KLINISK RELIGIONSPSYKOLOGI OG PSYKOTERAPI: VITAPROSJEKTET

Artikkelen beskriver først den historiske bakgrunn for integrering av religionspsykologi i klinisk praksis ved Modum Bad Klinikken i Norge. Deretter omtales en ny behandlingsmodell, den såkalte Vitamodellen, utviklet som et behandlingstilbud for mennesker med hovedsakelig depressive lidelser som presenterer religiøse og eksistensielle temaer som et viktig element i sin lidelse, enten som konfliktområde eller ressurs for mestring av lidelsen. Vitamodellen bygger på en teori om en utviklingsmessig nær sammenheng mellom dannelsen av et indre gudsbilde, foreldrebilder og selvbilde og hvilken psykologisk funksjon gudsbildet kan ha (Rizzuto 1979). En sentral hypotese er at terapi fokusert på fikserte indre representasjoner kan være avgjørende for emosjonell og eksistensiell modning og føre til bedre psykisk helse. Artikkelen beskriver behandlingsmetoden og ender opp med en prinsipiell diskusjon rundt anvendelse av psykologiske teorier på religiøse erfaringe

The Persecuting God and the Crucified Self: The Case of Olav and the Transformation of His Pathological Self-Image

This case study describes the treatment of "Olav," a divorced lawyer in his mid-30's, who, at the time of treatment, had been continuously hospitalized in closed, short-term psychiatric wards for more than seven years with severe treatment-resistant depression, transient psychotic episodes, self-destructive behavior, and suicide attempts. He was about to be admitted to a long-term ward for chronic schizophrenics. A great deal of his psychopathology revolved around his feeling tortured from condemning inner voices of what he called "the Committee" that he believed were the sacred voices of God. The present case study describes Olav's treatment in our institution's "VITA" unit, a 12-week, group-based, residential day-treatment program that explicitly focuses on existential and religious issues. The VITA program includes diary-writing, affect consciousness, and regular group sessions consisting of such activities as mindfulness training; art therapy focusing on drawing or painting internal representations of self, father, mother and God; multiple group experiences; and reflection on existential issues. A standard assessment battery documents Olav's dramatic improvement over the course of treatment and at one-year follow-up

Reflections on Olav's Therapy: The Roles of Religious Experience, Self Psychology, and Mentalization

Commentaries on the case study of Olav (Stalsett, Engedal & Austad, 2010) by Richards (2010), Jones (2010), and Malitzky (2010) identify and discuss a number of key issues associated with the case study, including the study's scientific value, the importance of religious experience in relation to psychopathology and psychotherapy, and the roles of self-psychology, attachment, and mentalization in the therapy change process. In our response to the commentaries, we address these issues. We conclude that all of the perspectives reviewed help to explain the factors that contributed to Olav's success in our VITA treatment program. This multi-perspectival approach was supported by one of the core principles of VITA: the creation of a "culture of inquiry," which specifically helped Olav to experience and regulate his intense negative affects and to understand and integrate his dialectically opposed visions of God and spirituality from a variety of points of view and within a diversity of therapeutic activities

Relasjoner og språk. Psykodynamisk fortolkning av språkets rolle i relasjonsdannelse som bidrag til å forstå grunnlaget for Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)

This paper discusses the role of language in the processes that initiate and develop mental representations of relationships. The study starts with a critical comparison of two existing theories selected from the field of relational psychoanalysis, aiming to discuss and assess the interaction between developing language and relational experience. The findings from this hermeneutic analysis are then applied in an attempt to explain why verbal behavior can be used to assess the mental representations of relationships as they are expressed in the Adult Attachment Interview. The two theories chosen from the field of relational psychoanalysis are the works of Stephen Mitchell and Daniel Stern, respectively. The contributions from each of them turned out to be compatible with attachment theory and thereby summed up to some tentative voicing of the silent domain of language development in attachment theorySpråk utvikles i relasjon og påvirker samtidig relasjonens utvikling. Gjennom denne doble forbindelsen til relasjonen får språket et dynamisk grensesnitt mot psykologiske teorier som har relasjonen som grunnleggende utgangspunkt. Tilknytningsteorien er en slik teori, men den er likevel taus om språkets rolle i relasjonsdannelsen. Dette til tross for at studier av verbal adferd er bærende i forskning på voksnes tilknytningsmønstre. I denne artikkelen henvender vi oss til teorier av S.A. Mitchell og D.N. Stern, som begge tydelig forholder seg til interaksjonen mellom språk og relasjon. Hensikten er å se om vi kan finne forklaringer på hvorfor kunnskap om mentale representasjoner av relasjoner kan undersøkes og forstås ved å analysere verbalt språk.publishedVersio

Relasjoner og språk. Psykodynamisk fortolkning av språkets rolle i relasjonsdannelse som bidrag til å forstå grunnlaget for Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)

This paper discusses the role of language in the processes that initiate and develop mental representations of relationships. The study starts with a critical comparison of two existing theories selected from the field of relational psychoanalysis, aiming to discuss and assess the interaction between developing language and relational experience. The findings from this hermeneutic analysis are then applied in an attempt to explain why verbal behavior can be used to assess the mental representations of relationships as they are expressed in the Adult Attachment Interview. The two theories chosen from the field of relational psychoanalysis are the works of Stephen Mitchell and Daniel Stern, respectively. The contributions from each of them turned out to be compatible with attachment theory and thereby summed up to some tentative voicing of the silent domain of language development in attachment theor

Ana-Maria Rizzuto and the Psychoanalysis of Religion: The Road to the Living God

Ana-María Rizzuto’s groundbreaking explorations of the formation of God representations in early childhood and their elaboration throughout the life cycle have made their mark, enriching the practice of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, as well as scholarship within the psychoanalytic study of religion. Accompanied by illuminating commentaries by Rizzuto, the authors of this edited collections essays in this volume underscore Rizzuto’s most important contribution to clinical practice: rather than assert that psychoanalysis is incompatible with religious beliefs and practices or with spiritual concerns that patients may bring to a therapeutic context, Rizzuto makes room for the coexistence of psychoanalysis and religion in the therapeutic setting. Demonstrating how Rizzuto’s work has enhanced connections within and among psychoanalytic theories of religion, established pathways for new developments in psychotherapy, and facilitated interdisciplinary conversations, this volume showcases the compelling power of Rizzuto’s work and its ongoing influence. -- Provided by publisherhttps://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/1427/thumbnail.jp