The Psychotherapy of Hope: The Legacy of Persuasion and Healing

15 Psychotherapy, Religion, and Spirituality

CHAPTER 15 Psychotherapy, Religion, and Spirituality James L. Griffith, M.D. Successful instances of both psychotherapy and spiritual healing reduce psychologically caused suffering, increase self-esteem, and foster a sense of mastery in persons who seek their ministrations. —persuasion and healing, 1991, p. 85 Even today, mutual suspicion, ambivalence, and at times overt hostility characterize the relationship between theories supporting psychotherapy and those that underlie religious healing. Such tension is a legacy of the early modern period, when Freud’s effort to explain human suffering in secular and scientific terms fostered the development of psychotherapy as a formal, medical intervention. In Persuasion and Healing, Jerome Frank (1961) shifted the debate by pointing out that religious healing remained one of the three major philosophical traditions, together with applied science and hermeneutics, on which modern psychotherapy rests. Frank’s work helped clarify the place of psychotherapy in relation to other systems of healing. Persuasion and Healing focused on cult and religious conversion experiences as forms of healing that could produce rapid and dramatic behavioral changes. Frank believed that, in learning from religious healers, psychotherapists could better understand their own effectiveness. He noted how religious healing techniques could mobilize hope, instill expectations of cure, bolster self-esteem, arouse emotions, and strengthen ties with a supportive commu- “Well, it’s no use your talking about waking him,” said Tweedledum, “when you’re only one of the things in his dream. You know very well you’re not real.” “I am real!” said Alice, and began to cry . . . “If I wasn’t real,” Alice said . . . “I shouldn’t be able to cry.” —Through the Looking Glass Psychotherapy, Religion, and Spirituality 311 nity. Frank found parallels to each of these processes in the practices of psychotherapists . Demoralization and Religious Healing Jerome and Julia Frank (1991) reviewed evidence from a broad range of sources to argue that demoralization is the typical antecedent for the dramatic changes that ensue from religious conversion or cult membership. They postulated a similar role for demoralization in those who seek or benefit from psychotherapy . For example, J. P. Kildahl (1972, p. 57) found that “more than 85 of tongue-speakers had experienced a clearly defined anxiety crisis preceding their speaking in tongues.” Such crises typically involved feelings of worthlessness and powerlessness. The glossolalic experience invariably resulted in increased feelings of confidence and security. Religious leaders and groups may proselytize by exacerbating a targeted person’s demoralization, before offering religious conversion as its solution. Sermons that begin by hammering on guilt and damnation of the soul typically end with offers of grace and salvation. In daily life, religion is more likely to be invoked in unusually difficult times than in response to mundane stressors. For example, Kenneth Pargament (1997) reviewed evidence that people are more likely to pray over catastrophes and health crises than over such minor stressors as problems in the workplace. Clearly, religion, like psychotherapy, plays a major role in helping people manage demoralization. This observation raises further questions about its therapeutic effects. What mechanisms mediate the effect of religion as an antidote for demoralization? How can one partner religion and psychotherapy in rebuilding a patient’s morale? Psychotherapy and Spirituality Comparing psychotherapy with religious healing through cults and religious conversions brings to light important differences. Unlike most psychotherapies, cults and religious conversions often rely on idiosyncratic and charismatic religious leaders who induce intense emotions and activate group processes that foster expectations for change. Further, religious activities dramatically change only a minority of those exposed to their methods, in contrast to psychother- 312 James L. Griffith apy, in which a majority of those who engage in treatment report behavioral changes (Lambert and Bergin 1994). The past two decades in the United States have witnessed a rapprochement between psychotherapy and religion that permits comparisons with religious processes other than conversion experiences and involvement in cults. These practices are more akin to ordinary psychotherapy. Many psychotherapists distinguish between formal religions, toward which they remain skeptical, and personal spirituality, which they may embrace with enthusiasm. Clinical approaches for integrating psychotherapy and spirituality also have matured (Miller 1999; Griffith and Griffith 2002; Sperry and Shafranske 2005). These changes provide a fresh vantage point from which to inquire how religious healing can elucidate the processes of psychotherapy. To discuss spirituality, however, one needs to explain its relationship to the broader scope of religion. Sociobiological Systems Express Religious Life Religion describes a broad region of...