Educational psychologists' experiences regarding the inclusion of spirituality in therapeutic practice

Abstract

The relationship between the fields of psychology and spirituality can best be described as contentious. A historical separation between these areas, which can be traced back to the thinking of Freud and Charcot has resulted in a lack of research concerning the relevance of spirituality within a mental healthcare framework and moreover has led to the exclusion of this practice as a component in many psychological training programmes. Recent research, however, illustrates a shift towards a greater acknowledgment of the role of spirituality in therapeutic contexts, both in the South African context and abroad. An exploratory, interpretive case study was undertaken in order to explore the experiences of a sample of educational psychologists (n=4) in the Gauteng area regarding this practice. Data sources comprised semi-structured interviews, documented in verbatim transcripts of audio recordings. Findings indicate that the approaches and attitudes of both spiritual educational psychologists and clients appear to influence the psychologists’ utilisation of a multicultural approach. This multicultural approach seems to inform the framework, which may be represented by the Respectful model (D’Andrea & Daniels, 2001), within which these psychologists include spirituality in therapeutic practice with their spiritual clients. Findings regarding the practical application of the inclusion of spirituality in therapy suggest that the utilisation of theistic consent as well as the addition of spiritual themes and interventions may provide an effective framework regarding this practice. Both challenges and advantages tend to arise from the inclusion of spirituality in therapy. Challenges included countertransference, inner conflict arising from multiple roles and limitations in discussing spiritual issues. Various advantages were found pertaining to the client, the therapeutic relationship and the educational psychologist. Insights gained from the study may contribute towards the generation of ethically sound methods with which to address spiritual belief systems in therapeutic contexts and the establishment of the significance of spirituality as a component of a multicultural approach to psychological practice.