An Empirical Study of Contemplative Prayer as an Adjunct to Psychotherapy
John R. Finney, H. Newton Malony
Journal of Psychology and Theology December 1, 1985 DOI: 10.1177/009164718501300405 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Time series quasi-experimental design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 9 |
| Population | Adults in psychotherapy, three males and six females, ages 21 to 58 |
| Intervention | Christian contemplative prayer as an adjunct to psychotherapy |
| Measures | patients' ratings of distress on target complaints, trait anxiety scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Stein and Chu adaptation of Barron's ego-strength scale, Batson's inventory of religiosity, Hood's Mysticism Scale, Pauline Comparison Scale |
| Key findings | The authors report modest circumstantial support for using Christian contemplative prayer as an adjunct to psychotherapy: distress on target complaints decreased markedly, and time spent in contemplative prayer correlated positively with Pauline Comparison Scale scores (r = .76), which they interpret as suggesting enhanced spirituality. |
Abstract
The use of Christian contemplative prayer as an adjunct to psychotherapy was investigated It was hypothesized that (a) the use of contemplative prayer would he associated with improvement in psychotherapy; (b) the use of contemplative prayer would result in an enhancement of spirituality. A time series quasi-experimental design was used in which cacti subject served as his or her own control. There were nine subjects, three males and six females ranging in age from 21 to 58. All were in therapy. The dependent measures were (a) patients’ ratings of distress on target complaints: (b) the trait anxiety scale of the Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; (c) the Stein and Chu adaptation of Barron's ego-strength scale; (d) Batson's inventory of religiosity; (e) Hood's Mysticism Scale; and (0 the Pauline Comparison Scale. Results gave modest circumstantial support for the research hypotheses. Evidence for psychotherapeutic improvement was a marked decrease in distress on target complaints (p<.0001). Enhancement of spirituality was suggested by a positive correlation of time spent in contemplative prayer and the Pauline Comparison scale scores (r=.76, p<.01).