Poisoneous pedagogy in the spiritual perspective?

Poisoneous pedagogy in the spiritual perspective?
Wednesday April 18, 2007

Dear Mrs Miller,

I should like to react to your answer from 14 april to the question of a Dutch reader concerning elements of poisoneous pedagogy in Past Reality Integration Therapy ( PRI ).
Ingeborgh Bosch, the “founder” of this therapy states that her therapy is based on the Ideas of Alice Miller.
To my amazement I saw on the PRI website that the PRI-therapy is also advertised by a movie on “Youtube”, a for youngsters very popular website.
In her second book “Illusies” (Illusions), there is a chapter called “A spiritual perspective” (page 73).
There Bosch writes that that for herself, in her view on life and in her experience of life, spirituality is very important.
On page 75 she writes that in order to heal we have to go on the road of getting rid of the illusions of the ego and that we have to open our heart more and more for the other people on our road. And this has to be done in a feeling of being connected with the All, on compassion with other people.
May I ask you what is your idea about a therapy in which “the connection with the All” (whatever it may be) is propagated and where “compassion with other people” is described as an important goal in psychotherapy?
W.

AM: It seems to be fashionable today to use the word “Spirituality” when therapists come to the dead end of their promises. I must admit that I never understood the meaning or necessity of this word that could be easily replaced by another one. If you say, for instance, that it is a feeling of being connected to an All, to the whole universe, I can imagine the feelings of a child that had been punished and isolated from the family but finally was forgiven and feels again belonging to the (family) universe. To offer this outcome to a patient, who dared to complain about his parents’ abuse in childhood, may be a good idea for some people who still feel guilty about their rage, but in my opinion this is not a healthy outcome and not a sign of a successful therapy (see my answer of April 14th)