Request Participants for Thesis: Spirituality & Therapy

EDITED:


My name is Maia and I am a graduate student at the Smith School for Social Work. I originally posted this very quickly in a rushed state to reach others and see what kind of response is received, and a member kindly pointed out to me the realities of its impact on the community at the forums. I'm very sorry for that intrusion and understand how posting works a little better. Now that I have some more time I'd like to introduce myself and situate myself first, and then describe my request for anyone to participate in what I hope is a socially just, meaningful, and helpful study for anyone in connection with therapeutic services.

I am in my early-mid 20s and struggle with depression and emotional regulation, especially in regards with relationships due to past trauma. I have experienced psych wards on both sides- as patient and as social worker. I have taken psychiatric medications but try to stabilize & heal through alternative healing methods. I struggle with self-harm and suicidal feelings at my worst moments, almost habitually. These times vary between every six months- a year to every month or two to every time something undesirable happens in my life. I am a spiritually inclined person (I identify as "very religious" in fact because I like ritual practices and welcoming organized communities of all religious backgrounds, but I am an inter-faith non-denominational practitioner.) My spiritual faith and practice have been the one thing in my life that has been powerful enough to ground and center me and provide me with positive direction and sustenance, besides the love and care of those closest to me. But I have had some very interesting experiences- to share a few, I often dream things that happen months later, I have witnessed stars dancing, I can feel a loving 'presence' if I concentrate inwardly. I believe in different dimensions, in non-duality, in many things other people laugh or scoff at. In terms of tradition, I began with Buddhism (this spoke to me in my teens), and eventually began to love Jesus through the work of Edgar Cayce and its community in the United States, and have developed now a love for all religions and their manifestations, especially Radha-Krishna, the Qur'an, and aspects of the Baha'i faith. I hold a B.A. in Comparative Religion with a focus on mysticism and am now studying for my social work degree.

I myself would love to talk to people in general about spirituality, but given religion's very understandable reputation this is a topic that is charged. I especially want to talk to therapists about these things in my own sessions, since the way I conduct my daily life and understand the world is entwined with my spiritual beliefs. I consistently fear therapists will be "rationalists" and disdainful (like Freud), will be unhelpful, or will ignore and avoid the topic altogether. I also feel being labeled "crazy" or "psychotic". In my opinion being unable to respond to this aspect of a client's needs is bad practice in therapy. My study has these biases within it that I will be transparent about both here and in the study, and I want to know if others have felt anything similar in their therapeutic relationships. I hope that my study will give a voice to those who have had good experiences, bad, or anything in between and beyond. In the future I hope this work can help educate those who are training as well as help those who sit in power as psychological healers improve and not make the same mistakes.

This post is a request for participants for my MSW thesis, which is fully supervised by the human rights review board at Smith College. I am writing my thesis on whether clients in therapy feel that they are receiving what they need from their therapists regarding spirituality/religion. For example, do you feel comfortable and safe speaking with your therapist about your spiritual/religious beliefs or experiences? Is your therapist helpful to you in these matters, why or why not? Have you had any negative experiences with your therapist or therapists in the past? This study will hopefully include a survey with some open ended questions (for quantitative and qualitative data) and if anyone desires I will be available for a full phone or in-person interview. Everyone's identity will be anonymous if taking the survey, and all identifying information for participants and second parties will be disguised and safely guarded if doing the interview. Participants have the right to quit at any time without penalty, to not answer any question, and to request for information to be kept out of the study. I am also in the process of deciding what kind compensation can be offered to participants and I will let you know as soon as I can.

If you consider yourself spiritual or religious (this is defined by you) and you have been in therapy for at least six months at any point in time, please reply to this forum or send me a message. I will post all the information I can as it is available- right now it is all in its brainstorming stages. I am reaching out now in order to see if people are interested in participating. Please message me if you have any questions and suggestions, or would like to know more about me, the school, the study, etc.

Thank you!
Maia

Hi Maia:
As a forum for professions, I myself would not give advice to anyone on a forum because of legal problems, after you have stated the dangers you have had in your life. For your clients now. Lets start out with the parts of the mind 1. The conscious 2. The subconscious 3. The super-conscious . Ivan Pavlov who devoted his life to the study of physiology and sciences , and won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1904. With over 50,000 experiments in hypnosis could not change a moral value or a religious belief .It does seem that you should respect those beliefs of your clients or you will disengage them .