A Sourcebook for Helping People with Spiritual Problems
by
Emma Bragdon, Ph.D.
PO Box 325
Woodstock, VT. 05091
Praise for the Sourcebook:
"This Sourcebook is a valuable resource for anyone interested in spiritual experiences and their relationship to psychological health and pathology. It is a clear, concise statement about the nature of spiritual emergencies and appropriate treatment modalities. It deserves careful reading by mental health professionals as well as laypeople who are exploring their own spiritual growth. It provides a well balanced perspective and a wealth of useful information."
- Frances Vaughan, Ph.D., past president of the
Association for Transpersonal Psychology and author of Beyond Ego and Paths Beyond Ego.
"It fulfills a real need among people who might otherwise be labeled mentally ill." - John Mack, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and founding director of the Center for Psychology and Social Change.
"Bragdon's books are not only scholarly but communicate a clear message ...they are really exceptional." - Winafred Lucas, Ph.D., author of Regression Therapy: A Handbook for Professionals, diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology.
"Once the concept of Spiritual Emergence is understood, psychotherapy will have broken the sound barrier. I trust that this book will make an important contribution to this hoped for breakthrough." - Brother David Steindl-Rast, author & leader in interfaith dialogue.
"The connection between traditional mental and emotional health and spiritual well-being has never been so clearly and rigorously examined, even by Scott Peck. This is no mere study, it is a practical book with many suggestions for uniting the two aspects of our inner world." - Sandy Anderson, for NAPRA Trade Journal.
"Mental Health professionals often work with spiritual problems but many do not have appropriate training ...This book will enable readers and those they are helping to survive the perils of the spiritual path and reap the benefits of a consciously lived spiritual life." - David Lukoff, Ph.D., San Francisco VAMedical Center and Professor at Saybrook Institute. Co-author of the new DSM-IV diagnostic category Religious or Spiritual Problem, Co-President of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology.
"I find the Sourcebook to be clear and comprehensive in covering the essential topics needed by clinicians in this field. 1 have used this material with my students and have found it to be indispensable for their professional training."
- Arlene Mazak, Ph.D., Professor at the Institute of
Transpersonal Psychology
"I plan to use this book in our hypnosis program as the text on Spiritual Emergence ..." - Ruah Bull, MSW, Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts
"I highly recommend this book to serious yoga practitioners and to any other person following a spiritual path." - Betty Eiler, Hatha Yoga Instructor.
"We consider Emma Bragdon one of the spokespeople for this era." - Jacquelyn Small, MSW, author of Transformers: Therapists of the Future.
Copyright © 1993-2013 Lightening Up Press
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to:
Lightening Up Press - P.O. Box 325 - Woodstock, VT 05091 USA
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.EmmaBragdon.com/
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bragdon, Emma
A Sourcebook for Helping People with Spiritual Problems
Includes References, Index, Glossary
Tables, Referrals, and Six Articles of Interest
1. Psychology 2. Religion 3. Consciousness 4. Spirituality
I. Title
LC# 93-091814
Second Edition
(Formerly A Sourcebook for Helping People in Spiritual Emergency)
References updated in January 2006
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1005-0
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 0-9620960-1-6
® SOFTCOVER IS PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Christina and Stanislav Grof, M.D., coined the term "spiritual emergency" and published the seminal work differentiating mental disorder and spiritual emergence phenomena. Christina Grof identified the need for people in spiritual emergence to have special support and initiated the Spiritual Emergency Network in 1980. David Lukoff, Ph.D., also stands out as a pioneer during the initiation of this new arena of psychology. Without the pioneering work of these people this Sourcebook would never have taken form in its first or second editions.
I also acknowledge the many other voices from the East and West who have strained to find a common language to speak about the phenomena of spiritual emergence. The individual voices from religion, psychology, philosophy, anthropology and metaphysics are too many to list, but their energy, insight and brilliance contributed to the synthesis of ideas presented here.
I am indebted to the fortitude, skill and good humor of Keith S. Gordon who assisted me in the graphic design of this edition. Carolyn Hengst, MSW-ACP, and Francis Lu, MD., generously contributed their professional knowledge and editing skills for which I am very grateful. Ron Jue, PhD., made suggestions regarding films which illustrate spiritual emergence phenomena. Innumerable friends offered suggestions and encouragement. Thank you all for your love and attention.
Introduction: David Lukoff, Ph.D.
Just as the ink is drying from the newly issued fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), which for the first time contains the category of spiritual problems, here appears the first-ever book devoted exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of spiritual problems. Religious problems, which make up the other half of the official DSM-IV diagnostic category, "Religious or Spiritual Problem," have received much more attention in the clinical and research literature. There's a handbook (Wicks, Parsons, and Capps, 1985) and four journals devoted to pastoral counseling, several more to "Christian psychiatry," as well as professional organizations and conferences that address religious problems. Unfortunately, there is nothing comparable for spiritual problems. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology has published several