Recently we have seen the phrase "mind, body, spirit" everywhere within mental health therapy.
Many people seeking help are drawn to these words, hoping for natural, holistic healing methods.
Psychotherapy has indeed begun to understand and embrace the necessary healing of the body alongside the mind to find deeper relief from mental health problems. This is wonderful. Yet, those are only two of those three words...what about this idea of mind-body-spirit connection? If this is the messaging why do we so often leave that third word out of therapy?
Mindfulness and meditation are also growing in popularity within the mental health community to serve the idea of a healthy mind, body, and spirit. These are also wonderful developments since these skills can bring the busy, monkey mind into the present. However, mindfulness and meditation are often considered interchangeable. They are, in fact, very different, which is a topic for another entry.
While mindfulness and meditation are excellent strategies for many mental health issues, they do not, in and of themselves, equate to spirituality. They can be used within a spiritual practice to tap deeper into the Divine. However, today, psychotherapy refers to mindfulness and meditation as spirituality itself. This can lead people to believe that this is all that's needed for a spiritual endeavor, which is truly unfortunate.
Here's why it's so unfortunate...
If people believe that mindfulness practices or meditation alone are all that's needed, they will most likely be left thinking that there is really not much spirituality can give them. To many people, it will feel like no more than a coping skill to support this idea of a healthy mind, body, and spirit.
Spirituality is the absolute essence of who we truly are. It was there before we were born, before our personalities took form, before all of our life troubles began. It was there throughout our lives...through all the joys, struggles, traumas, and simple daily experiences. It's there now and it will be there every moment of the future. But what is...IT?
Asking this question is the beginning of a spiritual endeavor. What is IT that I came from? What is IT that I go back to in death? What is IT that is here now, every moment of every day?
Yet, you may ask, "but why bother?"
Why bother with attending to mind, body, and spirit? Why is it so important? Why are most therapists missing the mark when they equate mindfulness and meditation with spirituality?
Firstly, here is the most obvious answer to these questions. We all have loved ones who die and we, ourselves, will die. Spirituality is the only avenue to address existential questions around death and dying. We can't simply practice mindfulness and expect to make meaning of death. We can't merely create a meditation routine and expect to discover a Divine relationship that brings us peace.
Spirituality is an intentional process of questioning and leaning into the unknown. It incorporates intentional thought, directed meditation, and specific purposes behind mindfulness practices.
Second is the less obvious answer.
To believe that our personalities are who we are, and that our thoughts are who we are is extraordinarily limiting. If we are nothing more than a personality that has attributes we may not like, if we are nothing more than chaotic thoughts that are often negative and berating, where does that leave us? Where will we find the love or wisdom to grow beyond these limitations? How can we believe that there is a deeper part of the self that can guide us to healing?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a widely accepted, evidence-based method used within psychotherapy. Within DBT here is a key skill referred to as the wise mind. DBT breaks down the mind into three components, the reasonable mind, the emotional mind, and the wise mind. Without taking too much time to explain the emotional and reasonable minds, in brief, they essentially refer to times when we can think rationally and make sound choices or when our decisions are impulsively driven by emotional experiences.
The wise mind refers to a deeper part of ourselves that intuitively knows the best paths to take. DBT guides clients to feel into the gut to tap into the wise mind and discover intuitive guidance. Yet, what is this wise mind?
Why does DBT stop there?
Why not go further? Why not guide clients toward asking the bigger questions? Where does this intuitive guidance come from? Is it me? If it is, where do these intuitive sensations come from when I was never taught to think this way? If it's not me, what is...IT?
The truth is that spirituality is often avoided for two reasons. We are afraid to offend people by saying the wrong thing in a day and age of hyper-political correctness and it scares us.
Why does it scare even the therapist? This is a topic for another entry, yet, in brief, it scares us because it is the complete unknown. The mind can't make sense of it and the mind wants to make sense of everything. It wants answers, yes and no's, blacks and whites.
So what can psychotherapists do to bring spirituality into their practices?
Simply begin asking yourself questions about your personal beliefs, journal about your own spiritual perspectives, and what you might consider to be your own spiritual identity. The thing is, we will not be able to guide our clients to address all aspects of the phrase "mind, body, spirit" if we do not embark on this endeavor for ourselves.
So, to help our clients dive more deeply into their healing, we must take the deep dive first. Begin now, open that journal, take a course on meditation, start with the self and you may begin to find that this can offer you as much as it offers our clients.
Sarah Dionne owns a private psychotherapy practice in Halifax, MA. She is also an experienced lightworker and spiritual guide.
If you are interested in practice supervision, email her.
Sarah is also currently iring. Email Sarah or follow the link below to learn more.
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