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The Rev. Dr. Peter Barnes on spiritual distress and group dynamics
A Group Spiritual Direction Program for Depressed Clients
Group spiritual direction and cognitive therapy are more complementary than some people think. A twelve-week program was developed using the two, both of which are effective for use with people who are clinically depressed.
The purpose of spiritual direction is to enable a directee to explore and enhance their understanding and relationship with their God or Higher Power. Spiritual guidance is provided to one another in the group. The group spiritual direction program endeavors to meet the specific spiritual needs of the group members, while enhancing their self-esteem by providing opportunities to support and encourage others in the group.
Depression is a common illness. It can become life threatening if allowed to progress to a clinical depression. Many people believe that all a depressed person has to do is to “shake it” regardless of the severity of the depression. This is a misconception. As a depression worsens, a person has less ability to alter the course of the illness and therefore requires therapeutic intervention.
The treatment of depression, regardless of the severity, is one of or an appropriate combination of the following: a lifestyle change, psychotherapy and drug therapy. For example, a person suffering from a mild depression may return to normalcy by experiencing a lifestyle change such as changing jobs or making a new friend. The severely depressed person may require all three treatment approaches, and may have to be hospitalized to determine the most effective drug.
People with clinical depression are normally treated on an individual basis. However, psychotherapy may be very effective when delivered in a group setting. The most effective psychotherapy for the treatment of depression is cognitive therapy. In group cognitive therapy, clients learn the skills of cognitive therapy and assist one another in their recovery process.
Some of the characteristics of depression include fear, hopelessness, and lack of purpose or meaning in life. These are also characteristics of spiritual distress. One of the ways to address spiritual distress is through spiritual guidance. Group spiritual direction is effective because it combines the traditional concept of spiritual direction with group work. In the past, people sought spiritual guidance from people they believed could assist them in their search for meaning and purpose. For some it was the development of their relationship with their God or Higher Power, and for others it was to understand themselves in relation to the universe.
According to William Barry, spiritual direction is the discernment of God’s spirit in the heart. [1] In the words of Carolyn Gratton: “The aim of spiritual guidance becomes that of helping persons get the various parts of their life in tune with the larger Mystery as it flows throughout the whole.” [2] The practice of spiritual direction offered by a spiritual director to an individual directee continues to be the most common approach.
In group spiritual direction the spiritual director must know the theory of group dynamics as well as the theory of spiritual direction in order to maximize the benefit of group interaction for the purpose of the spiritual growth of the participants. Rosemary Dougherty describes the benefit of group spiritual direction in this quote: “At times the strength of spiritual community lies in the love of people who refrain from getting caught in the trap of trying to fix everything for us, who pray for us and allow us the pain of our wilderness, our wants, so that we might become more deeply grounded in God.” [3]
In a program of group spiritual direction for depressed clients one of the participants wrote: “To know others have the same fears, guilt feelings, questions, etc., you know you are not alone or weird.” This affirms the combining of these two disciplines.
Endnotes
[1] William A. Barry, Spiritual Direction and the Encounter with God: A
Theological Inquiry (New York: Paulist Press, 1992), 95.
[2] Carolyn Gratton, The Art of Spiritual Guidance (New York: Crossroad.
1995), 5.
[3] Rose Mary Dougherty, Group Spiritual Direction: Community for
Discernment (New York: Paulist Press, 1995), 13.
Rev. Dr. Peter Barnes is an ordained Anglican Minister, having served in parishes in Western Newfoundland prior to moving to a institutional ministry, first in St. John’s and then in Ottawa. He is a Teaching Supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education and is also certified as an institutional specialist in pastoral ministry and as a pastoral counselor by the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice. He does private counselling and spiritual direction and planning programs in group spiritual development. He is an active member of the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education (CAPPE). He is a graduate of Acadia University, Wolfville, with a Doctor of Ministry, and of Trinity College, Toronto, with a Masters of Divinity (Hons). He is presently an Assistant Professor at St. Paul University, Ottawa, in the Faculty of Human Sciences, and is developing research in interprofessional learning related to the theme of suffering and response of the human spirit to illness.
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