Spiritual Interventions and Attachment

Geoff Goodman, PhD, ABPP, is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the Emory University School of Medicine and associate professor of psychology and spiritual care in Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He holds board certifications in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis from the American Board of Professional Psychology.

“Let’s be real: pastoral care can feel like trying to stop a flood with a paper towel. We weren’t meant to carry every burden alone. This book is a lifeline for clergy who know they’re human and still want to serve with wisdom and love. Geoff Goodman doesn’t give us more guilt about what we can’t do. He gives us companions, tools, and models that remind us care isn’t a solo act. It’s a sacred collaboration. And Goodman reminds us, there are collaborators already waiting...trained, trusted, and ready to help.”Tony Sundermeier, senior pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta“Geoff Goodman brings his considerable expertise in attachment theory to examine seven different approaches to spiritual care, how each approach might affect a care receiver’s experience of God, and how that relational experience with God changes everything. This work will be helpful to clergy, spiritual directors, psychotherapists, and others, professional and not, who care about helping other people develop spiritually.”Russell Siler Jones, ThD, LCMHCS, author of Spirit in Session: Working with your Client's Spirituality (and Your Own) in Psychotherapy“Geoff Goodman has brought a fresh look to spiritually integrated work through the lens of attachment theory. Clergy and mental health professionals would do well to add this book to their professional shelves!”Carol ZA McGinnis, PhD, SIP, BC-TMH, NCC, LCPC (MD), professor of counseling, Messiah University

• 1. Introduction Part 1: Models of Spiritual Intervention Conducted by Lay Ministers 2. Stephen Ministry: Carrying Each Other’s Burdens 3. Spiritual Direction: An Invitation to the Practice of Contemplation 4. 12-Step Programs: Surrendering to the God of Our Understanding 5. Godly Play: Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me Part 2: Models of Spiritual Intervention Conducted by Licensed Professionals 6. Using Drawing in a Spirituality Group to Discuss Mental Representations of God 7. Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Introducing Spirituality and Working Through Spiritual Struggles 8. Attachment-Informed Psychotherapy: Transforming Attachment Relationships to a Higher Power and to Parents 9. Final Reflections