Psychology and spirituality: is there a place on the Couch for transcendence?

Abstract

Even though psychology and spirituality may appear at first glance as two quite different fields, it is possible to find innumerous points of convergence and ways of integration in these fields. From a clinical perspective it seems a worthwhile endeavor to explore spirituality and its interweaving with mental health to have a more integrative comprehension of clients’ functioning and to deliver psychotherapy in a more holistic way. This approach may allow individuals to overcome a rooted Western tendency of viewing human beings as having compartmentalized or dualistic dimensions. The goal of this paper is to approach spirituality through object relations theory and to propose one possible way to integrate spirituality in the psychotherapeutic setting, considering ego developmental stages and discussing a developmental model of spirituality. Finally, some possible clinical implications and benefits are pointed out as a result of making room available for transcendence on the “couch”.

Keywords

• Object relations; Spirituality; Attachment; Transcendence; Ego development.