Spiritual emergency and counselling: An exploratory study
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research March 1, 2002 Lynda Ankrah 20 citations
People from diverse cultural backgrounds often do not separate physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of illness, and may accept hearing voices or seeing visions as normal. This exploratory study surveyed individuals who had been in counselling relationships and interviewed three informants about their spiritual experiences. All respondents reported experiencing at least one 'non-ordinary' state classified as a 'spiritual emergency' by Stanislav Grof. Some participants felt unable to discuss these experiences with their counsellors, fearing being labeled mentally ill, while others found counsellors helpful. Differences in handling spiritual phenomena emerged between European and non-European participants.