A Yogi in Attachment-Informed Psychotherapy: A Spiritually Informed Case Conceptualization

The author discusses the psychotherapy of a 41-year-old Caucasian man who complained of a somatic symptom characterized as an “energy” that formulated the words, “I’m gay.” A practitioner of yogic philosophy, the patient came to believe that someone—perhaps a priest—had sexually abused him at age 8 or 9. The author assesses the patient’s attachment relationships to his parents and to his Higher Power and then discusses their similarities and differences. The author also discusses the attachment-informed interventions that have propelled the treatment forward, ending the article by posing spiritual and emotional questions that linger in the patient’s ongoing treatment.