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Like a Prayer| An Existential-Phenomenological Analysis of Prayer in Psychosis

<p> Religion and spirituality has become a widely researched topic within the field of psychology, however most research studies focus on the quantitative measures of religion used as a coping mechanism for individuals undergoing difficulties and struggles. The terms religion and spirituality are often misunderstood in the field of psychology and used interchangeably. Individuals who share their religious/spiritual experiences are often dismissed and not taken seriously therefore exacerbating the stigma and creating even more distance between the field of science and religion. The goal of this research is to capture the lived experience of prayer for individuals moving through psychosis without enframing the experience in a negative way by placing labels or categories on them or their experiences, but rather by letting the experience show itself in its own unique way. Thus 3 participants who have experienced psychosis were asked about their experience of praying during a time that is typically understood as a psychotic experience. The purpose of this approach is to better understand how the practice of prayer in religion/spirituality is more than just an instrumental coping mechanism, and is, rather, lived out as a way of being in the world. This study uses an existential-phenomenological method to understand participants' experiences of this phenomenon in light of common, existential givens shared by the participants. This study will close with implications for further research and clinical care.</p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3645889
Date25 November 2014
CreatorsLesniak-Kasperek, Katarzyna
PublisherThe Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Source SetsProQuest.com
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typethesis

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