I Wonder What Role You See For Meditation And Prayer In Therapy?

Question: Thank you for your thoughtful answers to my previous question. I will be interested to read your comments on this thought and wonder what role you see for meditation and prayer in therapy. In my reading of history, epochs of mass destruction are followed by ages of anxiety. Eons of care are followed by ages of harmony. It is not a simple one to one ratio, a quick give and get fast food turn around. Yet within the play of shadow and light, happiness and joy are readily found in simple things, which delight the senses and enlighten the mind. In any life circumstance, the blessed quiet of meditation is always available, allowing us to 'detach with love'. Ari Harman

Answer (1) In many ways, counselling and meditation seek the same thing - balance and harmony. Anything that encourages these has a place in counselling, in my view, since they bring peace and contentment. There are aspects of counselling that are particularly similar to meditation - autogenic relaxation being one of them.

Answer provided by Graham Cox, Psychologist

Answer (2) Dear Ari, There is strength in our vulnerability, in our woundedness, in our uniqueness. I found the words of Rabbi Yehuda Fine graceful and healing. He wrote them after a near fatal motor vehicle accident and many months totally helpless in an acute trauma ward, unsure if he would ever walk again.

'If we realize that life is asking us to respond with our core values, we awaken to the precious beauty of our life and of others. We abandon spiritual practice and embrace life. We do not worry. We do not flee. We act with grace, strength, and compassion. We act even with imperfection -- but we act.

Spirituality born out of crisis is grounded in the personal. I truly believe that to be the case. Don't fool yourself and think that Spirit is somewhere else, in other worldly experiences, in great rushes or ecstatic visions. Surviving my nightmare has taught me that we are all a lot better off when we understand that the Holy is in our hands and in our deeds. I suspect that was King David's message when he wrote the simple statement, "May goodness and compassion chase me all the days of my life." If we hunger to live the spiritual, we hunger to serve and to give. Life's deepest experience is the joy that fills our hearts when we love and give to others. Ask anyone in the middle of battling a catastrophic illness. Or survey all my friends from the acute trauma ward, and they will tell you they live to give a halting hug or to speak a word of grace to another. The irony can no longer be lost on me. When crisis explodes in our midst, what we yearn for is a clue to our spiritual life.' From Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me

Answer provided by Peter Fox, Clinical Psychologist

Answer (3) Hello Ari. While I am not a faith-based counsellor, religious belief or spirituality are an inescapable question we all face. I would hope a counselling relationship would develop sufficient trust that you would feel safe about disclosing spiritual or religious concerns impacting on the work we did together. I would of course, direct formal questions of faith to your own authority on the matter. Certainly, I seek to work with the whole human personality. Where spirituality is raised, I seek to assist clients to integrate this into their work. Meditation has many physical and psychological benefits in itself, both for those who are seeking a closeness with the divine or simple healthy change of state. I introduce some clients to relaxation techniques and I see meditation as a refinement.

Answer provided by John Hunter, Counsellor