Papers by Steven-John M. Harris
Compliance and Resistance: Discerning the Spirit, 2019
This paper and chapter were also presented at the OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medic... more This paper and chapter were also presented at the OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion, Somerset, New Jersey, November 10, 2018). It is published in: “Transforming ‘To Be or Not to Be.” An Exploration of the Relationship Between Pain & Suffering to Compliance & Resistance.” In Stephen Muse, James Burg, and Halina Warancow. Compliance and Resistance: Orthodox Christian Perspectives (Alhambra, CA: St. Sebastian Press, 2018), 154-171.
This chapter will examine what I have come to consider as the crucial ingredients for the emotional healing process when that effort is undertaken in a psychotherapeutic setting. We think of the therapy setting as the patient coming with suffering that is usually a mixture of difficulty with life functioning, such as relationships, and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, etc. The patient has not been able to process or move on with this suffering and needs partnering in order to move forward. From this perspective, a powerful question is how far the patient might be able to progress if they can penetrate into their suffering, or, alternatively, how will they be limited or held back from healing? If the patient becomes derailed, stuck, or even stops therapy, this occurrence often blamed on patient non-compliance or resistance. However, my focus here will be an exploration into the importance and the willingness of both the psychotherapist and the patient to be open to the possibility of the anxieties and suffering that may ensue as they begin their work together and the importance of this factor to healing and transformation. This willingness for both therapist and patient to be open to the prospect of suffering in treatment will be viewed as the main ingredient for compliance with treatment. On the other hand, constriction or defensiveness in response to the exploration into the unknown material will be defined as non-compliance on the part of either or both parties.
God, Psychology, and Faith in Dialogue, 1918
This paper, also now Chapter One of the Book, "God Psychology & Faith in Dialogue," explores some... more This paper, also now Chapter One of the Book, "God Psychology & Faith in Dialogue," explores some of the psychological implications of The Fall. Whereas the church typically addresses the theological implications of The Fall, I examine some of the psychological problems related to mankind's condition after the Fall. Primal separation anxiety and problems managing dependence on a Creator, early psychological development, Milton's "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" along with John Zizioulas' theological perspective of otherness are also discussed.
Drafts by Steven-John M. Harris
This paper was presented in Athens, Greece at the “Science and Orthodoxy Around the World” Confer... more This paper was presented in Athens, Greece at the “Science and Orthodoxy Around the World” Conference Workshop, “Psychoanalysis and Orthodox Theology,” December 1, 2018. This discussion will address some key features of Christianity's relationship with psychoanalysis beginning with its arrival in the early 20th Century. The initial reception was complex, due in part to Sigmund Freud’s packaging together his metapsychology with atheism. I will trace Freud’s early religious roots and developmental experiences including trauma that may have contributed to his atheism. Further, I will briefly outline varieties of responses to psychoanalysis from the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox faiths, as well as some important barriers to dialogue between psychoanalysis and religion. By contrast, a rather seismic shift in psychoanalytic theory to an emphasis from drive satisfaction to relational aim as birthed a focus that opens potentially new paths for the dialogue between psychoanalysis and Orthodox Theology. Some implications of this relational emphasis will be briefly described. This ongoing dialogue seems to be both assisted and thwarted by overly unconscious subjective factors, as it was for Freud. I shall argue that maintaining a dialogue between psychoanalysis and Orthodoxy holds significant potential for authentic participation in one’s faith, while at the same time, psychoanalysis can be enriched by acknowledging the ontological foundations of the human psyche.
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Papers by Steven-John M. Harris
This chapter will examine what I have come to consider as the crucial ingredients for the emotional healing process when that effort is undertaken in a psychotherapeutic setting. We think of the therapy setting as the patient coming with suffering that is usually a mixture of difficulty with life functioning, such as relationships, and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, etc. The patient has not been able to process or move on with this suffering and needs partnering in order to move forward. From this perspective, a powerful question is how far the patient might be able to progress if they can penetrate into their suffering, or, alternatively, how will they be limited or held back from healing? If the patient becomes derailed, stuck, or even stops therapy, this occurrence often blamed on patient non-compliance or resistance. However, my focus here will be an exploration into the importance and the willingness of both the psychotherapist and the patient to be open to the possibility of the anxieties and suffering that may ensue as they begin their work together and the importance of this factor to healing and transformation. This willingness for both therapist and patient to be open to the prospect of suffering in treatment will be viewed as the main ingredient for compliance with treatment. On the other hand, constriction or defensiveness in response to the exploration into the unknown material will be defined as non-compliance on the part of either or both parties.
Drafts by Steven-John M. Harris
This chapter will examine what I have come to consider as the crucial ingredients for the emotional healing process when that effort is undertaken in a psychotherapeutic setting. We think of the therapy setting as the patient coming with suffering that is usually a mixture of difficulty with life functioning, such as relationships, and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, etc. The patient has not been able to process or move on with this suffering and needs partnering in order to move forward. From this perspective, a powerful question is how far the patient might be able to progress if they can penetrate into their suffering, or, alternatively, how will they be limited or held back from healing? If the patient becomes derailed, stuck, or even stops therapy, this occurrence often blamed on patient non-compliance or resistance. However, my focus here will be an exploration into the importance and the willingness of both the psychotherapist and the patient to be open to the possibility of the anxieties and suffering that may ensue as they begin their work together and the importance of this factor to healing and transformation. This willingness for both therapist and patient to be open to the prospect of suffering in treatment will be viewed as the main ingredient for compliance with treatment. On the other hand, constriction or defensiveness in response to the exploration into the unknown material will be defined as non-compliance on the part of either or both parties.