Spirituality, Science and Therapy

This article firstly explores the dissociation between therapy and spirituality in the context of the historical split between facts' and ‘values,’ science and religion, and secondly the recent shift away from dichotomies such as therapy/spirituality, science/religion towards a ‘both/and’ synthesis in the ‘new science’ and spirituality. The ‘Cartesian anxiety’ and dualism that has dominated Western thought in the last 300 years is now less apparent, and science is more inclusive of different paradigms. This paper argues for a closer integration of family therapy and spirituality, and is linked to a manuscript in preparation which explores the clinical application of spirituality to family adaptation following trauma. For many survivors and their families, trauma opens a window into the world of spirituality. Aspects of Jung's and Frankl's work will be related to the area of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), linking factors such as ‘attribution of meaning’ and ‘positive appraisal’ to family adaptation.