Leaving It At The Office
Jenine Tulledge
| Archetypal Healer | Someone that shows a natural ability or inclination for helping the wounded or the hurting. The healer guides those who are navigating the journey of pain, challenge, loss or fragmentation. Healing is the transformative change that slowly leads to a new wholeness. Healing serves to mend, not to repair. Instead of returning one to “how it was”, healing moves one to a new place of understanding and possibility. The healer creates and catalyzes positive change for their patients |
| Benediction | The utterance or bestowing of a blessing, especially at the end of a religious service |
| Spirituality | Derives from the Latin spiritus, meaning “breath of life” |
| Tikkun | A Hebrew term for healing or repairing the world. This is an important mission in Judaism and is often used to explain the Jewish concept of social justice |
| Vocation | Latin for “voice”; it is not a goal but a calling we hear |
| Wounded Healer | A Jungian concept, linked to a Greek myth of antiquity. The myth of Chiron tells the story of the centaur that was wounded by an arrow and continues to suffer excruciating pain for the rest of his life. Because of this, he becomes known as a legendary healer in Ancient Greece. A psychotherapist’s own experience and awareness of being wounded is what helps him or her face the suffering client in simple relatedness |
KEY TAKEWAYS
- The authors summarize that some of the best predictors of life satisfaction or happiness are social support, purpose, faith, and hope. Religious/spiritual commitment has been associated with many health benefits and psychotherapists as a whole have been recognized as a spiritual bunch, albeit less conventionally. Do you think this holds true for yourself? Do you find spirituality beneficial?
- Some find comfort in organized religion and a particular faith; others focus on a broader belief system that transcends demands and differences of specific religious groups. Additionally, some find inspiration and guidance in nature or mysticism.
- The work we do as psychotherapists is artful and often invokes a spiritual dimension. The energy and meaning that emerges from our work can strongly influence our life and practice.
- Spirituality can beget optimism, as psychotherapists are faithful to the probability of growth and therefore commit themselves to the possibility of positive change even in the most challenging circumstances.
- Jung focused on the idea that we must be aware of our own pain, calling us “wounded healers”. These wounds help us to understand others’ suffering. These could include family issues/dynamics, as well as bereavement/grief and loss that we carry forward into our personal and professional lives. Do you feel this is true about your practice or motivations to be in this field?
- Being an effective psychotherapist involves more than just skill and technique; it’s about communicating a certain level of spirit of hope, vitality, and optimism that pervades the relationship. The level of care and appreciation we come to have for clients is often what leads us to stay in the profession and continue working with challenging populations. Spirituality can help with appreciation of the human existence and how inspiring or bewildering it can be.
- “The therapist who lacks a hope-protecting philosophy of life may be particularly vulnerable to the challenges presented by the ‘hope from hell’ paradox” (Mahoney, 2003). How much do you agree with this? Can we be successful with clients regardless of religion or spirituality?
- Psychotherapists must be careful not to impose their spiritual beliefs or values onto clients. Would there ever be an instance where you might bring in your own view or beliefs regarding spirituality or religion with a client?
- Using our vocational calling as our motivation for our career path will ensure a long, thriving professional career. Do you feel you had a ‘calling’ for this field? When and how did you realize this?
