Dialog at the edge of reason:  addressing spiritual issues within treatment for psychosis
Further reading and resources related to the presentation by: 		Ron Unger LCSW 
									4ronunger@gmail.com
									541-513-1811

Psychosis and Spirituality: Exploring the New Frontier edited by Isabel Clarke.  “Spirituality and psychosis both inhabit the region where ordinary reason ceases to function and barriers break down. The connection between them is evident – what is remarkable is how conventional thinking obscures the connection. This book challenges conventional understandings with a radical new perspective.  The interface between psychosis and spirituality is explored, drawing on key research and latest developments from a wide spread of disciplines…”
	Various books and papers by Isabel Clarke are either referenced or available at her website, http://www.isabelclarke.org/psychosis_spirituality/

 “Mysticism and madness: Different aspects of the same human experience?” by Charles Heriot-Maitland, in Mental Health, Religion & Culture, Volume 11, Issue 3, 2008.  Abstract: Associations between mysticism and madness have been made since earliest recorded history, and the striking resemblance between self-reports of both mystical and psychotic experience suggests that similar psychological processes may be involved in their occurrence. By exploring the similarities, and proposing a common element to mystical and psychotic experience (referred to here as the experience of 'oneness'), this paper aims to place mysticism and madness onto the same experiential continuum. However, in contrast to much of the previous literature, the intention is not to pathologize mystical experience, but rather to normalize psychotic experience. The paper argues not only that the experience of oneness is entirely genuine and available to all humans, but also that it has an important psychological (and evolutionary) function. Using cognitive terminology, it then attempts to explain the processes determining whether an individual enjoys a fulfilling mystical experience, or suffers a debilitating psychotic breakdown (i.e., how 'oneness' is experienced). Finally, this paper turns to look at some of the important implications such an approach might have for clinical practice and for the mental health of people in general.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13674670701287680

“INTEGRATING THE SPIRIT WITHIN PSYCHOSIS: ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS” by Phillips, Russell E, Lukoff, David, Stone, Mary K.  “This literature review integrates theory, research, and treatment regarding spiritual experiences in persons with psychosis. The goal of this article is to further communication amongst mainstream and transpersonal psychologists regarding their approaches toward spirituality and psychosis. Perspectives presented in this paper include Anton Boisen's pastoral counseling approach, John Weir Perry's Jungian approach, Stanislav Grof's and David Lukoff's transpersonal approaches, research and treatment in mainstream psychology on religious coping and ways to incorporate religious and spiritual issues into therapy. The article also provides a framework to integrate this diverse body of knowledge, and affords some suggestions for future research.”

 “Spiritual aspects of psychosis and recovery” by Dr Susan Mitchell.  From the paper:  “When working with people suffering from psychosis, a practical, grounded, ‘recovery-oriented’ spirituality that incorporates humanity and compassion while accepting the integrity of personal experience is invaluable.”

The Royal College of Psychiatry Spirituality and mental health webpage.  An overview of how to bring more spirituality into mental health care.  See also The Royal College of Psychiatrists Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group or their official position paper at http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/PS03_2011.pdf  

“The relationship between schizophrenia and religion and its implications for care.”  Mohr S, Huguelet P. Swiss Med Wkly. 2004 Jun 26;134(25-26):369-76. “This paper focuses on the relationships between schizophrenia and religion, on the basis of a review of literature and the data of an ongoing study about religiousness and spiritual coping conducted among outpatients with chronic schizophrenia.”
Unshrinking Psychosis: Understanding and Healing the Wounded Soul by John Watkins, contains a well researched chapter on Psychosis and Spirituality.

The Primordial Mind in Health and Illness: A Cross-Cultural Perspective by Michael Robbins.  “The universal quest to create cosmologies – to comprehend the relationship between mind and world - is inevitably limited by the social, cultural and historical perspective of the observer, in this instance western psychoanalysis. In this book Michael Robbins attempts to transcend such contextual limitations by putting forward a primordial form of mental activity that co-exists alongside thought and is of equal importance in human affairs.”

The California Mental Health & Spirituality Initiative web site contains a directory to online resources, scientific literature, and books. It also incorporates web 2.0 features to allow you to participate by posting resources and contributing to online discussions. 

Some resources Brian Koehler recommended – I haven’t looked at these yet :  
•	“Spirituality and Psychiatry” edited by Chris Cook, Andrew Powell & Andrew Sims (2009) published by RCPsych Publications (The Royal College of Psychiatrists).
•	“Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness” by Nancy Kehoe (2009) published by Jossey-Bass (A Wiley Imprint). 
•	“Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry” edited by Phillipe Huguelet & Harold G. Koenig (2009) published by Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK).

The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems by Fritjof Capra is a good introduction to complexity theory, emergence, and self organization, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with this way of thinking.

Silverstein, S. M. (2007). “Integrating Jungian and Self-Psychological Perspectives Within Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for a Young Man With a Fixed Religious Delusion.”  Clinical Case Studies, 6(3), 263-276.   From the abstract:  “This article demonstrates how the Jungian technique of archetypal amplification was modified and used within the structure of CBT treatment of a young man with schizophrenia with a religious delusion who refused to engage in standard CBT. His case demonstrates that schizophrenia patients who initially refuse to question the validity of their delusional beliefs can nevertheless be successfully engaged in CBT when the focus promotes alternative understandings of the self and preserves self-esteem.”

A workshop happening soon:  Weekend of December 9-11, 2011- “An Integrative Approach to Psychosis and Other Transformative Spiritual Experiences” with Michael Cornwall  &  David Lukoff  &  Jay Mahler  &  Laura Mancuso.  “Workshop participants will be immersed in a weekend of co-creating an expanded vision for valuing the transformative power of psychotic/visionary processes. Participants who have been through a psychotic/visionary process will benefit from a candid discussion with presenters who continue to integrate and find lasting spiritual value from their own psychotic/visionary initiations and transformative spiritual experiences. We will review innovative programs that use integrative and spiritual approaches rather than a reliance on the bio-medical disease model.” Info http://bit.ly/pw4Kdw
Michael Cornwall, one of the presenters at the above seminar, wrote a great summary of how to approach someone with psychosis with spiritual openness:  How to best serve clients with a psychotic/visionary experience