Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

320 Charles KnappAs one’s contemplative path progresses, itbecomes apparent how much we affect and areaffected by our friends, family, household, andthe world around us. We see clearly that as individualswe are inseparable from the powerfuleffect of our environment. This insight influencesthe methodology of Windhorse Therapytreatment environments, because our clinicalwork with a person’s specific mental healthrecovery issues, such as schizophrenia or bipolardisorder, is inseparable from how we “treat”the person’s environment to make it a healthierplace to be.From contemplative practice, we also knowdirectly that there is no end point after which wehave an absence of problems or suffering. Instead,we have tools to work with whatever comes up inour life. Attempting to synchronize with our fundamentalsanity and health becomes a way of lifein relationship to ourselves, our friends and family,and our environment as a whole. Fundamentally,we haven’t become something different. We havebecome a more synchronized version of who webasically are. This is how recovery is defined in theWindhorse Therapy process: A person achieves away of life, unique to himself or herself, that is synchronizedwith his or her fundamental health andsanity.5. RECOVERY ENVIRONMENTWindhorse Therapy is often conducted by a smallnumber of clinicians, using the same fundamentalprinciples as large teams. However, for thepurposes of this paper, the following discussionwill relate to fully developed teams.To clarify the therapeutic methodology of“treating” the client’s environment, WindhorseTherapy defines environment as having threeaspects: body, speech, and mind. (10) Very simply,body has to do with a person’s body, how theydress, and any aspect of their immediate physicalworld. This includes their home, how they eat,how they exercise, their use of drugs and alcohol,and their use of money. Speech is about literalcommunication with the world, emotions, creativity,and relationships. Mind has to do with howone thinks, attitudes toward oneself and others,spirituality, and schedule.When we are called to meet with someonewho has been struggling with mental health andlife issues, it is very common to see the followingkind of situation. On the body level, the person’shome may have become a very disorganized place.It’s difficult to maintain a good place to live whenyou don’t feel well, or are somehow absorbedinto states of mind where you don’t notice what’saround you. There may not be regular cleaninggoing on so the home feels dirty and uninviting.Clothing is not being washed enough. Shoppingand preparing food aren’t regularly done, andwhat is eaten may not be nutritionally sound.Any form of exercise, even going for walks andgetting enough fresh air, can be neglected. It’svery common for money to be a problem as well.Even if one has enough, without a sense of budgetor adequate tracking of what one has and what isspent, the chaos of running out of money, bouncingchecks, and not feeling clear about what onehas is a very unsettling stressor. Drugs and alcoholare often a contributing factor to one’s life circumstancesbeing in disarray.On the speech level, communication is oftenvery strained between this person and his or herparents. It’s not that they don’t love each other,but there are so many problems that need workingwith, it’s become almost impossible to havea normal conversation due to everyone’s anxietyand fear. On the part of the son or daughter,he or she may be angry and frustrated becauseof wanting to be independent from the parents,but still needing help in many ways. And the parentsmay be the only really reliable people in hisor her life. It’s very common for this person tobe socially isolated, and what friends she or hehas may have a variety of problems themselves,which can create negative consequences whenthey get together.On the mind level, this person may have hada creative and meaningful intellectual life. Nowshe or he is cut off from these disciplines and allthe feelings of success and confidence that comefrom engaging in these aspects of intelligence.There may not be enough meaningful activity