom tradition with a history of over 1400 years.

"Mindfulness" or "Mindlessness" is an integrated psycho-spiritual and biological approach to mental health that incorporates cognitive techniques and the practice of mindlessness.

When spirituality and sexuality are combined, healthy sexual relationships can be achieved. Despite a clear distinction between spirituality and religion, the role of religion in developing sexual difficulties is discussed. There is an explanation of the need to discuss the origins of religion (if present) and incorporate the client's current religious views into the therapy, as well as how to use one's spirituality to enhance the sexual experience beyond what was previously known.

The psycho-spiritual approach adjusts and summons new life adventures as an alternative to a poor response to a life situation. Anxiety can be addressed this way. It is crucial to incorporate a spiritual approach into individualistic approaches.