Psychoanalytic treatment and the religious person.

Abstract

Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, considered religion a collective neurosis that provided through its dogmas and rituals an illusory protection against human fragility. According to Freud, the personal religious "new rosis" of an individual was sustained by an infantile attachment to a caring parental figure. A mature adult needed to accept the risks of being alive without having to cling to a protective godhead. For years, analysts followed Freud's dictums without challenging their scientific value. In the past three decades, theoretical changes in psychoanalysis, in particular the introduction of object relations theory, have made it possible to have psychoanalytic theories about religious beliefs that are based on the developmental and dynamic factors that contribute to the formation of the mind and of personal belief. The changes in theory have some impact on the technical approach to the analytic understanding of religious experiences, but the essential analytic technique remains unchanged. Freud himself suggested the probable consequences of using his method:If the application of the psycho-analytic method makes it possible to find a new argument against religion, rant pis for religion; but defenders of religion will by the same right make use of psycho-analysis in order to give full value to the affective significance of religious doctrines.

Faith Development Theory Revisited: The Religious Styles Perspective

“…Inasmuch as interpersonality has a history, beginning with events lying far back, and has yielded certain patterns of religious communication and religious styles elaborated at that time, present styles should not be conceived of as emerging independently and suddenly in the here and now but rather as having their roots in life history. Such Self-Other dynamics in life-historical perspective thus implies the inclusion of psychodynamic patterns of explanation, as in Erikson's (1968) and Rizzuto's (1979Rizzuto's ( , 1991Rizzuto's ( , 1996 perspectives.…”

“…Second, for my revision I refer to the psychodynamic tradition represented by Erikson's (1968) and Rizzuto's (1979Rizzuto's ( , 1991Rizzuto's ( , 1996 work and to their contribution to an understanding of life history. Rizzuto's contribution is of special importance because she has integrated the development of God representations into the psychodynamic view.…”

Toward a Bahá'í Concept of Mental Health: Implications for Clinical Practice

“…Despite the evident increase in studies examining religious traditions, spirituality, and religiosity in the context of psychology and counseling (Bergin, 1994;Jacobs & Capps, 1997;Koenig & Pritchett, 1998;Rizzuto, 1996), the Bahá'í Faith has been absent in the literature.…”

Psikoloji ve dinin etkileşimi: trendler ve gelişmeler

“…Terapilere dini inancın dahil edilmesi özellikle dinî temaların, gerek bireysel gerekse grup vakalarında, din yönelimli danıĢanların düĢüncelerini izlemek ve karĢı çıkıĢları bertaraf etmek amacıyla bu kiĢileri teĢvik etmek üzere kullanıldığı biliĢsel-davranıĢçı yaklaĢımlarda görülmektedir (Bergin, 1980;Rizzuto, 1996). Dinle terapinin bütünleĢik kullanımının baĢarısı psikoanalistler ve varoluĢçu terapistler tarafından da kanıtlanmıĢtır.…”