| Using Winnicott's concept of potential space, this study proposes a framework with which psychotherapists can integrate and foster a constructive dialogue between religious experience and psychological growth that opens a possibility for transformation and creative living. The literature review discusses the key issues that have been raised within the psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspective regarding the relationship between psychology and religion. It also presents a survey of various perspectives that have been put forth in an attempt to deal with the complex task of integrating religious experience into psychological discourse and the psychotherapeutic process. The study expands the understanding of potential space as the place for dialectical process, play, symbolization, and meaning, to inform how psychotherapists could better understand and work with patients' religious experience. The Creative-Malignant Spectrum is presented as a framework for assessing the extent to which religious experience facilitates or impedes growth. Case vignettes from the author's clinical experience are utilized to illustrate how the Creative-Malignant Spectrum can be utilized in clinical practice. |
