Spiritual Emergence & Posttraumatic Stress

2007-08-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

and

Spiritual Emergence

Dissertation Research Project

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CALL FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

Have you ever had a spiritual, energetic, or awakening experience, and then shifted into memories or feelings from past trauma? Or, inversely, have you ever been in the process of working through a past trauma and then a spiritual experience arose? If so, I'd like to hear about your experiences.

I'm writing my doctoral dissertation on the interface between spiritual experiences and post traumatic stress disorder. I believe that this is an area that is relatively common, but has been under documented in the field of psychology. I am hoping to shed some light on this area.

If you choose to be interviewed, your privacy will be completely protected. Only your initials and/or pseudonyms will be used, unless you want your real name to be used.

An overview of the topic and interview process is included below.

Thanks for your time!

-Audrey
Audrey Lehmann, Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
AudreyLehmannMFT@gmail.com

Some common symptoms for PTSD and Spiritual Emergence:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Repeated, disturbing memories, thoughts or images of traumatic event

Suddenly acting or feeling as if an experience were happening again

Having physical reactions (e.g., heart pounding, trouble breathing, or sweating) when reminded of the stressful event

"Dissociating," or feeling as if one is outside of one's body

Spiritual Emergence

Altered states of consciousness that are of a spiritual nature

A profound psychological transformation that feels sacred or holy

Intense energetic states, such as a "Kundalini Awakening" (a sudden experience of life-force energy and change in consciousness)

Increasing awareness of the spiritual dimension in one's life and in the universal scheme of things

Topic Overview

Documentation of the interface between posttraumatic stress disorder and spiritual emergence is extremely rare. What literature does exist predominantly focuses on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and spiritual or religious beliefs, rather than on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and the spiritual or religious experience. Further, almost no literature exists on the influence that spiritual experiences might have on posttraumatic stress disorder. This study will examine the relationship between the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and the symptoms of a spiritual emergence. More specifically, it looks for a possible interplay between the two. The goal is to discover how the symptoms of one condition might affect the symptoms of the other.

I am including in my definition of Spiritual Emergence that of Grof and Grof (1986):

Episodes of unusual experiences that involve changes in consciousness and in perceptual, emotional, cognitive and psychosomatic functioning, in which there is a significant transpersonal emphasis in the process, …extra-sensory perception, intense energetic states (kundalini awakening), states of mystical union, identification with cosmic consciousness, etc.

Regarding spiritual and religious affiliation, if a participant uses a label other than Spiritual Emergence to define his or her spiritual experiences (e.g., “revelation,” “God’s grace,” “the descent of the Holy Spirit,” etc.), the participant will be included in this study, as long as these experiences share the majority of the symptoms of those given for the definition of Spiritual Emergence.

The following is the central question for the interview: “Describe a time, or times, when you have experienced a relationship between your symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and spiritual emergence.” The interview process consists of two interviews, each lasting between one and a half and two hours long. The participants will have the opportunity to read the analysis and transcript of each interview, and give feedback about what they have read. The feedback from the participants will help assure that how I understand what the participants have expressed is in alignment with what the participants feel they really said.

The privacy and anonymity of the participants will be protected by use of initials and/or pseudonyms. Should a participant choose to be anonymous, I will be the only person who knows his or her real identity. The committee chair, committee member, and external reader for the dissertation will not have this information.

Again, if you or anyone you know is interested in being interviewed, please contact me:

Audrey Lehmann, Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
AudreyLehmannMFT@gmail.com