The name Harold G. Koenig is well known in the fast-growing field of spirituality and health. Founder and director of the widely respected Duke University Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, Dr. Koenig is recognized worldwide for his groundbreaking work in medical science and religious faith. In this book—now available in paperback—he shares his remarkable personal story and shows how personal trials became the catalyst for his pioneering research.

A “wonderfully readable” study of the importance of human connection and how we form intimate relationships, from two pioneering psychiatrists (Psychiatric Times) In The Healing Connection, best-selling author Jean Baker Miller, M.D., and Irene Stiver, Ph.D., argue that relationships are the integral source of psychological health. In so doing they offer a new understanding of human development that points a way to change in all of our institutions—work, community, school, and family—and is sure to transform lives.

To witness effectively and powerfully to Christian testimonies of care and compassion, of justice and mercy, of healing and wholeness, it is necessary to foster awareness of the realities of the present system of retributive justice if there is to be any hope of transformation to a system of justice which is restorative. Forget Them Not provides a history of the prison system as a means of punishment contrasting it with the relatively recent but growing practice of restorative justice. Joanne Hemenway explores the concept of disconnection as radical evil, as a separation from God who is the source of our being, and shows how our present approach to punishment fosters this evil. The present system, with its motif of retributive justice, generates shame, rejection, and loneliness which stokes the fires of anger and rage. This breeds deep disconnection which only serves to fuel further cycles of violence. Hemenway presents three vignettes designed to help explore forgiveness in the context of both retributive and restorative justice. To promote healing and connection, Forget Them Not introduces compassionate witnessing in prison ministry as a way to develop awareness and empowerment.

Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) is developed to accurately address the relational experiences of persons in de-valued cultural groups. As a model, it is ideal for work with couples: it encourages active participation in relationships, fosters the well-being of everyone involved, and acknowledges that we grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan. Part and parcel with relationships is the knowledge that, whether intentionally or not, we fail each other, misunderstand each other, and hurt each other, causing an oftentimes enduring disconnect. This book helps readers understand the pain of disconnect and to use RCT to heal relationships in a variety of settings, including with heterosexual couples, lesbian and gay couples, and mixed race couples. Readers will note a blending of approaches (person-centered, narrative, systems, and feminist theory), all used to change the cultural conditions that can contribute to problems: unequal, sometimes abusive power arrangements, marginalization of groups, and rigid gender, race, and sexuality expectations. Readers will learn to help minimize economic and power disparities and encourage the growth of mutual empathy while looking at a variety of relational challenges, such as parenting, stepfamilies, sexuality, and illness. Polarities of “you vs. me” will be replaced with the healing concept of “us.”

The heart is too much a mystery for us to approach its healing as a simple matter of finding and fixing the problem. Methods alone cannot meet the deep, aching need of souls that cry not for solutions, but for connection. 'The Beautiful Risk' encourages us to trade cure for care, expertise for partnership, and mastery for love. With perspective-shifting insights and examples, Dr. James Olthuis helps us -- both counselors and those who come for counsel -- to move beyond control and technique and join in a risky but glorious dance of relationship, love, and healing.

A Healing Relationship is about a relationally focused psychotherapy, how the author works, and why. The first couple of chapters provide a brief orientation to relationally focused aspects of an integrative psychotherapy. The heart of the book are the transaction-by-transaction examples of what actually occurred in the psychotherapeutic dialogue. It is composed of three verbatim transcripts along with annotations about what the author was thinking and feeling when he engaged in psychotherapy with each client. Many of the annotated comments as well as the actual therapeutic dialogue will describe some elements of the process of relationally focused psychotherapy and the reasoning behind his therapeutic comments, silences, and challenge. This book is intended to elicit a dialogue between the reader and the psychotherapist / author and is written as though a personal letter. Psychotherapy is such an interpersonal encounter - an intimate meeting of two souls. No two psychotherapists will ever do the same therapy, even with the same client, even if they use the same theory and methods. It is important to appreciate how each think about theories, the concepts that underlie the methods chosen, how each assess the therapeutic setting, and express personal temperament. Richard G. Erskine has taken an important step in communication about the practice of psychotherapy. Not only with this excellent book but also with video footage of the three therapy sessions, which will be made accessible to purchasers of the book. The overarching aim is to stimulate important conversations between colleagues; to both agree and disagree, to influence each other, to grow professionally, and to share knowledge.

Relational-Cultural theory (RCT) proposes that all people grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan. RCT challenges prevailing theories that depict the "separate self" as the hallmark of maturity. Rather than movement toward autonomy and separation, RCT suggests we develop ever more differentiated ways of connecting. An increase in growth-fostering relationships results in: a sense of vitality and zest; increasing clarity about ourselves and others; augmented creativity and ability to take action; an experience of worth and empowerment; and a desire for more connectedness with others. Disconnections are inevitable in relationships and RCT focuses on relational resilience, the ways people can re-establish positive and growth-fostering relationships. RCT further emphasizes the importance of cultural and societal forces in causing either growth-fostering connection or destructive disconnection. This volume explores the process of change in therapy and in other relationships; how race and other forms of stratification create pain; and how people develop resilience and strength in relationships characterized by mutuality. This book was based on a special issue of Women and Therapy.