YEAR : 2009
Counselling and Spirituality, Volume 28 Number 1 : Spring
THEME : NATURAL HELPERS AND TRADITIONAL HEALERS
■ Article in English
Moodley, R. & Sutherland, P. (2009). Traditional and cultural healers and healing: dual interventions in counselling and psychotherapy. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 11-32
Abstract : Since the beginning of time, people have been using a range of healing practices to resolve health and mental health concerns. Among these are the traditional healing practices which appear to be growing among immigrant communities in the West, for example, Yoga, Ayurveda, Astrology, Voodoo, Santeria; and, the newer forms, viz., Maat, Morita therapy, Naikan therapy and many others. These indigenous healing methods seem to address some of the many shortcomings of conventional health care and are practices in conjunction with, and at times in the place of, modern Western forms. It seems that including two different health care modalities is possible since competing and contradictory cures can be held alongside each other without creating conflict in the clients. This paper discusses traditional and cultural healers and healing in non-Western countries and those practices that are engaged with in the diaspora. The paper also considers the use of traditional healing alongside Western counselling and psychotherapy – dual interventions. Finally, the paper explores several strategies that counsellors could undertake when working with ethnic minority clients, particularly those clients who also enter into dual relationships with traditional healers.
■ Article in French
Ducharme, Fr. Trudeau, D., Rowan, C., Savard, S., & Lebel, P. (2009). Helping family caregivers through online stress management training: Is it possible? Results of an evaluative pilot study. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 33-54
Abstract : Given the stress inherent in the experience of numerous family carers and their difficulty gaining access to services, particularly when geographically distant, a psycho-educational support program focusing on stress management training was designed using information and communication technologies. The aim of this study was to conduct a qualitative evaluation of this individual program comprising seven online sessions on the process of stress management as related to the carer role. The program was tested with eight family carers of elderly persons, who were tutored throughout the process by a health professional. Results underscore the potential of this innovative intervention approach in the light of the rapid spread of internet use among people of all ages and the isolation of family carers. Accessibility and asynchronism are the main advantages afforded by this online training program geared to providing family carers with the requisite tools for better management of everyday stress. This pilot study provides guidelines for psychotherapy and psychospiritual support of family caregivers.
■ Article in English
McCormick, R. & Gerlitz, J. (2009). Nature as healer: aboriginal ways of healing through nature. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 55-72
Abstract : Euro-western culture is slowly realizing that ‘modern medicine’ and science is not able to fully meet its peoples health and healing requirements. The rapid growth of alternative, holistic medicine demonstrates that people are looking beyond science for healing assistance. In addition, the fear that ‘civilized’ cultures have mistakenly damaged the environment and the natural order of things is growing every day. A common belief for Aboriginal people is that humans are part of a greater whole that includes the natural world, and the spiritual world. Both the natural and spiritual world can be the teachers and healers for all peoples of the earth.
■ Article in English
Bezanson, B. & James, S. (2009). Learning from tradition : healers in the Açorean (Azorean) Islands. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 73-90
Abstract : Spirituality and religious faith as therapeutic components of counselling and psychotherapy have not yet been fully embraced by the majority of practitioners in the field. The present study identified important religious values in the use of traditional healers. The ethnographic study took place in the Açorean Islands of Portugal, specifically the islands of Terceira and São Miguel. A major finding of this study was the significance of religious values and spirituality in the act of healing by the healers. A brief context is given and relevant religious practices are described. The types of healers identified in this study are illustrated. Finally, the implications for counselling practices are discussed.
■ Article in French
Pilote, É. (2009). Receiving a gift in the context of Alcoholics Anonymous as illuminated by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 91-108
Abstract : Until now, very little research explored the way in which assistance is received in self-help groups. The results of the present research in practical theology serve to better understand the process of the reception of assistance in the Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) movement. This study explores the process of mutual help from the point of view of the receivers. Using a qualitative research methodology, twelve interviews of members of this ‘movement’ were conducted. The results of these observations are briefly presented. The parable of the Good Samaritan is used as an interpretative framework to understand the narrative accounts of these A.A. members. Through a better understanding of what occurs on the side of the ‘receivers’, this article challenges the professionals and volunteers in their role as ‘givers’.
■ Article in English
Torres, E. & Ingram, M. (2009). Con el favor de Dios : The role of promotoras/community lay health workers as spiritual helpers in supporting diabetes self-management among Mexican Americans. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 109-128
Abstract : There is evidence that individual spirituality positively impacts health behaviours and health status, as well as the ability to recover from illness. Among Latinos, spirituality and belief in God may serve as a cultural resource and a source of social support, as well as coping mechanism for disease-related stress. This article describes the results of a qualitative study investigating the role of the lay health worker, or promotora, in serving as a spiritual helper to Mexican Americans with diabetes. Results demonstrated the centrality of spirituality in the daily life of clients. Promotoras utilized the spiritual orientation of their clients to stress personal responsibility for self care in partnership with God, in communal sharing about how spiritual concepts can be applied to one’s life, and by serving as spiritual counsellors in times of crisis. Findings have implications for programs serving Mexican American communities.
