by Juanita Pudifoot and Biggi Hofmann
This article first appeared in the July 2018 issue of Thresholds, published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy United Kingdom.©’
We decided to write this article after inspiring explorations of similarities and differences in the methods of deep memory process (DMP) and psychodrama psychotherapy, and how both approaches use spirituality to support and enable clients in processing their traumas. We agree with CG Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, that as psychotherapists we need to be open to a transpersonal dimension far deeper than our personal egos if we want to help ourselves and our clients working through existential realities:
‘…threat of pain and destruction, of fate and death, of guilt for actions taken or not taken, of loss of identity, of isolation, or of meaningless and despair’.
Other pioneering psychologists (Roberto Assagioli, James Bugental, Abraham Maslow, Ken Wilber and Stanislav Grof) have explored the importance of spiritual experiences, psychological recovery and wellbeing, and argue that ‘individuals are part of and rooted in a greater life, being awareness and… power which Jung called the Self’. Wittine argues that reference to the Self is found in all the world’s greatest religious traditions, using cryptic symbols for the deeper centre of being and awareness.
