Walking the labyrinth: Enhancing spiritually sensitive clinical practice. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping. Special issue: Spiritual Diversity in Social Work, 113, 84-95. (2005)

The article explores how an ancient spiritual tool labyrinth could be used in the clinical practice when working with clients addressing the sequelae of trauma as well as the variety of ways in which clinicians are incorporating the labyrinth into their work. The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool that has been in existence for thousands of years, and its form is found in almost every religion. It has been used for prayer, ritual, initiation, and personal and spiritual growth. Labyrinths come in all shapes and sizes; however, the two types of labyrinths most utilized today are the Classical and the Chartres. The practice of walking the labyrinth is currently experiencing resurgence. Today, labyrinths are being built in a variety of settings, which include churches, retreat centers, hospitals, university campuses, public parks, and streets, as well as private spaces. There are three stages of walking the labyrinth: purgation, illumination, and union. The walk to the center is the first stage of purgation. Healing from vicarious traumatization parallels healing from trauma. The experience of walking the labyrinth offered both a process and a container for working through this third stage of recovery. The labyrinth walk can be done with minimal direction from the clinician, or the clinician and client can work together to provide a context and intention for the walk.

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