The Only Way Out Is Through: The Peril of Spiritual Bypass

Summary & key facts

This article warns counselors about a problem called "spiritual bypass." It defines spiritual bypass as using spiritual beliefs, practices, or experiences to avoid facing psychological "unfinished business." The paper says healing needs to happen at the thinking, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels for whole-person wellness. It gives examples of clients in spiritual bypass and urges counselors to watch for this pitfall when supporting clients' spiritual paths.

Key facts:

• Spiritual bypass is defined as using spiritual beliefs, practices, or experiences to avoid genuine contact with psychological “unfinished business.”
• The article's stated purpose is to define spiritual bypass, discuss the need for healing at cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels, and provide examples of clients in spiritual bypass.
• The authors advise counselors to be aware of spiritual bypass as a potential pitfall when helping clients explore or follow a spiritual path.
• The paper presents a conceptual discussion and examples; it does not report new experimental data in the abstract provided.

Abstract

Given the increased attention to spirituality in the counseling literature, with a primary emphasis on helping clients find their spiritual path, it is important for counselors to be aware of one potential pitfall of the spiritual path, namely spiritual bypass . Spiritual bypass occurs when clients seek to use their spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences to avoid genuine contact with their psychological “unfinished business.” The purpose of this article is to define spiritual bypass, discuss the necessity of healing at the cognitive, emotional, and physical levels, as well as at the spiritual level for holistic wellness, and provide examples of clients in spiritual bypass.

Topics

Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology Workplace Spirituality and Leadership

Categories

Health Social Sciences

Tags

Alternative medicine Cognition Medicine Neuroscience Pathology Psychology Psychotherapist Social psychology Spiritual development Spirituality

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression PTSD Anxiety or worry Feeling disconnected from others Sadness or low mood