Introduction
I was one of the students that had the pleasure of attending the spiritual therapy course in the United States. I must say it was a truly revealing experience going through the ins and outs of the course. An individual finds himself opening up to a new horizon with a remarkable feeling of being able to comprehend and express which seemed so distant a while ago.
Main body
Spiritual therapy can be characterized as counseling or an offshoot of psychotherapy which mainly targets moral, spiritual and religious influences on human behavior and health. This brings a resounding sense of inner strength and stability, sometimes making individuals feel at one with all their emotions and desires. It has been seen to be very useful in regards to anxiety attacks and burnouts related to job stress. This serves as an effective alternate to the use of medicine and sessions with psychiatrists.
There is a thin line however between what can be classified as “spiritual therapy” and adherence to religion. The latter is based on adopting some ideology and then living by it. Spiritual approaches however go beyond that and attempt to get direct contact with the sacred and the divine. This is left out of psychiatric application in mainstream therapy which has moved more towards chemical forms of treatment, which is sad given its many advantages and therapeutic success. This approach is financially viable as well. The present trend psychiatry is taking seems to be fuelled a lot by the investments of drug companies which makes the current blend of psychiatrists similar to regular doctors. This medicine based approach is considered a replacement whereas it can hardly match the extended periods of time spent with a patient for counseling.
The ideas behind spiritual therapy was founded on principles acquired from such diverse sources as Hindu and Buddhist yoga, elements of Sufism and even large parts of Zen Buddhism. Being considered one of the most effective ways of treating chronic disorders, this form of “Transcendental psychology” has also made huge leaps in curing depression and other psychosomatic disorders. Part of the success of this form of therapy has been going beyond the chemical approach to the brain and considering the individual characteristics such as need for growth and self esteem. The meditation that is involved sometimes makes the patients go through unique self defining experiences, sometimes claiming to have visions or seeing things which has been defined as a crucial transitory phase through which the patient requires support. It can sometimes lead to a reorganization of the priorities of an individual and open deeply buried desire which can be the essence of the cure one requires.
Conclusion
The spiritual therapy course that I went through did however present me with some of the drawbacks of this approach. Not everyone is trained to handle this and it can result in the exploitation of many patients. Charlatans can easily pretend to be spiritual therapists while exploiting their patients financially and in other ways. However, given the merits of this approach as I discovered in the United States, it can truly be an eye opening experience with a sense of harmony following the end of therapy which may be unrivalled in an individual’s lifetime.