ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses how Systems-centered therapy (SCT) can help groups and individuals in spiritual practice develop so that they can work towards these goals. He relates the SCT understanding of the phases of development and the defense modifications specific to each phase to the spiritual life of individuals and groups. A systems-centered approach is a good match for people that are involved in spiritual practice to work with the psychological issues that are relevant to spiritual life. SCT identifies three basic phases of development that apply to living human systems. The first phase addresses the conflicts with both outer and inner authority. The second addresses the conflicts around intimacy. The third is the phase of love, work and play. SCT works with the defenses that come up during the authority phase of development in a specific sequence. SCT assumes that all groups, like all individuals, potentially contain all possible subgroups.
