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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spirituality as avoidance of unresolved psychological issues

Spiritual bypass or spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks".[1] The term was introduced in the mid 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist.[1][2][3] Clinicians in pastoral psychology have identified both beneficial and detrimental manifestations of behavior that could be described as spiritual bypass.[4]

Background<br>[edit]

American psychologist John Welwood coined the term in 1984 after noting that some people, by resorting to spirituality to avoid difficult or painful emotions or challenges, tended to suppress aspects of their identity and needs and stall their emotional development.[5]

Clinical significance and treatment<br>[edit]

Clinicians do not necessarily regard spiritual bypass as unhealthy when it is utilized as a temporary approach to coping with acute stress or an intense "spiritual emergency". Furthermore, some researchers have argued that certain behaviors labelled as "spiritual bypassing" may simply be a normal and even inevitable stage of any approach to spiritual development.[4]

On the other hand, when spiritual bypass is used as a long-term strategy for ignoring or suppressing unaddressed mental health issues, negative consequences can include "the need to excessively control others and oneself, shame, anxiety, dichotomous thinking, emotional confusion, exaggerated tolerance of inappropriate behavior, codependence, compulsive kindness, obsession or addiction, spiritual narcissism, blind allegiance to charismatic teachers, and disregard for personal responsibility".[5] In cases where it is deemed detrimental, spiritual bypass may be addressed with various forms of psychotherapy, including focusing and motivational interviewing,[2][6] although there is little evidence on which to base treatment aside from anecdotes and individual case reports.[7]

Limitations of research<br>[edit]

Existing research has been limited by relatively homogeneous sampling, and there is a need for more cross-cultural studies to provide a "more global perspective" and explore the concept's relevance to diverse populations.[4]

See also<br>[edit]

Buddhist concepts<br>[edit]

Buddhism and psychology

Five faults and eight antidotes

Five hindrances

Kenshō § Training after kenshō

Kleshas (Buddhism)

Ten fetters

Other religious concepts<br>[edit]

Intermediate zone

Spiritual materialism

Vāsanā

Western psychological concepts<br>[edit]

Avoidance coping

Defence mechanisms

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development

Experiential avoidance

Introspection illusion

Psychological mindedness

Psychological repression

Psychological resistance

Resistance (creativity)

Wishful thinking

References<br>[edit]

1 2 Fossella & Welwood 2011.

1 2 Welwood 2000.

↑ Masís 2002.

1 2 3 Picciotto & Fox 2018.

1 2 Picciotto, Fox & Neto 2018.

↑ Clarke et al. 2013.

↑ Fox, Cashwell & Picciotto 2017.

Sources<br>[edit]

Clarke, Philip B.; Giordano, Amanda L.; Cashwell, Craig S.; Lewis, Todd F. (January 2013). "The straight path to healing: using motivational interviewing to address spiritual bypass". Journal of Counseling & Development. 91 (1): 87–94. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00075.x. Spiritual bypass is a phenomenon that commonly arises when working with clients regarding the spiritual dimension. Spiritual bypass is defined as the use of one's spirituality, spiritual beliefs, spiritual practices, and spiritual life to avoid experiencing the emotional pain of working through psychological issues (Welwood, 2000). This trap entails actively seeking spiritual highs as a means to avoid processing underlying psychological pain (B. H. Whitfield, 1995). One way to address the issue of spiritual bypass in counseling is to use the techniques, interventions, and processes of motivational interviewing (MI). MI is a counseling framework used to encourage positive behavior change in clients (Miller, 1983).

Fossella, Tina; Welwood, John (Spring 2011). "Human nature, buddha nature: an interview with John Welwood" (PDF). Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. 20 (3). Being a good spiritual practitioner can become what I call a compensatory identity that covers up and defends against an underlying deficient identity, where we feel badly about ourselves, not good enough, or basically lacking. Then, although we may be practicing diligently, our spiritual practice can be used in the service of denial and defense. And when spiritual practice is used to bypass our real-life human issues, it becomes compartmentalized in a separate zone of our life, and remains unintegrated with our overall functioning. [...] In my...