Embodied spirituality

The main findings on embodied spirituality within the Toronto Blessing are presented in this article. The aim of this study is to interpret ecstatic religious experiences from a psychological point of view. The theoretical framework is interdisciplinary, using theories from ego-psychology, social psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and ritual theory. Regarding the latter notion, Thomas Csordas has developed cultural phenomenology, which is a culturally constructed way of understanding a situation through using bodily senses in a sort of sensory engagement that is linked with inter-subjectivity. This way of thinking assumes that the body can impart knowledge and help us understand apparently non-rational phenomena. Ecstatic phenomena can be interpreted as bodily knowledge, a habitus, stored or saved in the body to be later activated in a cultural and ritual context

Klassesamtaler som eksistensielt drama - der psykisk helse oppstår mellom oss

Author's version of an article in the journal: Nordic Studies in Education. Also available from the publisher at: http://www.idunn.no/ts/np/2012/02/klassesamtaler_som_eksistensielt_drama_-_der_psykisk_helse_?highlight=Ulland#highlightThis article presents a qualitative study of a mental health promotion initiative at the interface between culture, health and education. In this initiative the aim is to facilitate conversations about various life issues in mainstream classes in high school. The study shows that the conversations set off thoughts and feelings with the students which are considered to be positive and meaningful and that the initiative contributes to an increased experience of openness and cohesion in the class. Through the use of Bakhtin's dialogue philosophy, Løgstrup's ethics of proximity and Lakoff's and Johnson's metaphor theory, we note how the talks establish a space for an existential drama. The students open up, they put themselves at play, they exist: ethically, cognitively and emotionally. On this basis it is reasonable to say that mental health arises between the students

To Make Room or Not to Make Room: Clients’ Narratives About Exclusion and Inclusion of Spirituality in Family Therapy Practice

This empirical article presents four narratives from an ongoing qualitative PhD project about spirituality and family therapeutic practice. Using case studies and narrative vignettes, the article presents client perspectives on being able to discuss their spirituality in therapy, and the repercussions when therapists exclude it. The article refers to current research and provides some reflections on how we can understand spirituality in the context of family therapeutic practice; therapists for holistic, cultural, and ethical reasons should acknowledge the client’s spirituality. Therapists need to reflect on their own spirituality and how it may influence their relationships with clients.publishedVersionnivå

Generating dialogical practices in mental health : experiences from southern Norway, 1998-2008

Published version of an article in the journal: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0479-3In Norway and many other countries, political guidelines prescribe the development of mental health strategies with both a service user's perspective and a treatment system established by the local authority. The development of new strategies frequently involves challenges regarding procedures and treatment as well as a view of knowledge and humanity. Dialogical practices might provide a solution for these challenges not only because of its procedures but also due to its attitudes toward service users. The aim is to explore the implementation of three dialogical practice programs in Southern Norway from 1998 to 2008 and to critically analyze and discuss the authors' experiences during the implementation process. Three different programs of dialogical practices were initiated, established, and evaluated within the framework of participatory action research. Sustainable changes succeed individually and organizationally when all participants engage as partners during the implementation of new mental health practices. Generating dialogic practice requires shared understanding of the Open Dialogue Approach (ODA) and collaboration between professional networks and among the leaders. Developing a collaboration area that includes service users in all stages of the projects was one of the essential implementation factors. Other factors involved a common vision of ODA by the leaders and the actors, similar experiences, and a culture of collaboration. However, ODA challenged traditional medical therapy and encountered obstacles to collaboration. Perhaps the best way of surmounting those obstacles is to practice ODA itself during the implementation process

Guds karneval : en religionspsykologisk studie av Toronto-vekkelsens spiritualitet.

The purpose of this dissertation was to study how to interpret ecstatic spirituality, illustrated by the Toronto Blessing, from a religio-psycho¬logical point of view. The study is a qualitative research based on inter¬views, field observations and written documents. The theo¬retical framework is interdisciplinary, using theories from ego-psychology, social psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and ritual theory. The results showed that the cultural context is important for the interpretation of the ecstasy. The ecstatic phenomena can be interpreted as a cultural and ritual habitus stored or saved in the body. The ecstatic phenomena may be understood as bodily icons and as external manifestations of an inner touch of God

“She offered me a place and a future” : change is an event of becoming through movement in Ethical Time and Space

Published version of an article in the journal: Contemporary Family Therapy. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10591-014-9317-3Within mental health research, the promise of exploring the lived experience of those affected is increasingly acknowledged. This research points to the significance of social aspects. The present study is part of a series of qualitative studies exploring network-oriented practices in southern Norway. The aim of this study was to explore the social dynamics of change related to adolescents in psychosocial crises. From the perspective of lived experience the study focused changes related to the adolescents’ ways of existing in various social arenas. Data from qualitative interviews with adolescents receiving help from a mental health service, persons in their social network, and the practitioners involved were explored through a dialogical phenomenological–hermeneutical process. Two co-researchers, on the basis of their own experience with mental health problems, participated throughout the research process. Concepts from the thinking of Mikhail Bakhtin, Françoise Dastur, and John Shotter were used as interpretative help. Main theme: change is the event of becoming through movement in Ethical Time and Space. Two dimensions, conceptualized as Ethical Space and Ethical Time, were identified: (1) “A place for me” or “No place for me” (Ethical Space), and (2) Before-Event of anticipation—Event of movement—After-Event of experience (Ethical Time). Four aspects within these dimensions emerged: (1) an opening Before-Event: offering space for my movement; (2) a closing Before-Event: not offering space for my movement; (3) a life-giving After-Event: the experience of being valued; and (4) a life-deteriorating After-Event: the experience of being devalued. The results are discussed in relation to other studies investigating how bodily responsiveness is at the core of human becoming