The helpfulness of spiritually influenced group work in developing self-awareness and self-esteem: a preliminary investigation.

A spiritually influenced group intervention helped eight women with a history of substance abuse develop self-awareness and self-esteem. The group, grounded in transpersonal theory, included meditation, mindfulness, dream work, stream of consciousness writing, shadow self exploration, and arts-based exercises. Grounded-theory analysis of sessions and interviews showed participants perceived the group as helpful. Making-meaning was consistently described as a spiritually sensitive process. Results are promising, with suggestions for future research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper discusses an exploratory study that investigated the helpfulness of spiritually influenced group work with eight adult women who shared a history of substance abuse. The overall purpose of the group was to help participants develop their self-awareness and self-esteem. The group, which was contextualized in transpersonal theory, was organized around the following themes and experiential exercises: meditation, mindfulness practice, dream work, stream of consciousness writing, the shadow self, and other arts-based processes. Grounded-theory analysis of group sessions and individual interviews with the participants found that the participants perceived the group to be helpful in developing their self-awareness and self-esteem. While the participants identified different aspects of the group as spiritual, making-meaning was one practice that was consistently described as a spiritually sensitive process. The results of this study in this emergent field are promising and suggestions are provided for future research.