Keep your practice and bring in psychological work too

Let spiritual practice and psychological work each do their own job, instead of asking one to do both.

Por que funciona

Welwood's 1984 article calls grounding "the very essence of psychological work" and says that "the essence of spiritual work is learning to let go and surrender", and that a complete spiritual path involves both along with awakening the heart. Cashwell and colleagues' 2007 article argues for healing "at the cognitive, emotional, and physical levels, as well as at the spiritual level for holistic wellness." A 2026 meta-ethnography found that bypassing was resolved by differentiating from spirituality rather than abandoning it.

Como fazer

1. Name one issue that has stayed stuck despite sincere practice (a recurring fight, a grief, a fear that never shifts).
2. Ask honestly whether you have only ever brought it to prayer, meditation or a teacher, and never examined it psychologically.
3. Choose one psychological route for that issue: a counselor or therapist who respects your spirituality, a structured journaling practice, or a trusted person who will hear the whole story.
4. Keep your spiritual practice as it is; let it be a place to rest and widen the view, not a place to make the issue disappear.

Evidência

Welwood's 1984 article gives grounding as "the very essence of psychological work" and letting go as "the essence of spiritual work". In counseling, Cashwell and colleagues' 2007 article discusses the peril of spiritual bypass for counselors and the need for healing at the cognitive, emotional and physical levels as well as the spiritual. Cashwell, Myers and Shurts (2004) warn that a client in spiritual bypass "will be supported in this dysfunctional pattern by their counselor". A 2026 meta-ethnography of five qualitative and mixed-methods studies (55 participants across contexts including Muslim American, African American Pentecostal and Christian) found bypassing resolved through differentiating from, not abandoning, spirituality. (clinical)

The counseling articles are conceptual or case-based, and the meta-ethnography is qualitative; none is a controlled trial of combining practice with therapy for spiritual bypass.

Fontes

• Welwood, J. (1984). Principles of inner work: Psychological and spiritual. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 16(1), 63-73.
• Cashwell, C. S., Bentley, P. B., & Yarborough, J. P. (2007). The only way out is through: The peril of spiritual bypass. Counseling and Values, 51(2), 139-148.
• Cashwell, C. S., Myers, J. E., & Shurts, W. M. (2004). Using the developmental counseling and therapy model to work with a client in spiritual bypass: Some preliminary considerations. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82(4), 403-409.
• Clarke, P. B., Giordano, A. L., Cashwell, C. S., & Lewis, T. F. (2013). The straight path to healing: Using motivational interviewing to address spiritual bypass. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91(1), 87-94.
• Patel, M., & Kumar, N. (2026). "It helps me cope": A meta-ethnographic synthesis on lived experiences of spiritual bypassing. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1852417.

Erro comum

Treating this as a choice between spirituality and therapy. Every source here keeps both; the shift is in asking each to do its own job.