■ Article in English
Dillen, A. (2009). Children are the future…and the present. Challenging pastoral practices with children. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(1), 129-148
Abstract : The contribution contains a critical reappraisal of the traditional notion that ‘children are the future’. Children are not so much seen as not-yet-adults that need to be socialized, but as subjects that live in the present time and have to be respected for what they are. The idea that children are not only ‘the future’, but also ‘the present’ is based on a critical appraisal of Christian spirituality and church practices. The theology of Karl Rahner functions as main reference in the argumentation for welcoming and mystagogical communities.
Counselling and Spirituality, Volume 28 Number 2 : Fall
THEME : PRAYER AND MEDITATION
■ Article in English
Curtis, R. & Robertson, P. (2009). Prayer and meditation: A review of research. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 11-32
Abstract : Efforts to prevent mental and emotional disturbances by having clients adopt positive behaviors are garnering much needed attention in the literature today. This is not a new topic to counsellors but current research is shining more light on the effectiveness of incorporating positive behavioral interventions in counselling. In this manuscript, research examining the effectiveness of prayer and meditation are reviewed, and implications for counsellors and counsellor educators are discussed.
■ Article in French
Pichon, I. (2009). Prayer or the consent to become self in the eyes of the o(O)ther: Illustrations from the perspective of Ignatius of Loyola. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 33-58
Abstract : This article will show that prayer can be a means of changing one’s image of “my god” to an image “of god”. Our connection to the divine derives from our emotional, social and cultural narratives. If attachment theory partially explains the relationship between the believer and the divine, our cognitive capacities can allow us to distance ourselves from our emotional experience of the divine. Prayer then becomes an avenue through which to work on one’s attachment to the divine. Methods of prayer will be evaluated within the context of the spiritual exercises of Ignatius. The structure of prayer time will be described from the perspective of Ignatius of Loyola and an attempt will be made to highlight those aspects of prayer time that involve meditation and contemplation. Such an approach to prayer underscores the central role that can be played by the spiritual director in one’s involvement with spiritual exercises.
■ Article in English
Russinova, Z. Prout, T. A., Wewiorski, N., Cash, D., Stepas, K. A. & Lyass, A. (2009). Use of prayer by persons with serious mental illnesses: Patterns and perceived benefits. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 59-82
Abstract : This study explored the relationship between the use of different types of prayer by individuals with serious mental illnesses and their demographic, clinical and religious characteristics, and the perceived benefits they attributed to prayer. As part of a larger study on the role of complementary and alternative medicine and spirituality in recovery from serious mental illness, a national non-probability sample of 235 individuals reported in a written survey that prayer was one of the holistic healing practices they engaged in to enhance their mental health. The study findings revealed differences in the associations of colloquial, meditative, petitionary and intercessory types of prayer with participants’ clinical and religious characteristics, as well as with the perceived benefits that users most frequently attributed to prayer. Study findings provide new information that may help mental health clinicians guide clients with serious mental illnesses who are seeking to benefit from the healing power of prayer.
■ Article in English
Francis, L. J. & Robbins, M. (2009). Prayer, purpose in life, and attitudes toward substances: a study among 13- to 15-year-olds in England and Wales. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 83-104
Abstract : This study set out to examine the association between prayer frequency, purpose in life and attitude toward substances, among a sample of 2,563 13- to 15-year-old secondary school pupils in England and Wales. Multivariate models controlling for sex, school year and personality (as defined by the Eysenkian dimensional model) demonstrated that greater prayer frequency predicted higher levels of purpose in life while both higher levels of purpose in life and greater prayer frequency predicted more proscriptive attitudes toward substances. These findings are consistent with a model suggesting that prayer frequency promotes a more negative view of substances both directly and indirectly through cultivating a greater sense of purpose in life.
■ Article in English
Mayer, S. (2009). Theological reflection: Praying out of the “stuff” of our lives. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 105-114
Abstract : This article presents the process of theological reflection in each of its stages as a method for prayer and meditation for pastoral counselors and those in training. Taking the specific event from a counseling session as the entrance point and applying the disciplines of attending, image making, faith connection and enactment, the author develops the idea that through such a discipline those working with others will discover depths for meaning making. Such depth can reach beyond the moment into transformation, both personal and communal.
■ Article in French
Hubert, J-D. (2009). Supportive spiritual counselling: “From meeting the other to THE OTHER we meet”. Counselling and Spirituality, 28(2), 115-138
Abstract : The helping relationship is a journey, for the client, as well as for the counsellor. In a truly fruitful helping relationship, the client experiences the uniqueness of being heard. This experience of being heard lays the foundation for the "healing" of the self. However, is healing an experience or just an ideal or even an possibility? Various definitions of healing lead to different ways of being and behaving. As well, healing can have an impact on faith issues. It is suggested that reading the Word of God may act as an aid in developing a more profound understanding of the word "healing".
