Integrative Psychotherapy - Science topic

These resources may interest you:

Spirituality/R

Generally speaking, spirituality plays a pivotal role in promoting physical and behavioral health. The positive therapeutic effects of spirituality in various health settings as an effective technique in improving the wellness of the patients has been reported in many studies ( (Koenig, 2009). As you have pointed out , the application of spirituality can indubitably influence the recovery of the patients suffering from  acute stress, depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse. The following may hopefully shed light on the issue you are looking for.

Best of luck,

R. Biria

https://www.psychiatry.ru/.../userfiles/.../Philippe%20Huguelet%20MD%20(Author),%20Har...

Beatrice Marianne,

thank you so much, so good to get those inspiring ways of thinking, working.. 

 Alenka

Hi Ian,

I am ex-forces (Army), am living with the effects of cPTSD, and am an independent ex-forces researcher. We can chat if you like.......

Richard

Look at the historical work of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, especially the work of Harry Aponte. His classic book is Bread & Spirit: Therapy with the New Poor: Diversity of Race, Culture, and Values.

By Aponte, Harry J. 1994.

Stressing culture, community, and choice, this book speaks to therapy for the new poor, a people poor more because they have lost their spirit than because they lack bread. The author's perspective arises from the theory and techniques of structural family therapy, but he goes beyond that view to reach for meaning in people's identities, traditions, and legacies. He urges therapists to recognize and work with spiritual forces in the poor and to avoid opportunistic practical solutions that assume that they are too poor, hungry, and downtrodden to care about meaning and purpose.

[The author] shows specifically how this can be done in therapy. . . . These vignettes show the subtle process of connecting with people, respecting their experiences and their values, helping them locate strengths and resources both within themselves and within the community, and making the changes that will restore health not only to individual families but also to the community.

He also proposes a training program to enhance awareness of diversity of race, culture, and values in the person of the therapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, All rights reserved)

You might also check out the work of Nancy Boyd-Franklin: Intersections of race, class, and poverty: Challenges and resilience in African American families.

By Boyd-Franklin, Nancy; Karger, Melanie

Walsh, Froma (Ed), (2012). Normal family processes: Growing diversity and complexity (4th ed.). , (pp. 273-296). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press, xv, 592 pp.

In order to evaluate what is "normal" in the development of any family, clinicians and researchers must explore the larger social context in which the family lives (Hines & Boyd-Franklin, 2005; Pinderhughes, 2002; Walsh, Chapter 1, this volume). Race and class are two of the most complex and emotionally loaded issues in the United States. For poor, inner-city African American families, the day-to-day realities of racism, discrimination, classism, poverty, homelessness, violence, crime, and drugs create forces that continually threaten the family's survival (Sampson & Wilson, 2005). In the report, The State of Black America 2009, published by the National Urban League, Jones (2009) indicated, "Ironically, even as an African American man holds the highest office in this country, African Americans remain twice as likely as whites to be unemployed; three times more likely to live in poverty, and more than six times as likely to be incarcerated" (p. 1). The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework that will be helpful for clinicians in understanding and working with African American families. Many clinicians who have no framework with which to view these complex realities may become overwhelmed (Boyd-Franklin, 2003; Pinderhughes, 1989; Sue, 2003). The first part of the chapter explores these issues in depth, and the second part utilizes a multisystems model (Boyd-Franklin, 2003) in order to empower families and the clinicians who work with them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Dear Vijay Shankar,

I hope these articles will be useful for your purpose. 

In my opinion, a multidisciplinary team should be considered  for the protocol (e.g. one psychotherapist and one physician with expertise in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine).

A systematic review of the evidence for complementary and alternative medicine in infertility.

Clark NA, Will M, Moravek MB, Fisseha S.

Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2013 Sep;122(3):202-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2013.03.032. Epub 2013 Jun 21. Review.

The physiological basis of complementary and alternative medicines for polycystic ovary syndrome.

Raja-Khan N, Stener-Victorin E, Wu X, Legro RS.

Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jul;301(1):E1-E10. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.00667.2010. Epub 2011 Apr 12. Review. Erratum in: Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Dec 15;303(12):E1506

Thanks for the information—I will definitely search Duke's database for their research. I have been using my English Bulldog Tilly for approximately 8 years in the hematology/oncology outpatient unit (Valerie Fund), The Unterberg's Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, pediatric in and PICU wards, CCIS (Children's Crisis Intervention Services) at Monmouth Medical Behavioral unit, and I also take her to the Hawkswood School to work with children with differing severity of disabilities, physical, development, and cognitive. I also raised a service dog to be used with individuals with special needs—all of which lead me to go back to school to attain my Masters in Creative Art Therapy and also focus my  thesis on this phenomenon with rapport building, with a focus on the attachment, object relations, object permanence, and secure base theories when I am in session with my patients. It has been really amazing to witness these children being able to open up to me, who is ultimately a stranger, merely because my dog is in the room or in some cases (due to the study parameters and the way I measured rapport) if she was in my office but the kids new she was nearby. Thanks again for your story and for your information leading me down another amazing rabbit hole of research and information.

Happy New Year and all the best for you and your family (furry and skin) for 2015.

Alison Silver

Thanks, Lisa. I have handed in my dissertation now, with my own model of psychotherapy. I hope to return to Cambodia to work as a therapist and will keep in mind this book that you recommend.