​More and more people are realizing that there is an undeniable spiritual dimension to psychosis. A psychotic episode often follows a period in which you were absolutely certain about how everything worked. You understood and saw through the cosmos at a very deep—or very high—level. You saw the interconnectedness of everything and were completely enraptured by it. A negative variant occurs when you experience a life-changing or extremely frightening event or period (in your current life, your youth, or even a prenatal memory). Or perhaps you were very lonely, and fear and confusion slowly crept in.

Whether psychosis is an illness can be a contentious issue—sometimes more so for those around you, sometimes more for yourself. In reality, psychosis is infinitely multicolored. There are beautiful hues, but also shades of infinite darkness. While psychosis does have undeniable physical characteristics, at its core it is an energetic phenomenon. Your energy field is, to put it mildly, in motion—even though some may experience moments of intense stillness and unity, and when exhaustion sets in, the grey can take over completely.

So how does this all work? What does psychosis have to do with energy and spirituality? Shouldn’t you just stay away from anything related to spirituality? How do you regulate your energy when you feel you’ve lost all control over it?

In this one-day course, we explore insights from both conventional and complementary perspectives, as well as common ideas about energy and spirituality. We juxtapose different views—conventional medical, transpersonal psychological, and ideas from traditional and modern spiritual and cultural movements. From these perspectives, we distill a number of useful do’s and don’ts for those with lived experience, loved ones, and integrative care providers.

The content of this course is PLATO-compliant for Psychosocial and Medical Basic Knowledge.

For whom?
For anyone who wants to learn more about the connection between psychosis, spirituality, and energy. This includes people with lived experience, family and friends, therapists, and care providers.

For more information on the topic, visit the websites of Merel de Waard and José Hoekstra (see below) and/or the Facebook group “Psychosis and Spirituality.” Additionally, Merel has designed a course for the Academie voor Geesteswetenschappen on this subject for professionals in psychiatry, spiritual care, and complementary care.

Dates, times, location

Speakers