Group Spirituality: A Workshop Approach

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Psychology Press, 2003 - 175 pages

Group spirituality is an increasingly popular area of focus, and working in groups raises some very different and valuable consequences which wouldn't necessarily arise in a one-to-one encounter. In Group Spirituality, Roger Grainger, an author already established as an authority on Drama therapy, provides a functional guide to group spirituality and workshops. Derived from the authors' experiences of working with groups of people interested in exploring their own and other people's spirituality, Group Spirituality turns an abstract idea into a practical and recognizable experience. The nature of group work, the embodiment of ideas and feelings, and circumstances aiding personal encounter are discussed. Workshop examples aimed at establishing group identity and the introduction of the idea of the 'safe place' are explained. The symbolism of spiritual awareness is approached, and a firm distinction between spirituality and religion is made.

Group Spirituality's approach to spirituality from a workshop focus, successfully attempts to embody spirituality and provide a framework for consciously examining and integrating spirituality within the rest of our life.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Prologue
Introduction
1
The spirituality of groups
8
I thou we
10
2 + 2 ?
11
Safety and danger
18
Bodies speak louder than words
23
Only a story
27
Narrative and world construction
86
Spirituality rituals
88
Spirituality workshops
95
Journey to the cross
97
Dreaming
106
Therapeutic dreamtime
108
Rite and dream
111
Theatre and dream
112

Cosmicisation
30
Groupbuilding workshops
33
The space between
41
Winnicott and potential space
42
Therapeutic space experience and image
44
Space as language
46
Learning to play again
47
Sacred space
51
Workshops about distance
53
Story into archetype
71
Spiritual versus religious
74
Implicit or explicit?
78
Telling my story
80
The shape of a story
81
Dream workshops
113
Down to earth
126
The metatheme
129
Seeing things differently
132
Reaching and grasping
137
Recreation and recreation Working with creation stories
141
Creation workshops
145
Four creation myths
149
Rites of passage
153
Epilogue
159
Bibliography
161
Afterword
167
Index
169
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

Roger Grainger is a chartered counselling psychologist and parish minister, who formerly worked as chaplain of Stanley Royd Psychiatric Hospital in Wakefield. He combines professional theatre work with writing and teaching, and is the author of several books about worship and therapy.

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