BOOK REVIEW, The Psychology of Spirituality ? The Mentoring Store Blog

The Psychology of Spirituality:? An Introduction

ISBN:? 978 1 84905 004 3
256 pp.

Reviewed by Duanita G. Eleniak, PhD ATR BCATR RCAT MSW RCSW

How many art therapists secretly pray for their clients?? How many of you mediate in session?? Or do you work with mindfulness techniques in your art therapy practice maybe ?disguised? as a part of your therapeutic framework?? How many of you rely on your spiritual teachings when you practise self care?? How many of you marvel at the ?Other Presence? that you witness through the images that are the foundation of our work?? And how many of you are careful when it comes to sharing the way that spirituality weaves into your work?

Dr. Larry Culliford provides compelling inspiration for us to not only ensure that we share our stories of spirituality in our art therapy practices but also that we take seriously the need to study and promote further inquiry into the area of spirituality and psychology.?

In this seminal work in the field of psychology and spirituality, Dr. Culliford adds his voice backed up by thorough research to advocate strongly for the shift to a holistic ?bio-psycho-socio-spiritual? paradigm in the field of mental health.? He notes that the field of psychology is very much behind in the acceptance of the findings of the new sciences which long ago found common ground with the fields of philosophy, the arts and theology by empirically verifying spiritual principles like Oneness.

Culliford very graciously references the people in the field who hold opposing views to his and who think that including spirituality in mental health care is dangerous to professional therapeutic boundaries.?? Culliford also points out, however, that these authors often equate spirituality with religious beliefs.? It is the distinction between ?spirituality? and ?religion? that Culliford carefully makes throughout his book which is the key to cut through the fear that has held back our ability as healers to openly incorporate the spiritual dimension into our work with people.?

As Culliford notes, spirituality, as distinct from religion, knows no boundaries.? As such it is a relevant consideration for more conscious integration in art therapy.? The more that people like Dr. Larry Culliford have the courage to speak up about the need to address the spiritual dimension, the more we will be able to explore this territory, learn about it, write about it, and make applications in ethical ways in our art therapy practices.? And, as Culliford points out, the quicker we have mental health providers doing this, the better things will be for humanity in general.?

The paradigm Culliford writes about is a model which is large enough to embrace the work we as art therapists do when we work with the Creative Force or Creative Energy in our healing practices.? Creative energy has been equated with spiritual energy.? As art therapists we can greatly benefit by the doors to conversation and study of spirituality that Culliford?s book opens.??

Culliford?s book supports the fact that we can no longer ignore the sublime realms that occur in art therapy and other mental health professions.? We need to explore them and recognize the healing impact of including them that has already been verified in research.? Books like his help give credibility to these efforts and permission to move into these realms with the support of well summarized research that has been done in the area so far.?

After exploring the literature on psychology and spirituality and helping the reader to understand the relevance of spirituality and the need for a paradigm shift regarding current psychological theory and practice, Culliford moves into the second section of his book where he outlines 6 stages of faith in the spiritual maturation process.? These stages track spiritual development from being part of a collective community belief system (stage 3), toward the acceptance of responsibility for ones thoughts, feelings and behaviours (stage 4) and then towards the acceptance that we are all one (stage 5) and the embodiment of holistic wisdom (stage 6).? His book advocates for making the journey to maturity in faith and to grow spiritually in order to discover joy, serenity and contentment.?

Of particular importance to the field of art therapy is his section on creativity where he states that discovering and implementing one?s creative abilities is a necessary aspect of merging from conformist faith (stage 3 of spiritual maturation) towards Stage 4 (accepting responsibility and beyond).? This connection has great implications for the role that our field holds in assisting the spiritual maturation process which is required in the more global paradigm shift that is happening in society.

Culliford works with stories throughout his book to make the ideas come alive.? Through Barack Obama?s writings, he traces the President?s spiritual development.? Through the diaries and letters of Etty Hillesum, who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943, he traces her spiritual maturation process.? He also gives many stories from his own experiences and those of his clients in order to illustrate the material he provides.

Also very helpful to the reader are the summary points, exercises and questions for personal/group reflection that he gives at the end of every chapter.? These allow the reader to engage with the material at a deeper level.

Another useful tool Culliford gives is in the Appendix of his book.? There he outlines practical information about how to take spiritual histories.? For example, he details a simple and easy to use acronym ?FAITH? which can cue us with the kind of questions we could work with in our own practice when we get to the point of recognition that taking a person?s spiritual history is just as important as taking their medical/physical, social, emotional and family history.

Chapter 11 is devoted to spiritual skills and here Culliford moves deeply into the area of meditation.? The research that he summarizes about the benefits of meditation can be very useful as a resource for any art therapist who wants to introduce these creative methods in traditional settings.? Culliford?s book very succinctly provides evidence of the effectiveness of meditation with regards to mental and physical health.

In Chapter 12 Culliford describes ?mainly religious practises? and ?mainly secular practices?.? I enjoy his distinction between regular worship (scripture reading and prayer) and secular spiritual practices which he outlines examples of including ?engaging in charitable work, attending to nature, reading poetry and philosophy, and spending time alone in contemplation while gardening or going on long walks.??

Dr. Larry Culliford has made an important contribution in this foundational work in the area of spirituality and psychology.? He must be commended for his courage to explore new territory and challenge the existing worldview in his book ?The Psychology of Spirituality:? An Introduction?.?

Let?s hope that we rise to the occasion, activate spiritual enquiry in our own lives as well as in our art therapy practices and assist the need for research and movement into the realms beyond scientific materialism.

This review was recently published in the Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal.? For more information, please contact the Canadian Art Therapy Association.

Source: http://coastangel.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/book-review-the-psychology-of-spirituality/

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