Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy [Hardcover]

Froma Walsh PhD MSW (Editor), Froma Walsh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572305088 | ISBN-13: 978-1572305083 | Publication Date: October 6, 1999 | Edition: 1

Spirituality is often regarded as "off-limits" in family therapy training and practice. Some therapists may be wary of influencing clients to adopt their own religious convictions; others, less spiritually oriented, may underestimate the importance of faith in clients' lives. Filling a crucial void, this volume shows how attending to religious and spiritual concerns in therapy can enrich clinical practice and help families tap into powerful resources for healing and change. Leading family therapists address such topics as religious perspectives on suffering and resilience; special concerns of poor, ethnic minority, and immigrant families; spiritual beliefs and experiences that may constrain growth; and the role of family rituals. Broad and pluralistic in scope, the volume invites clinicians to examine their own relationship to spirituality and imparts essential knowledge and skills for working with clients of diverse faiths.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The rewards of this volume are multifaceted: inspiration for the clinician's own personal and spiritual pilgrimage; awareness of the many facets, expressions, and nuances of spirituality; and guidance on how spirituality can be acknowledged and mobilized as a resource for marital and family growth and healing. It is a key required text for my course on spirituality and clinical praxis, and has richly contributed to my own practice, my teaching, and the personal and professional development of my students."--Rand Michael, DMin, Graduate Department of Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy Program, George Fox University

"This comprehensive book provides a kaleidoscope of shifting images that depict the roles and ramifications of spirituality for both clinicians and their clients. These images are suffused with personal stories that shed light on perspectives derived from a variety of religious/spiritual traditions and orientations. Instructors may find this a useful resource and students as well as professionals will find in its pages information that illuminates the various challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating spiritual sensitivity into the practice of therapy."--Dorothy S. Becvar, PhD., The Haelan Centers®, St. Louis, MO

"This book is bursting with wise and loving stories that tell how diverse people in many different settings are focusing on ethics, religion, and spirituality in their work as family therapists. We predict it will be a sourcebook of inspiration on this topic for therapists of all religions and cultural backgrounds for many years to come." --Jill Freedman MSW, LCSW and Gene Combs MD Evanston Family Therapy Center Evanston Illinois

"This transformative book marks a new beginning for our field. For the first time, the topic of spirituality is being placed directly at the center of our work as family therapists. Bringing together many of the most thoughtful and creative voices in the field, this volume demonstrates how different our work can look when we dare to tap into spiritual sources of change, healing, and resilience in families. The authors investigate many of the ways religion and spirituality influence families--providing hope and meaning; support in times of stress; resources for healing and education; and personal, family, and community status and validation. This volume helps us expand our concepts of health and illness to incorporate a dimension that has been a primary human resource for thousands of years. Spirituality is not an easy topic, and it is one about which we need much more discussion.Walsh and her colleagues are lighting the way." --Monica McGoldrick, LCSW, PhD (h.c.), Family Institute of New Jersey

"Ever since Freud characterized religion as an illusion, spirituality and psychotherapy have unfortunately been separated. This inspiring volume integrates religion and spirituality into the mainstream of family therapy. It brings to the forefront the importance of these dimensions in helping people draw meaning from important events in their lives--meaning that is at the heart of the psychotherapeutic experience. Helping us examine the ways we may be constraining clients from talking about spirituality, the authors embrace a more integrated approach to therapy that includes mind, body, and soul. This is a very important book for psychotherapists, social workers, pastoral counselors, nurses, and other helping professionals." --Susan H. McDaniel, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

From the Back Cover

Ever since Freud characterized religion as an illusion, spirituality and psychotherapy have unfortunately been separated. This inspiring volume integrates religion and spirituality into the mainstream of family therapy. It brings to the forefront the importance of these dimensions in helping people draw meaning from important events in their lives meaning that is at the heart of the psychotherapeutic experience. Helping us examine the ways we may be constraining clients from talking about spirituality, the authors embrace a more integrated approach to therapy that includes mind, body, and soul (Susan H. McDaniel, PhD).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (October 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572305088
• ISBN-13: 978-1572305083
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pioneering book in the field of "spiritual psychology", February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy (Hardcover)

I became aware of this book at the University of Chicago. Dr. Walsh is again pushing the envelope in the field of family counseling and therapy. She is exploring new constructs and interventions that are based on a significantly broader definition of health and happiness. This is important reading for clinical counselors and family therapists alike!