Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Homo Spiritualis

Homo Spiritualis
6
16500
4
First semester
op
Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish,

Teaching staff


Dra. ROSSY PARÉS, Clàudia - crossy@uic.es

Introduction

The subject Homo spiritualis addresses spirituality as a constitutive dimension of human identity that must be integrated into psychotherapeutic practice. From an academic and critical perspective, the main concepts related to spirituality, theoretical models, spiritual and religious phenomenology, criteria for spiritual health or illness and directions for approaching spiritual problems from psychology are studied.

Pre-course requirements

It is recommended to have coursed Anthropology, and the student should:

  • Have the ability to read academic texts critically.
  • Be willing to reflect personally and professionally on issues of meaning, values and transcendence.
  • Maintain an attitude open to dialogue and reflection.

Objectives

    1. To deepen students’ psychological understanding of the spiritual and religious dimensions of the person.
    2. To understand religious and spiritual phenomenology from a psychological perspective.
    3. To distinguish between healthy spiritual experiences, culturally shaped religious expressions, and psychopathological manifestations.
    4. To become familiar with and critically analyse psychotherapeutic models that integrate the spiritual dimension.
    5. To develop ethical and professional criteria for addressing spiritual issues in psychotherapeutic practice.
    6. To prepare future psychologists to coordinate responsibly with pastoral care providers or spiritual directors when necessary.
     

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • CN02 - At the end of the Degree, the student will be able to recall principles, procedures, theoretical models, functions, characteristics, advantages and limitations of psychological intervention or schools of psychology, the structures and processes involved in basic psychological functions and the nature of individual differences.
  • CP01 - At the end of the Degree, the student will be able to propose a scientific, ethical, reflective and planned approach to intervention in the different areas of the profession, taking into account the most relevant data of each situation.
  • HB03 - At the end of the Degree the student will be able to interpret the content and scope of the information received, orally or in writing, with special attention to the continuity of their studies and the development of a learning with a high degree of autonomy.
  • HB11 - At the end of the Degree the student will be able to confirm the social and anthropological aspects of human beings, the complexity of multicultural diversity and historical and sociocultural variables that exist in the configuration of the human psyche and interpersonal relations.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand the person from a biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective.
  • Recall the basic concepts, theoretical models, characteristics, advantages, and limitations of addressing spirituality within psychological interventions.
  • Identify the different anthropological and psychotherapeutic models that explore the relationship between spirituality, psychology, and health.
  • Identify indicators of health or illness related to spirituality and the person’s overall health and well-being.
  • Discern the role of the psychotherapist in addressing human concerns related to spirituality and understand when, to whom, and how to refer a person to another professional when issues fall beyond the psychotherapist’s professional scope.

Syllabus

T.1 Spirituality in the contemporary human context
T.2 Spirituality in human anthropology (and boundary experiences)
T.3 The concept of spirituality and its historical development
T.4 Religious phenomenology and spiritual traditions
T.5 The role of spirituality in the psychological dimension
T.6 Healthy spirituality vs. pathological spirituality
T.7 Addressing spirituality in psychotherapy

Teaching and learning activities

In person



  • Lectures.
  • Specific seminars on psychology and spirituality, focused on conceptual analysis and understanding and on clinical practice.
  • Critical reading of scientific articles.
  • Analysis of clinical cases involving spiritual issues.
  • Individual reflective work focused on professional practice.

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person



Continuous Assessment

Reflective Journal (20%)

At the end of the course, students will submit a reflective journal that they will have developed throughout the semester. The content of the journal will be based on the experiential activities and reflective questions proposed by the teaching staff during each class.

A total of 15 activities must be included in the journal in order to obtain the maximum grade. Each activity should be structured as follows:

  1. Summary of the activity.
  2. What you felt and/or thought during the activity.
  3. What impact you believe this activity may have on your personal or professional future (application, further exploration, research, etc.).

Assessment criteria will include: the number of activities included in the journal, the depth of the reflections and descriptions, presentation, spelling and writing accuracy (0.1 points will be deducted for each spelling error), and the integration of course content into the reflection.

Submission of the reflective journal is mandatory in order to pass the course.

Final Assessment

Oral Examination (80%)

A theoretical oral examination will be held at the end of the course. Students will take the examination in groups of four.

Each student will be given four questions and will have five minutes to prepare their response to each question. They will then have one minute to answer each question individually.

Questions may require extended responses, conceptual analysis, or the application of course content and will be based on the questions presented during classes. Each student must answer a total of four questions.

Two examiners will assess students using a rubric specifically designed for the oral examination.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of 5/10 on the final examination in order to pass the course.

Requirements to Pass the Course
  • Submit the reflective journal.
  • Obtain a minimum grade of 5/10 in the final examination.

Bibliography and resources

  • Pargament, K. Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy.

  • Frankl, V. L’home a la recerca de sentit.

  • Leget, Carlo; Art of living, art of dying.

  • James, W. Les varietats de l’experiència religiosa.

  • Koenig, H. Religion and Mental Health.

  • Hood, R. et al. The Psychology of Religion.

  • DSM-5-TR (apartat “Problemes religiosos o espirituals”).

Print version