Caring for the Soul

What some people may not realize is that the word “psychology” means “to care for the soul.” Yet, over the last half century the field of psychotherapy has shifted focus away from methods that care for the soul and instead prioritized cognitive and behavioral interventions. Utilizing cognitive and behavioral methods are extremely effective and valuable to incorporate in therapy; however, the shift away from psychology’s original intent to care for the soul has created a gap in the field. This led Dr. Justin Weiss, a licensed clinical psychologist who was trained extensively in Depth Psychology traditions such as Jungian Psychology and Relational Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, to create Soulful Psychology® as a way to fill the gap in the field by returning the focus in psychotherapy back to caring for the soul. Dr. Weiss set out to provide people an alternative to the mainstream psychotherapy methods by offering services to help people reduce suffering and increase joy through re-establishing connection with the soul.

Throughout many years of providing his Soulful Psychology® approach, Dr. Weiss realized that people’s symptoms often arose from a disconnection with soul and that healing came from understanding the meaning within symptoms rather than an attempt to minimize them. This approach resulted in countless patients reporting positive transformational outcomes such as experiencing a soulful connection with self and others, more meaning and fulfillment in life, reduction in symptoms, and prolonged wellbeing. Both the patients who were new to therapy and those who had previously been in therapy elsewhere would often lovingly remark: “This is a different kind of therapy than I expected.” Dr. Weiss recognized that his soulful approach of a caring and compassionate connection between therapist and patient fostered the necessary containment to enable soulful exploration that created healing and transformation. The positive impact led Dr. Weiss to create Soulful Psychology®, a group psychotherapy private practice that could more widely offer patients the same methods that helped many people experience psychological wellbeing, and a training institute to teach mental health professionals the Soulful Psychology® approach.

The mission of Soulful Psychology® is to bring Depth Psychology teachings to the mainstream and advance the field by offering a soulful approach to psychotherapy. The objective is to return soul back into the focus of psychology and caring for the soul as a foundational approach to wellbeing, as doing so was the original intent of psychology. Soulful Psychology® aims to help people experience a soulful life by offering  multiple resources that include: (1) Psychotherapy services for adults, children, adolescents, couples, families, and groups; (2) Performance therapy for business executives, entrepreneurs, entertainers, athletes, and public speakers; (3) A training institute for mental health professionals and pre-license internships; and, (4) Multimedia content for all to freely access our soulful concepts and methods. We are passionate and excited to bring Soulful Psychology® services and content to the mainstream.