Page 65 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 19
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community. Human love always has two aspect answer to a deep hear�elt longing for a real en-
– the material (feelings) and the immaterial counter that a digital future cannot destroy.
(personal rela�onship). The author points out
that most marriages are falling apart and ar- Samuel Pfeifer wrote an insigh�ul ar�cle on
gues that the main reason for this is a lack of prayer. He asserts that prayer is the most fre-
understanding the rela�onship of two people. quent expression of spirituality, around the
It is cri�cal to understand what love is to ad- world and in all cultures. He inves�gates the in-
dress this issue. To fully understand what love terac�on between psychology and prayer and
is, we should consider both the material and provided empirical evidence on the importance
immaterial sides of human beings. The author of the posi�ve subjec�ve effect of prayer is cri-
based his descrip�on of the mee�ng “places” in �cal in life-situa�ons. He dis�nguishes between
a person on the Aristotelian-Thomis�c model. ritual and dialogue but demonstrates the ritua-
These places are not only based on the nervous lized func�on of prayer which relates to com-
system but also the immaterial aspect of the in- munal prayer. Communal prayer can evoke a
tellect. The reader is challenged to par�cipate deep response in the individual and underline
in the discourse by reassessing the reduc�oni- the sense of community. The importance and
s�c view of human existence and to reflect dee- impact of communal prayer is also underscored
ply on the meaning of “words of the heart”. in the first ar�cle that inves�gated collec�ve
trauma from a biblical perspec�ve. The author
Romuald Jaworski wrote on periodiza�on of re- included an indispensable sec�on in his ar�cle,
ligiousness development. He dis�nguishes se- to be carefully considered by psychologists and
ven stages of religious development and states psychotherapist, i.e., ethical guidelines for the
that “the analysis of religious phenomena was use of prayer in therapy.
par�cularly inspired by the analysis of religiosi-
ty as an interpersonal rela�onship, focusing Anna Ostaszewska highlights elements of
a�en�on on the personal dimension of human Chris�an psychotherapy. The author argues
contact with God, which takes place in religious that the aim of psychotherapy is to heal psycho-
experiences.” In his analysis and iden�fica�on logical problems and that a psychotherapist
of the seven stages he draws knowledge from should have enough knowledge to understand
the fields of philosophy, theology psychology of a client’s believes and their context. It means
religion, and psychological knowledge about in- that a therapist should respect a Chris�an cli-
terpersonal rela�onship. ent’s beliefs and be able to dis�nguish between
healthy and “unhealthy” spiritual beliefs. Fur-
The ar�cle wri�en by Werner May contains a thermore, psychotherapists’ own religious
discourse on Chris�an iden�ty. The author ar- knowledge and openness for the work of the
gues that Chris�an iden�ty entails more than a Holy Spirit is important. The author further pro-
modern or postmodern view. The classical mo- vides informa�on on research in the area of spi-
dern understanding of iden�ty is described as rituality and available training offered by higher
the on�c iden�ty. He discusses various models educa�onal ins�tu�ons in the field of Chris�an
of iden�ty and explains how iden�ty develops psychotherapy. The author discussed various
during adolescence. He covers the postmodern elements of Chris�an psychotherapy that
view of iden�ty forma�on based on construc�- should be understood in accordance with Chris-
on and narra�ve. The author then presents his �an anthropology. This ar�cle offers the rea-
preferred Chris�an iden�ty as agape iden�ty, a ding insight into these elements and how they
special form of dialogical iden�ty. He expanded could be u�lized in Chris�an psychotherapy.
on the forma�on of agape iden�ty which starts
with the love of God. The author argues that Elena Strigo’s ar�cle, �tled, The Moral Word
the digital future we are facing may greatly im- and Reconstruc�on of the Person in Chris�an
pact the forma�on of iden�ty but concludes Psychotherapy, debates the construc�ve poten-
that the love of God will be an anchor as it is the �al of a moral judgment in the therapeu�c re-
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