Union of Psychology and Spirituality

The Union of Psychology & Spirituality

This Ohio Retreat successfully merges the scientific

with the spiritual to benefit both client and therapist

Story & Photos by Ed Gage ©

For ten years now in the hills and woods of central Ohio, a quiet yet seminal event has been unfolding annually at The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat, a statewide gathering of psychologists and counselors that explores the interface of science and spirit within the professional counseling setting.

Since its beginning, this ever-popular retreat has – within the field of psychology – explored a path less-traveled. But according to those who attend, it is a path well worth exploring. For the past decade, just about the time late-winter is transitioning into early spring, retreat attendees spend two days examining the meaning of spirituality within their own lives, as well as spirituality’s potential meanings and applications within the lives of counseling clients who seek their assistance.

For the most part, spirituality is an area the field of psychology has found difficult – and some might say reluctant – to address. But the retreat’s workshops stress the value to both client and therapist in examining benefits and problems religious and spiritual beliefs can bring to clients seeking to better understand and improve their lives through counseling.

Among psychological continuing education programs, the retreat is also particularly noteworthy for its extensive use of experiential exercises in providing greater understanding of inner landscapes and spiritual resources. With much sharing and interacting among the attending professionals, the experiential exercises help participants connect with their own innermost selves for both enhanced client rapport and therapist self-care.

The retreats are held at Ohio state park lodges, where beautiful natural settings complement the weekend’s contemplative theme. Through a diverse range of workshops, psychologists and counselors engage with their peers in established, clinically validated practices such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness, as well as more exploratory, awareness-building exercises such as nourishing the human spirit, working with movement and dance, studying energy dynamics, and other spirituality-centered practices better understood through personal experience rather than standard, lecture-format presentations.

The Pathfinder . . .

As noted, it’s a different path The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat has taken, a different approach than customarily found at professional gatherings of psychologists and other counselors. Retreat founder Rick Reckman, Ph.D., a private practice psychologist from Cincinnati, describes the retreat in this way:

“The retreat is all about life as a human being, our sense of ourselves as adult persons and our function in the world – where do our beliefs fit in about our place in the universe? And what’s important in the largest sense? Where do those questions come into play in our day-to-day lives?” Rick asks.

Insights into these questions, Rick notes, are found in the retreat’s success with its “hands-on” approach to psychological-spiritual concepts and practices. Further validation comes with the retreat’s ten-year attendance by therapists from throughout the state, to the point that a state-wide community of like-minded individuals now exists, meeting and renewing friendships annually.

Given the open-ended nature of the term “spirituality,” especially within the current, science-rooted model of most psychological practice, it could be an easy assumption that those involved with such a retreat might themselves tend toward the esoteric and vague – an assumption that would be greatly mistaken.

For Rick Reckman, in addition to his 30-plus years of private practice as a psychologist, among his other achievements Rick has served the Ohio Psychological Association as both president and board member; the City of Cincinnati has recognized Rick for his civic leadership; and, in an ultimate tribute to his success in the black-and-white, quantitative arenas of life, Rick has served a Cincinnati-area bank as both president and board member.

As for Rick’s spiritual side, the actual concept for the psychology-spirituality retreat originated from – what else? – a spiritual practice. From a traditional Christian background, beginning at age 22, Rick began meditating daily, a practice he finds “makes a person more grounded, more capable than you otherwise would be.” And as part of his meditation practice, he sometimes poses a question, and then, without deliberation or editing, writes down what comes to mind.

“Out of that process came the notion of creating an opportunity for psychologists to come together and talk about mind and religion – psychology and faith – a place where people can do that comfortably and openly,” he says. Rick then drafted the retreat idea, submitted the proposal to the continuing education committee of the Ohio Psychological Association, “and the OPA has been sponsoring it ever since,” he says.

Rick notes that, historically, psychotherapy has included major contributors who have stressed the importance of the spiritual in both life and psychology.

Rick mentions one of psychology’s great names: “Carl Jung, in particular, was a mystic himself. Jung discussed what he termed ‘the collective unconscious,’ which he believed we can all tap into for the betterment of our lives – so Carl Jung had a very clear spiritual component to his work.”

Additionally, Rick notes, “The field of existential psychologists have written about meaning — and it’s hard to get that meaning without spirituality. And one aspect of every type of spirituality is ‘what is it that makes life meaningful?’ And that has been a primary tool of psychology for a long time.”

