Page 65 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 11

Wolfram Soldan (Germany)
Comment to

“Psychotherapy and Wolfram Soldan
is a physician
the Holy Spirit. New and psychothe-

perspectives in “providing rapist, and has
for many years
care” in the no-man’s land now been a staff
member at the
on the borders between IGNIS Acade-
the psychological and my in Kitzingen.
He worked for 2 years in what is now the
spiritual.“ DE’IGNIS clinic, and was then in charge
of the IGNIS therapy centre for 5 years; he
afterwards became a tutor in the field of cli-
nical psychology at the IITC (ICP-IGNIS
Tutorial Center). Today he is involved in
I was interested to read the article “Psychothera- training in counselling and spiritual coun-
py and the Holy Spirit” by our colleague Cascio- selling (for clinical psychology) with an
li. Much of it is in a compact thesis-style, leaves emphasis on drawing on the Bible in coun-
questions open, but also motivates the reader selling, forgiveness, and sexuality, and is
to develop thoughts further. It was refreshing, also a therapist and supervisor.
in my view, to see how directly and straightfor-
wardly Father Cascioli opened discussion on Wolfram.Soldan@ignis.de
invisible realities as a matter of course and with
self-assurance. It is made quite unmistakably Articles by Wolfram:
clear that psychotherapy cannot set growth and http://emcapp.ignis.de/2/#/48
change as a goal and simultaneously claim to be http://emcapp.ignis.de/2/#/76
“scientifically value-free”. Change needs a direc- http://emcapp.ignis.de/4/#/6
tion, a goal, which, for human beings, cannot be
separated from their values. The fact that there
is a close connection between the dyadic thera- I found it very courageous how he interpreted
peutic relationship and the divine relationship enthusiasm as an effect of God’s working within
(within the Trinity and between God and man), me, choosing the highly pointed phrasing of
and especially that with the Holy Spirit, is for a “temperate intoxication of the spirit” which
me too a central pillar in a relational Christi- has a “contagious” effect. This makes it clear
an therapy. On this point in the article, I would that taking the invisible world seriously cannot
have wished for stronger arguments underli- be done abstractly and without commitment.
ning this thesis. Consistent with this is the author’s emphasis
that, for every Christian, the psycho-therapeu-
IGNIS originally came from a trichotomous tic path, thought through from beginning to
spirit/soul/body anthropology and meanwhile end, must always be a personal path of faith (for
emphasises the holistic nature of man. I find every therapist, as well as for every client, who
Cascioli’s formulation of a three-dimensional considers himself a Christian).
anthropology quite accurate, one in which
body, soul and spirit cannot be considered in In my personal Bible study, it strikes me how
isolation without creating something artificial: inseparably the phenomena of rebirth, sancti-
rather, only an approach based on their inter- fication and healing are intertwined with each
relationships can give an accurate picture. other in the New Testament, so much so that

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