Working with spiritual and religious themes in group therapy.
J R Jacques
International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 1998 DOI: 10.1080/00207284.1998.11491522 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | analytic therapy group |
| Key points | Proposes that analytic therapy groups can function as spiritual communities, where working with spiritual and religious themes through amplification and interpretation facilitates the integration or transformation of self and God images. |
Abstract
This article explores the analytic therapy group as a spiritual community that can deepen the implications of group transference. From this perspective, group-as-a-whole dynamics include a spiritual dimension in addition to the recapitulation of the family of origin. Clinical vignettes are introduced from a midphase group to illustrate a means of working with spiritual and religious themes psychodynamically through managing them like dreams. Amplification and interpretation of the symbolic themes guide members through the transference to the family of origin. There, members gain access to childhood memories and to the childhood transitional space of religious experience where they created their God representations as a means of solving their self and object dilemmas. The working-through process facilitates the integration or transformation of new self and God images.