ABSTRACT
According to Yalom (2000), “It is best not to pursue purpose explicitly but to allow it to ensue from meaningful and authentic engagement, from plunging into an enlarging, ful lling, self-transcending endeavor” (para. 43). Spirituality provides people with a worldview, a blueprint, for how to live life fully, while also encountering the inevitability of loss, illness, su ering, and death. In this process, spiritual beliefs and practices o! en provide comfort, hope, meaning, support, and connection. One’s spiritual worldview, however, also can result in struggle, strain, isolation, and doubt. A recent client described such a struggle when he started the session: “I am searching for some way to address my anger at God and the alienation I feel. I feel completely empty inside, like I have no purpose.” Clients’ question why di cult life events happen, grapple with how to cope in times of change, and wrestle with concerns about divine intervention and support.
