The Incorporation of a Spiritual Emergency Experience Into a Client’s Worldview: A Grounded Theory

Abstract

This study is focused on the process of constructing the meaning of a spiritual emergency experience. In the context of this study, spiritual emergency is understood as an experience of psychotic nature, defined by criteria such as good preepisode functioning, nonordinary states of consciousness, awareness of the intrapsychic nature of the process, or preserved ability to cooperate. In-depth interviews with 13 participants who experienced an episode of spiritual emergency were analyzed using the grounded theory method. The analysis yielded a core category titled “The incorporation of a spiritual emergency experience into a client’s worldview.” The process of incorporation was conceptualized by two complementary paths: (a) a Suppressive path characterized by an effort to mitigate or eliminate symptoms, considering them as a personally meaningless pathology, and return to a previous state of functioning and (b) a Facilitative path characterized by an acceptance of symptoms, a search for their meaning, and eventually, the adoption of a new perspective. The results are discussed in relation to different theoretical approaches to psychotic experiences.

Psychosis or spiritual emergency? A Foucauldian discourse analysis of case reports of extreme mental states in the context of meditation

“…Qualitative research points to the importance of the interpersonal context when integrating out-of-the-ordinary experiences into a person's life, including the opinions of significant others and spiritual or medical professionals (Heriot-Maitland et al, 2012;Sedla´kova´& Ř iha´cˇek, 2016). It is therefore important not to apply fixed labels to such experiences.…”

“…Research points to the importance of the interpersonal contextawareness of the other's views as pathologising or normalisingwhen integrating out of ordinary experiences into one's life, including the opinions of significant others and professionals that people seek help from (Heriot-Maitland et al, 2012;Sedláková & Řiháček, 2016). Therefore it is important not to rush into applying labels to experiences that are less understood phenomena.…”

Open-Ended Descriptions of Religious/Spiritual Struggles: Salient Themes and Associations with the Religious and Spiritual Struggles (RSS) Scale and Religiousness

“…Emergent themes reflected a variety of divine struggles: difficulties developing close relationships with God, feeling emotionally distant from God, negative feelings toward God, and emotional insecurity in relationships with God. Finally, a study of 13 participants used grounded theory to analyze semistructured interviews focusing on a spiritual emergency, a non-ordinary state of consciousness that centers on r/s themes and commonly involves sensory, perceptual, and emotional changes that can be profoundly transformative and distressing (Sedláková and Řiháček 2019). Results showed that some participants mitigated the meaning of the spiritual emergency, whereas others struggled to make meaning from their experiences and were eventually able to incorporate the spiritual emergency into their identities.…”