Spiritual accompaniment and counselling: Journeying with psyche and soul

Abstract

Written in order to further practice and understanding about what it means to work with the spiritual dimension of being human, this book explores the theoretical and practice knowledge that can be shared and exchanged between counselling and psychotherapy on one side, and Spiritual Accompaniment and Spiritual Direction on the other. The contributors, who each work with spiritual issues, either explicitly as spiritual directors or accompaniers, or as an implicit part of their therapeutic work, offer a psychologically-informed approach to Spiritual Accompaniment and Direction, and to working with others on a spiritual level more generally. They explore what it means to be attuned to the spiritual process of another, discuss what makes an effective relationship in Spiritual Accompaniment and counselling, and consider how best to work with spiritual crisis, spiritual abuse, and pain. The unconscious process informing the work, forgiveness, changing spiritual needs over the life-span, and models of supervision that can inform the practice of Spiritual Accompaniment are also explored. A case study is presented, providing psychological and theological insights into the accompaniment process. Grounded in work with the spiritual dimension of others and aspiring to improve encounters at a spiritual level, this concise book has important implications for the practice of counsellors, psychotherapists, and spiritual accompaniers and directors.