西方心理學的靈性治療研究──以詹姆斯、榮格與弗蘭克為例

Spiritual Therapy as Studied in Western Psychology ─ The Cases of William James, Carl Jung and Viktor Frankl

本文論述西方心理學界三位著名學者對靈性治療的研究。其中威廉．詹姆斯從個案實證研究論證宗教經驗與身心靈健全的關聯。卡爾．榮格建立了深層心理學與宗教心理學的理論，藉以說明人類的精神結構先天具有宗教功能和靈性需求，人必須與生命的神性本源重建連結，才能療癒精神官能症並獲得健康的個人成長。維克多．弗蘭克的意義治療學指出身心靈健全的關鍵在於尋獲生命意義，而終極意義的實現能幫助人們超克痛苦和死亡。這三位心理學者都肯認人具有內在的靈性（或神性）力量作為療癒及個人轉化的終極源泉，因此可被視為西方心理學一個重視靈性治療研究的次典範。

This article discusses spiritual therapy as studied by three prominent scholars in Western psychology. Among them, William James, father of American psychology, used empirical case studies to demonstrate the relationships between religious experience and mental wellbeing. Carl Jung developed the theories of depth psychology and religious psychology in which he argues that the human psychic structure has an innate “religious function” and spiritual needs, and that human beings need to reconnect themselves with the divine Source of Being in order to cure neuroses that he diagnosed as “spiritual” in nature and to achieve healthy personal growth. Moreover, logotherapy developed by Viktor Frankl argues that to discover the meaning of life is crucial to mental wellbeing and that the realization of the “ultimate meaning” can help people overcome and transcend suffering and death. These three psychologists all recognize that humans are endowed with an inner spiritual (or divine) power that constitutes the ultimate source of healing and personal transformation. Their theories can thus be seen as a sub-paradigm of Western psychology concerned with the studies of spiritual therapy.