Dr. Justin Weiss, a licensed clinical psychologist, founder and owner of Soulful Psychology® recognized a common theme with his patients; regardless of the symptom or issue that a patient came to therapy for – whether it was depression, anxiety, stress, etc. – their suffering seemed to derive from a similar origin: Each patient described experiencing a lack of understanding for who they were at their core, in other words, they all were disconnected from soul. Dr. Weiss noticed that below the presenting symptoms and clinical issues, patients displayed remarkable characteristics of their personality that the patients had not seen within themselves. For instance, consistently expressions of innocence, strength, resilience, determination, sensitivity, vulnerability, ambivalence, rage, and fear were some of the core characteristics that emanated for each patient; yet, the patient was unaware of their emotional expressions as they seem to have been suppressed. Another phenomenon that became apparent was that each patient seemed to have a profound resilient disposition and drive towards self-preservation and a desire for growth, which the patient also had not recognized. It appeared to Dr. Weiss that some psychological factor was driving patients towards healing and transformation, yet the patient was unconscious to this internal phenomenon happening within them. Dr. Weiss realized this phenomenon was led by the soul.
Symptoms and emotions helped shed light on the core characteristics that had been suppressed. Rather than attempt to eliminate the symptoms or issues, which attempting to do so would inevitably lead to the symptoms resurfacing, paying attention to the meaning within the symptom would elucidate the root cause of the symptom. The symptom was a communication tool used by the soul to bring conscious awareness to the ego about unprocessed emotions and unmet needs. Dr. Weiss recognized that symptoms within patients longed to be understood, attended to, and grieved. The therapeutic approach was to serve as a mirror to reflect back to patients their will to grow underneath the symptoms. Helping patients see, and reconnect with, the deeper aspects within themselves resulted in countless patients reporting feeling more connection and joy with self and others.
Dr. Weiss realized that patients responded best from a soulful approach to therapy, so he began to implement a method to help patients understand their deeper existential issues. Exploring meaning within symptoms created clarity about the patients disconnection from their soul. This context helped patients better understand themselves and their longings for connection with self and others. Patients began to recognize their issues stemmed from unprocessed emotions, unmet needs, and unfilled desires for connection. This process led patients to experience a soulful connection with self and others that ultimately resulted in patient’s symptoms decreasing and joy increasing. Patients reported feeling more self-aware, resilient, empowered, and soulful.
This led to the creation of Soulful Psychology®, a theoretical approach and group therapy private practice where patients could receive our effective therapy methods to heal and transform their pain and existential loneliness through soulful connection, and a training institute where therapists could learn our methods. The Soulful Psychology® aim is to bring Depth Psychology traditions to the mainstream while advancing the tradition through offering innovative methods of soulful exploration and growth. Since our inception, many patients have benefited from our revolutionary approach and now we are able to provide our services to the mainstream. Patients now have access to our revolutionary therapeutic approach to healing and transformation that results from understanding deeper core issues lying underneath symptoms. Being that the word, “psychology” is derived from the Greek words “psyche,” which means “soul,” and “logos,” which means “to study and care for,” Soulful Psychology® was created to return psychology back to its original intent of helping people heal and transform through caring for the soul, so they can experience a soulful life filled with meaning and fulfillment.