As for the retreat’s popular focus on experiential exercises and sharing, William James, the father of psychology in America and author of the classic psychological reference The Varieties of Religious Experience, noted that, despite failed efforts to discover empirical evidence proving an infinite being:

“The only thing that it (spirituality) unequivocally testifies to is that we can experience union with something larger than ourselves – and in that union find our greatest peace.”

But as a relatively “young” science, psychology has tended to focus on the quantitative, Rick says. “That’s what makes this retreat different – it very specifically includes spirituality and religion, and where that fits in terms of the practice of psychology and work with our clients,” Rick says. “The main goal of the retreat is that therapists can acknowledge and grow their own spirituality, so it’s broadening their sense of who they are, and how we all fit together. It’s about opening up – for those with open minds and open hearts – opening up ourselves about the totality of life.”

The Planner . . .

During the first years of the retreats, Rick Reckman did all of the retreat planning and organization himself. But planning the retreat, arranging for speakers and presentations, promoting awareness and attendance, plus preparing his own workshops and presenting them at the retreat – that’s a lot on one plate.

Rick sent out a request for help with the retreat, and for a number of years now, Mary Anne Orcutt, Ph.D., of Columbus, Ohio, has been chair or co-chair of the retreat planning committee, guiding the selection of speakers, topics for presentations, scheduling, and coordination with the staff of the Ohio Psychological Association. Along with Rick as founder, Mary Anne has become synonymous with the retreat and its success through the past decade.

Professionally, among other achievements, Mary Anne has more than 25-years’ experience as a psychologist, served for three years as associate executive director of a mental health center with a staff of 40, and, as a businesswoman, founded and is director of one of the larger group practices of psychologists in Ohio. Additionally she has served on the Ohio Psychological Association board of directors, served as chair and member on numerous OPA committees, including the state ethics committee, and has been recognized by the OPA for special service leadership.

For Mary Anne, what makes the retreat so helpful is the focus on the experiential format. “As opposed to the more strictly didactic experiences characterizing most psychology teaching and conferences, the retreat’s experiential format is a way that, by deepening our experiences, we’re also deepening our ability to work with clients. And I think that’s something that’s very important for psychologists,” she says.

Mary Anne finds that the presenters, too, find benefit in the expanded presentation format. “Most of the presenters have been quite receptive to that alternative, very open to, instead of the feeling of the strictly didactic, making sure that there is lots of room for the experiential,” Mary Anne says.

Recognizing the hesitance some psychologists might feel regarding the blending of psychology and spirituality, Mary Anne notes, “Some would say that, if there isn’t research to show that it’s important to include spirituality-based kinds of things in therapy, that it’s better left untouched. They might take the position that everything we do needs to be research-based.”

But on a practical note, she also observes that, “There’s certainly been lots of research on meditation and mindfulness, and quite a bit on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, so perhaps more research will be conducted into spirituality’s place within therapy.” There is, in the meantime, a major point in favor of examining the spiritual within the role of psychotherapy, she says. “Just in terms of awareness of diversity, showing that a human being is made up of body, mind, and spirit, then you must pay attention to the thoughts, the cognitions, the behavior, the emotions – and the spiritual,” Mary Anne says.

Reflecting on what it is overall that she finds most meaningful about the retreats, Mary Anne says, “It’s probably the peacefulness, and the getting away from the business of life – the opportunity to be mindful, to be meditative, and to interact with like-minded people.

“The retreat is a great time to reflect, and to be quiet, separate and apart from all the things that impact us in society, whether it’s family or work, or perhaps feelings that need expressing – whatever – so that you can be quiet and hear yourself,” Mary Anne says. “It’s this process that I sit and advocate for clients – and I think it’s really important for therapists to do it, too,” she says. “It’s more of a tuning into myself that then helps me help clients tune into themselves. It’s being quiet enough that it’s meditative and mindful, so that then I can help clients honor that in themselves.”

The Presenter . . .

Bringing a different perspective to The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat is Paschal Baute, Ed.D., of Lexington, Kentucky, a retired psychologist and long-time presenter who has been with the retreat since its beginnings.

Whereas Rick and Mary Anne are psychologists who were drawn to the spirituality retreat, Paschal was a Catholic priest who was drawn to psychology. “I’m not the usual psychologist at the retreats,” he says, “with my deep religious background – a Benedictine monk for sixteen years, then a Catholic priest and Navy chaplain – I was already very deeply involved with interfaith spirituality, and leading workshops and conferences years before I discovered this retreat.”

