The helpfulness of spiritually influenced group work in developing self-awareness and self-esteem: a preliminary investigation.
TheScientificWorldJournal September 28, 2005 DOI: 10.1100/tsw.2005.99 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 8 |
| Population | Adult women with a history of substance abuse |
| Interventions | mindfulness practice dream work stream of consciousness writing arts-based processes |
| Key findings | Participants perceived the spiritually influenced group as helpful in developing self-awareness and self-esteem, with making-meaning consistently described as a spiritually sensitive process. |
Abstract
This paper discusses an exploratory study that investigated the helpfulness of spiritually influenced group work with eight adult women who shared a history of substance abuse. The overall purpose of the group was to help participants develop their self-awareness and self-esteem. The group, which was contextualized in transpersonal theory, was organized around the following themes and experiential exercises: meditation, mindfulness practice, dream work, stream of consciousness writing, the shadow self, and other arts-based processes. Grounded-theory analysis of group sessions and individual interviews with the participants found that the participants perceived the group to be helpful in developing their self-awareness and self-esteem. While the participants identified different aspects of the group as spiritual, making-meaning was one practice that was consistently described as a spiritually sensitive process. The results of this study in this emergent field are promising and suggestions are provided for future research.