Spiritual practices such as yoga and meditation are very popular in Western societies. Such practices have a variety of health-promoting mental and physical effects. Under certain circumstances, however, they can sometimes lead to unusual and stressful experiences or even crises that require professional support and assistance. Problems and crises of this kind have been discussed in the literature under the term spiritual crisis, among others.
Cooperation with the S.E.N.
In Germany, the association S.E.N. Deutschland e.V. was founded in 1993, a “network for spiritual development and crisis support”, which people who are experiencing a spiritual crisis and are looking for advice and therapeutic support can turn to. In an initial pilot phase in 2021, a new telephone counseling service was set up at IGPP under the direction of Dr. Liane Hofmann and in cooperation with the “Netzwerk spirituelle Entwicklung und Krisenbegleitung” (S.E.N. e. V., Germany). People who feel that they are experiencing a spiritual crisis can now receive initial information and support.
Following on from this, a new advisory focus on “Spiritual and meditation-induced crises” was established at IGPP at the beginning of 2022.