Informed love as a curative factor

Research concerning the curative factors in psychotherapy has thus far overlooked reports of religious experiences as a potential source of hypotheses. The author examines a variety of anecdotal encounters with personifications of higher power for the presence of therapeutic factors. He finds that t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental health, religion & culture
Main Author: Sparrow, Gregory S. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2008
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Year: 2008, Volume: 11, Issue: 6, Pages: 567-577
Further subjects:B Religious Experience
B unconditional positive regard
B Psychotherapy
B curative factors
B person-centred
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Research concerning the curative factors in psychotherapy has thus far overlooked reports of religious experiences as a potential source of hypotheses. The author examines a variety of anecdotal encounters with personifications of higher power for the presence of therapeutic factors. He finds that the attitude expressed by the being, as perceived by the recipients, reflects unconditional positive regard (UCR) in the context of a thorough and intimate knowledge of the person. He thus hypothesizes that the curative factor operating in such experiences is "informed love", defined as the twofold experience of feeling completely loved and completely known. The author discusses the differences between informed love and UCR, and the implications of informed love in modern psychotherapy practice.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13674670701700914