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Synchronicity Awareness Intervention: An Open Trial by Lydia Y. Cho, Lisa J. Miller, Mark G. Hrastar, Nina A. Sutton & John Paul Younes - 2009Background: Awareness of synchronicity may be an opening to more general spiritual awareness. Empirical research analyzing the process of increased synchronicity awareness and investigating shifts in personal spirituality and mental health is limited. Might synchronicity awareness be a porthole for a more general sense of personal spiritual awareness, namely the experience of directly lived daily events as spiritually meaningful?
Purpose: This study evaluated a 6-week synchronicity discussion group, Synchronicity Awareness Intervention (SAI), delivered to emerging educators and human service professionals. Its aim was to increase awareness of synchronistic events and support spiritual awareness.
Participants: Final enrollment consisted of 12 females and 1 male, with a mean age of 26.8 years (SD = 5.29). Religious denominations were 38.5% Catholic, 30.8% Protestant, 15.4% Hindu, 7.7% Buddhist, and 7.7% Atheist.
Research Design: The study used a pretest-posttest within subject design. This report focuses on the postintervention qualitative data collected through a structured interview.
Findings: Data suggested that SAI was associated with increased awareness of synchronicity and suggested beneficial effects of synchronicity awareness on personal spirituality and mental health. Results showed that the program was well received and highly rated by the participants, indicating that it was an acceptable form of a spiritually informed psychotherapeutic discussion group.
Conclusions: This preliminary study showed promising support for the feasibility, acceptability, level of engagement, and potential helpfulness of an SAI in a group setting. Synchronicity awareness may support spiritual awareness and improve mental health. To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:
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- Lydia Cho
Teachers College, Columbia University
LYDIA Y. CHO received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Teachers College. She is a geropsychology postdoctoral fellow at the VA Boston Healthcare System, where she is involved in research examining the correlation between vascular risk factors and depression/treatment outcomes for culturally diverse older adults.
- Lisa Miller
Teachers College, Columbia University
LISA J. MILLER is an associate professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her scholarly interests include religion and spirituality, depression and substance abuse, related risk factors, and protective factors. Publications include “Religion and Substance Use and Abuse Among Adolescents in the National Cormorbidity Survey” in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and “Religion and Depression: Ten Year Follow-Up of Depressed Mothers and Offspring” in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
- Mark Hrastar
Teachers College, Columbia University
MARK G. HRASTAR completed his Ed.M. in counseling psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research interests include spirituality in psychology and men’s issues.
- Nina Sutton
Teachers College, Columbia University
NINA A. SUTTON received her master’s degree in psychology in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has additional clinical training in Mind/Body Medicine and Calm Mother/Happy Child certification training from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. As a certified educator of the Bringing Baby Home program designed by John Gottman, she consults with women, couples, and companies regarding the transition to parenthood. www.ninasutton.net
- John Younes
Teachers College, Columbia University
JOHN PAUL YOUNES, received his master’s degree in clinical psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. He currently works as an executive legal assistant and office administrator at Hurwitz Stampur & Roth, in New York, New York. His research interests include psychotherapy and spirituality.
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