Spotlight on CLAL
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SPIRITUALITY VS PSYCHOANALYSIS: CAN THEY
CO-EXIST?
What is the relationship
between faith and analysis? Does religion have a place in therapy? Is there
a way for the two practices to enhance rather than negate each other?
To address these questions, a provocative roundtable was held, sponsored by
Psychoanalytic Perspectives: A Journal of Integration and Innovation
and co-sponsored by CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and
Leadership, bringing together a group of esteemed psychoanalysts with a
strong religious commitment. While traditionally religion and psychoanalysis
have been at odds, new appreciation for how the two realms can better
interact has grown, with analysts from many perspectives reconsidering the
role spirituality plays in mental health.
“Historically, psychoanalysis has viewed religion with suspicion—labeling it
infantile and primitive, even if sometimes useful,” said CLAL Director Rabbi
Tsvi Blanchard, a Ph.D. psychologist, Orthodox rabbi, and roundtable
participant, who has grappled with these issues in his own training and
practice. “But there is an acknowledgment that science alone cannot fully
explain the human condition, particularly in people’s search for meaning and
purpose. In the last decade, both realms have begun to form a mutual respect
by seeing the value of what the other brings.”
The dialogue, moderated by CLAL President Rabbi Irwin Kula and
Psychoanalytic Perspectives co-editor Amanda Hirsch Geffner, presented
panelists from a wide range of religious/spiritual traditions, including
Jeremy Safran, Ph. D., (Buddhist); Therese Ragen, Ph.D., (Catholic); and
Marie Hoffman, Ph. D. (Christian). Participants considered how their own
spiritual devotion informed their ability as analysts and assisted them in
appreciating their patients’ issues. Many found that their religious
practice allowed them to be more compassionate in their professional lives,
and that their ability to help patients’ cope improved when they could
integrate the spiritual and psychoanalytic orientations.
“If you believe that people are made in God’s image, then you will have
enormous faith in the creative potential of the patients you treat,” said
Rabbi Blanchard. “This boundary crossing is very much in keeping with CLAL’s
work. We build connections, creating new ground for possibility.”
Participants agreed that more conversation was needed to discover next
steps, but that looking at these two spheres in new ways could only enhance
the therapeutic approach.
Highlights of spirituality roundtable were featured in the Fall/Winter 2006
(released in 2007) issue of Psychoanalytic Perspectives: A Journal of
Integration and Innovation, available through the National Institute for
the Psychotherapies.
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