<p> Poetry can be a portal into the inner world, a doorway into the psychological space in which one might encounter the vast array of archetypal motifs&mdash;the seed forms&mdash;that structure human experience. Poetry compels a reexamination of the cultural stories upon which ordinary perception is based and awakens a mythic, or poietic, consciousness, leading toward more soulful and meaningful interpretations of life&mdash;what scholar James Hillman calls "soul-making." </p><p> There are two major reasons for this. First, the heightened and compressed language of a poem requires slow and careful reading, facilitating a more intimate encounter with its subject than typically occurs in other types of reading. Second, because it is based in metaphorical language, poetry demonstrates the art of analogizing&mdash;of making new connections between the layers of life. In its drawing of novel parallels between things, events, feelings, and relationships, poetry invites readers to likewise examine and re-imagine their own experiences in order to imbue them with a deeper sense of meaning. </p><p> Despite poetry's focus on universal themes, however, the reading and enjoyment of poetry is a less than universal pastime. Particularly in the West, engagement with poetry remains trapped primarily in academic circles, leaving too many people with inadequate access to its "soul-making" properties. By weaving together the threads of a number of disciplines, including depth psychology, phenomenological philosophy, literary theory, reading theory, and maieutic education, this dissertation examines poetry's potential as a tool for transforming human perception and presents a method for moving the study of poetry deeper into the cultural mainstream. The production piece that accompanies the dissertation, a curriculum for use with small groups of adults titled "Living in the Layers: Traveling Soul's Way through Poetry," provides self-explanatory study materials through which small group leaders and individual students may enter into a depth-psychological encounter with a variety of classic and contemporary poems. Key words: Poetry, Depth Psychology, Maieutic Education, Soul-Making, Spiritual Transformation, Small Groups</p>

<p> This study explored therapists' experiences working with individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Further, it hypothesized that clinician spirituality might positively influence their experience of working with this clinical population. An embedded mixed-methods design was used in this pilot study. Participants were licensed clinicians currently working with at least two clients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Participants completed a semistructured interview, which was analyzed using thematic analysis, and were administered two quantitative scales, the Spiritual Orientation Inventory (SOI) and the Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES). Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS (Version 17) for descriptions and correlations, and were used to support themes that emerged from the qualitative semistructured interview analysis. Thematic analysis resulted in twelve main themes specific to therapists' experiences of working with individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Specifically, therapists experienced this work as challenging, rewarding, and providing a sense of meaning to their lives. Quantitative analysis suggested that therapists sampled in this study were more spiritual as compared with normative sample scores. Embedded mixed-methods analysis did not provide a significant correlation between therapists' experiences and their spirituality. Implications of this study include validating and valuing therapists' experiences in their work with this clinical population. Further, this research provided evidence that therapists found personal practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and prayer to be supportive of their experiences working with individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.</p>