Spirit and Psychotherapy

A "Magazine" of Helpful Articles

Table of Contents

We are gradually building up this library of useful information.

Principles of Sound Marriage

By David M. Pittle, Ph.D., AAPC

The statistics are really bad. Forty-eight to fifty percent of all first marriages end in divorce, many of them in the first few years, during the “honeymoon” stage.

Even worse are the personal stories. You have so many friends who are divorced, it seems like you are the only couple left with a solid marriage. Sometimes, while you are thinking about that, you begin to wonder even about your own relationship.

There are principles which work to solidify a marriage; learning and making them habitual can help maintain a loving, satisfying marriage. Do they guarantee happiness? No, but if you apply them, the principles do put the odds greatly in your favor. (More. . .)

Twenty-Two Gauges of Mental Health

By Bill Borcherdt, ACSW,  NACBT 

Blanketed under rational emotive behavior therapies (REBT) umbrella, mental health can be defined as knowing what to realistically expect of self, others, and life. Everybody has their moments of insecurity but thanks to Albert Ellis, the originator of the cognitive behavioral movement, the anatomy of emotional health can be uplifted out and introduced as emotional self-control guides to everyday living. Included in the mechanics of mental health are the following characteristics of emotional balance:

1. A sense of humor. Humor. laughter, gaiety and joy can help bring on sparks of fulfillment, creativity and enlightenment. Most importantly it assists you to not take , yourself as seriously as you may tend to.

2. The capacity to entertain oneself. Self-reliance in determining what to do with your time encourages personality well-roundedness while combating the boredom that reflects a ho-hum existence.

(More . . .)

Priest or Therapist: Who Can Help Me?

By Jean G. Fitzpatrick

Pastors and priests have often provided all the counseling available to people in the church. Even though most take a few counseling classes, the average pastor already puts in a 55-60 hour week and has a  concern for the spiritual well-being of many parishioners.

In recent years a "new" ministry has come into being. Pastoral counseling and psychotherapy. These counselors are trained in all the traditional theological studies of their faith community, but they are also fully trained in psychotherapy. They can offer an adjunct service. Unlike many other therapists and counselors they come to the parishioner from a deeply spiritual base. Being fully trained in psychotherapy, they can often provide a level of help not available from a pastor.

There are now pastoral counselors who come from many faiths including Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Islam and Wicca.

This article helps to understand the difference between pastor and pastoral counselor and decide which person will best serve a need. (More . . .)

By Michael Edelstein, Ph.D.

SMARTRecovery

Self Management and Recovery Training or SMART Recovery (SR), is a self-help approach to recovery from alcohol chemical dependence. The active ingredient in SR is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). REBT has spawned the variety of cognitive-behavior therapies now so popular among psychotherapists..

SMART recovery appeals to those individuals who prefer an empoweringl approach to life's problems. According to SR's radical message, no one is powerless over their drug/alcohol abuse.

SR asserts that unrealistic thinking is the essential cause of addiction, and that such thinking takes the form of "must's," "awful's,"and "can't-stand-it's." By changing the thinking process, the addictive behavior can be overcome. (More . .)

Who Controls You?

By Wayne Froggatt

Most people want to be happy, feel good, avoid pain, and achieve their goals. For many, though, happiness seems to be an elusive dream. In fact, it appears that we humans are much better at disturbing and defeating ourselves! Instead of feeling good, we are more likely to worry, feel guilty and get depressed. We put ourselves down and feel shy, hurt or self-pitying. We get jealous, angry, hostile and bitter or suffer anxiety, tension and panic.

This article provides all the essence of Rational Emotive Training applied to daily life. Practice the essentials presented here and you may have a greatly improved opportunity for happiness and fulfillment. (More . . .)