Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy - by Rick Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Spirituality and Religion in Counseling and Psychotherapy offers a practical approach that utilizes thematically based, personally accessible notions of spirituality and an integration of various traditional and contemporary counseling theories. The author provides a model that integrates existing counseling theories, revolving around the concept of the Real Self, with spiritual themes. By encouraging readers to increase their personal awareness and spiritual differentiation, they can enhance their clinical effectiveness with spiritual issues and avoid ethical transgressions related to imposing their beliefs or personalizing client issues"--

From the Back Cover

"Written with great clarity and intelligence, this book will be of benefit to all mental health practitioners, students of psychology, and those seeking a better understanding of their own process of psychological and spiritual transformation."
--Tara Brach, PhD, Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

"In this wonderful book, Rick Johnson weaves together different theoretical perspectives in a way that welcomes religion, spirituality, and nature into the counseling and psychotherapy process. It's a delight to read Dr. Johnson's approach--an approach that teaches therapists how to empathically explore spirituality as an important dimension of human existence."
--John Sommers-Flanagan, PhD, coauthor of Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice and Clinical Interviewing

"Rick Johnson's book Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy is a rich introduction to the varied forms in which spiritual suffering enters the consulting room, the range of theories which address or fail to address this need, and specific attitudes and practices through which therapists can provide a non-doctrinal but open encounter with the spiritual needs of their clients."
--James Hollis, PhD, Jungian analyst, and author of fourteen books, among them What Matters Most: Living a More Considered Life

A practical integration of psychology and spirituality that builds upon existing psychological theories

While many clients want spiritual and philosophical issues to be addressed in therapy, many mental health professionals report that they feel ill-equipped to meet clients' needs in this area. Providing a model that is approachable from a variety of theoretical orientations, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy supports therapists in becoming open to the unique ways that clients define, experience, and access life-affirming, spiritual beliefs and practices.

Drawing on the author's research into spiritual issues as well as predictors of clients' psychological health, this reflective book presents an integrative approach to discussing the topic of spirituality. An essential resource for mental health professionals of all spiritual and religious persuasions, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy discusses:

• Client-defined spirituality
• Integrating spirituality with psychological theories
• Why clients become spiritually lost
• Practical steps for spiritual health and abundance in therapy
• Helping clients reclaim their real self
• How spiritually oriented therapy helps
• Guidance for therapists in differentiating their spirituality from their clients' to foster a more successful therapeutic relationship

Filled with numerous cases and stories illustrating how spirituality can be a natural and beneficial part of the therapeutic process, Spirituality in Counseling and Psychotherapy enables mental health professionals to nonjudgmentally invite a collaborative exploration of the role of spirituality in their clients' lives.

About the Author

PATRICK "RICK" JOHNSON, PhD, is Department Chair of the Counselor Education Department at Portland State University. Previously, he was an assistant and associate professor at Montana State University. Dr. Johnson is also a licensed psychologist and maintains an active private practice. His research and scholarly agendas focus on the effects of family experiences on psychosocial development in adolescence and adulthood, as well as the integration of psychological and spiritual health.