The import of psychology in spiritual companionship

Abstract

This thesis is about the import of Psychology in Spiritual Companionship. Its aim is to try to understand where psychology stands or should stand in relation to Spiritual Direction. Literature review revealed a variety of attitudes towards psychology and can be divided into three categories: those who are more likely to exhibit resistance, viewing psychology with certain suspicions, those who embrace it wholeheartedly without subjecting it to any kind of discourse, and those who strive to find a more integrative way of approaching psychology and spirituality. A qualitative research project was employed for this study, six local experienced spiritual directors were interviewed about psychology and spiritual direction. Content analysis of data from the interviews revealed implicit perceived tension that was attributed to the directors’ dichotomic approach of psychology and spirituality. This could also be one of the contributing factors to a perceived lack of motivation towards the model of supervision adopted from the psycho-therapeutic/counselling profession, that can address issues of transference in the ministry. However, further research is required to address these issues, both on an intrinsic and extrinsic level.