Spiritual & Religious Issues in Psych

Catalog description

The focus of this course is two-fold: 1) to develop a conceptual framework to formulate how spiritual and religious issues impact clinical practice; and 2) to provide an experiential component that includes mindfulness meditation exercises and the exploration of participants’ spiritual narratives. The course will develop a working definition of spirituality and religion, clarifying the relationship between the two. It will also develop a holistic conceptualization of clinical practice and identify some of the key constructs that are integral to the practice of spiritually oriented therapy (e.g., mindfulness, self-compassion, wisdom, soul, and serenity). The experiential dimension will allow students to explore their spiritual narratives in order to clarify the persons, places, ideas, and experiences that have impacted their current spiritual identity or perceived lack of one. Time will also be devoted to the practice of mindfulness meditation so that student can experience the potential benefits for both clinicians and clients.