Main description:

This inspiring book focuses on the spiritual aspect of psychotherapy with couples. Spirituality and Couples demonstrates that spirituality is an important factor in both the therapy process and the healing process. Chapters provide models to help therapists and counselors incorporate various aspects of spirituality into their therapy practices. They show the importance of a conscious attention to spirituality as a means of strengthening the effectiveness of individual therapy sessions as well as overall therapy efforts. Mental health professionals will find that including spiritual factors into their therapy will increase the effectiveness of their work as it opens new channels of communication between clients and therapists.Spirituality and Couples stresses that therapy should be viewed as a process between human beings rather than the use of a set of tools by a therapist on clients. Chapters cover a variety of topics including:

an interview with Virginia Satir on the importance of not removing "heart and soul" from her work by reducing it to a set of techniques
the need to find a new basis for enduring, enriching relationships
the relevance of Buddhist meditation for the practice of couples therapy
spiritual awakening in the couple relationship
the sacredness of marriage
spiritual connections between two people
an analysis of Virginia Satir's philosophy of treatment in terms of spirituality Mental health professionals, couples therapists, pastoral counselors, and clergy will find the information and strategies in this book interesting to read and helpful in their work.

Contents:

Contents
Preface

Heart and Soul and Communication: An Interview With Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir's Spirituality
Intimate Relationship as Path
The Bodhi-Therapist
Comment on "The Bodhi-Therapist"
The Spiritual Connection
Elements of Couple Psychotherapy and Awakening
Couples and Spirituality: A Jewish Perspective on Exile, Yearning, and Return
Holy Matrimony
The Spirit of Home
Poem
Reference Notes Included