Participating in God: A Pilot Study of a Novel Intervention for Depression Based on the Spirituality of Evagrius Ponticus

Abstract

This thesis has three parts. The first is to investigate the spirituality of Evagrius Ponticus to see whether it is suitable for constructing a spiritual model to meet the challenge of depression. The second is to translate Evagrian teachings and practices of prayer into a novel, manual-based intervention to help people suffering from depression, which is designated as the 3R (reconnect, reorient, reintegrate) programme. The third is to report on the design and execution of a qualitative pilot study to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of this intervention. The results of the pilot study demonstrated improvements in symptom reduction and clinical benefits. The overall evidence suggests that the 3R intervention does hold therapeutic promise for alleviating depression. The 3R programme is believed to be the first manualised spiritual intervention for depression, and the first theologically-based Christian intervention.