Abstract
Spiritual bypafssing is a term coined in 1984 by the psychologist and Buddhist practitioner John Welwood to define the use of spiritual practices and beliefs as a way of avoiding dealing with unresolved psychological issues. Despite the popular appeal of spirituality, little research exists about spiritual bypass. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of experts with a background in working with spiritual bypass in clinical settings by conducing 10 semi-structured interviews. The results of the conventional content analysis yielded 63 codes that the authors clustered into 10 categories: (a) Exploring Client’s Spirituality, (b) Definition, (c) Symptoms, (d) Personality Traits and Life Experiences, (e) Causes, (f) Negative Consequences, (g) When Spiritual Bypass Is Not Unhealthy, (h) Ways to Treat, (i) Healthy Spirituality, and (j) Longevity. The study’s findings offer future researchers a broader view of the phenomenon of spiritual bypass, including its main symptoms, causes, and consequences and methods of treatment.
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Picciotto, G., Fox, J. Exploring Experts’ Perspectives on Spiritual Bypass: a Conventional Content Analysis. Pastoral Psychol 67, 65–84 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-017-0796-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-017-0796-7