In 1970 Paschal became one of the first psychologists in central Kentucky to establish a private counseling practice. With a practice that included individual, marital and family counseling, he also provided executive coaching and consulted extensively in industrial psychology with firms such as IBM and Lexmark, served as president of the Tri-State Group Psychotherapy Association for Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, and has authored a number of books on psychology and spirituality. Notably, Paschal’s most recent book, Resilience of a Dream Catcher, A Spiritual Memoir, (2014) is a direct outgrowth of his association with The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat.

Paschal recalls meeting Rick at an Ohio Psychological Association conference where both were presenting. “I walked across the hall and there was Rick in his workshop teaching breathing and meditation (which I had been doing for years). So[E1] we connected right off. He liked my participation and invited me to the next retreat. Alth0ouh I live in the neighboring state, I have been privileged to attend and lead workshops at each of the next nine Retreats.” Paschal says.

With his extensive backgrounds in both theology and psychology, Paschal finds the retreat to be emblematic of a greater movement now underway globally within the scientific and spiritual communities, and within society overall as well.

“What’s fascinating right now,” Paschal says, “is these two great rivers – cultural rivers, if you will – are converging in our time. The whole great river of science, and the great river of wisdom traditions. Scientists are recognizing [E2] the importance of belief. They’re actually talking about mystery while people of faith are accepting that evolutionary science does n9ot contradict their scriptures. There are all kinds of things being published today that are bridging the gap between science and religion.”

As for spirituality, Paschal says, “Spirituality is not a concept, and it’s not a fact. Spirituality is an awareness of a presence that’s beyond the natural, beyond the visible eye, beyond psychology, beyond matter as we know it. Spirituality is a response to that, a response to something else – Something Else with a capital ‘S’ and a capital ‘E.’”

At the retreat, though, Paschal finds one of the greatest benefits to be “the sharing on a very personal level, and the wonderful camaraderie among psychologists on a deeper level of how they see the faith, hope and love working in their lives.

“There is the sharing that occurs within the workshops, such as the sharing in the Fireside Chats,” Paschal says, “but also the sharing that occurs in the informal conversations that occur outside the workshops.

“The first thing when you go to a psychotherapist,” Paschal notes, “one of the things they want to know is ‘what do you say to yourself about what happened?’ Well, we therapists all live with this inner life, but as professional people, we don’t have much opportunity to share with other brothers and sisters who are willing to do the same thing. So the retreat is this unique opportunity to share at a very personal level this inner landscape with our peers who are engaged in this same profession, and dealing with the same issues and the same problems. It’s just an amazing opportunity the retreat provides, and I’ve not seen anything like it anywhere else, and I’ve been attending professional meetings all over the country – local, state and national – since the sixties,” Paschal says.

The Participant . . .

For Priscilla Wood, Ph.D., a private practice psychologist from Cincinnati, the reasons she is a regular participant in The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat are two-fold.

Each year, Priscilla says, “I use the retreat as a time to reflect on my own spiritual practices and ideas, and as a time to evaluate the year before. At the retreat, I set plans and goals for my next year, in regards to my professional life and my personal life.”

“More and more,” Priscilla says, “there’s a scientific basis for mindfulness, and for meditation, and chilling down, and listening, and being present, and using grounding techniques. And, you know, anything that helps me in my (spiritual) practice, naturally enhances my professional practice.”

Priscilla finds the combination of the people attending and the topics presented make the weekend quite enjoyable. “There are a lot of really bright, nice people that you can enjoy spending time with,” she says. “And there are great topics that you can investigate, if you’re interested. And, of course, you get CEUs, and you get to explore workshops in more interesting ways than at most conferences,” she says, noting the retreat’s ethics workshop as especially valuable. “Most ethics workshops are just painfully dry, legalistic and overly didactic,” Priscilla says. “But at this retreat, they are more process and scenario-driven, and, in terms of that, a lot more helpful because there’s lots of discussion and process around areas of gray and all the real-world decision-making that comes in every day in every practice.”

In particular, Priscilla finds the spiritual theme of the retreat a match for what she observes in society at large. “I think in society in general that there’s a yearning for some clear framework to guide one’s life, and so there’s a keening for some of that, in society, in the world, that people are looking for.”

And so, once each year, about the time that winter blends into spring, The Union of Psychology and Spirituality Retreat again opens up its own path less-traveled, and once again the psychologists and counselors of Ohio find it well worth the journey.

Narration by Ed Gage

ed.gage@aol.com

207-832-1210

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