Spirituality and the Process of Healing: A Narrative Study

To respond to calls for qualitative research to compliment quantitative findings, deepen our understanding of spiritual coping, and build theory (Hood & Belzen, 2005; Miller & Kelley, 2005; Pargament, Ano, & Wachholtz, 2005), this pilot study used a narrative method to examine the experience of 12 participants who self-identified as drawing on spirituality for healing. Participants described a 7-step process characterized by (a) openness, (b) shifting to a spiritual perspective, (c) going within, (d) connecting with the sacred, (e) undoing patterns, (f) setting healing intentions, and (g) following their inner guidance to transform experiences of mental and physical illness into experiences of healing. Participants emphasized the role of spirituality in reconstructing positive meanings in the face of crisis, and deconstructing patterns of thought, feeling, behavior, and experience associated with illness.