Main description:

Does my life have any deeper meaning? Does God really care about me? How can I find and follow my moral compass? What do I do when my faith is shaken to the core? Spiritual trials, doubts, or conflicts are often intertwined with mental health concerns, yet many psychotherapists feel ill equipped to discuss questions of faith. From pioneers in the psychology of religion and spirituality, this book combines state-of-the-art research, clinical insights, and vivid case illustrations. It guides clinicians to understand spiritual struggles as critical crossroads in life that can lead to brokenness and decline--or to greater wholeness and growth. Clinicians learn sensitive, culturally responsive ways to assess different types of spiritual struggles and help clients use them as springboards to change.

Contents:

I. Understanding Spiritual Struggles
1. Introducing Spiritual Struggles
2. A Conceptual Model of Spiritual Struggles
3. Where Do Spiritual Struggles Come From?
4. Do Spiritual Struggles Lead to Decline?: The Painful Side
5. Do Spiritual Struggles Lead to Growth?: The Brighter Side
6. What Shapes the Outcomes of Spiritual Struggles?
II. Clinical Challenges of Spiritual Struggles
7. How to Address Spiritual Struggles in Clinical Practice
8. Divine Struggles
9. Struggles of Ultimate Meaning
10. Struggles with Doubt
11. Moral Struggles
12. Demonic Struggles
13. Interpersonal Struggles
14. Concluding Thoughts
References
Author Index
Subject Index