12/10/2020 Grand Rounds

George Stavros, PhD
Executive Director of the Danielsen Institute
Clinical Associate Professor of Pastoral Psychology, Boston University

The Relational Spirituality Model (RSM) for psychotherapy engages spiritual and existential themes to help people make sense of profound suffering or trauma.  To promote healing and growth, practitioners using the RSM provide a secure yet challenging therapeutic space, while guiding clients as they explore ways of relating to the sacred in their lives. Assessment and intervention strategies focus on developmental systems — attachment, differentiation, and intersubjectivity — to restructure relationships with the self, others, and the sacred.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss ways of working with spiritual, existential, religious, and theological concerns in clinical practice.

2. Describe three theoretical approaches that are part of the RSM – attachment theory, family systems theory, and relational psychoanalysis.

3. Discuss intervention strategies that are informed by the subjective experience of the therapist.