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Digital Seminar

When Spirituality Masks Pain

Interventions for Spiritual Bypassing and the Role of Religious Coping

Speaker:
Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP
Duration:
1 Hour 13 Minutes
Language:
Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
Copyright:
Dec 04, 2025
Product Code:
POS150538
Media Type:
Digital Seminar


Description

Spirituality can ground clients in strength and meaning – but it can also be used to sidestep unresolved emotions, trauma, or psychological work. Dr. Richard Sears, a clinical psychologist, Zen teacher, and internationally recognized mindfulness expert, will show you how to honor clients’ beliefs while guiding them toward honest, present, and compassionate engagement with their pain.

You’ll learn to:

  • Recognize when spirituality functions as avoidance rather than growth
  • Address the three most common bypassing patterns with targeted interventions
  • Integrate mindfulness, values, and evidence-based strategies to support genuine healing

Credit

Program Information

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.



Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.

Continuing Education Information:  Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. 
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.  

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

 


Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 1.0 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 


Canada Credit - Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 1.0 credit hours.


Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 1.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement


Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2029. Social workers completing this course receive 1.25 Clinical continuing education credits.

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities offered by providers approved by the ASWB ACE program for ongoing professional development.


Canada Credit - Other Professions

This self-study activity qualifies for 1.0 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.



Handouts

Speaker

Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP's Profile

Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP Related seminars and products


Richard Sears, PsyD, PhD, MBA, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist in Cincinnati, Ohio, board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), runs a private psychology and consultation practice, and is the director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness & Meditation. He has run hundreds of mindfulness groups and was lead clinician in the first brain scan study involving mindfulness with children and adolescents. He is also an adjunct professor in the University of Cincinnati psychology department, clinical research faculty at the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, volunteer professor of psychiatry & behavioral neurosciences at the UC College of Medicine, and a former research/psychologist contractor with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

His most recent books include ACT with Anxiety (PESI); The ACT Flip Chart (PESI); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Mindfulness Toolbox (PESI); Mindfulness: Living Through Challenges and Enriching Your Life in the Moment (Wiley-Blackwell); Building Competence in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Routledge); and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (Wiley-Blackwell).

Dr. Sears is a sixth-degree black belt in Ninjutsu, and once served as a personal protection agent for the Dalai Lama with his teacher, Stephen K. Hayes. He has studied Eastern Wisdom for over 40 years, receiving ordination in three traditions, and transmission as a Zen master.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Richard Sears maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the University of Cincinnati for Integrative Health and Wellness, Alliance Integrative Medicine, and Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. He receives compensation as a consultant and royalties as a published author. Dr. Sears receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Richard Sears is a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, a diplomate of the American board of Professional Psychology, and a fellow with the Academy of the American Board of Clinical Psychology. He is a peer reviewer for Mindfulness and a book reviewer for John Wiley & Sons, Inc, and Routledge. He is the director of Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation.


Additional Info

Program Information

Questions?

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.


Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepepesi.com


Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

  1. Identify clinical indicators of spiritual bypassing.
  2. Describe three common bypassing patterns and interventions.
  3. Integrate mindfulness and evidence-based approaches to support genuine healing.

Outline

Introduction & Definition

  • What spiritual bypassing is and why it matters in treatment

Recognizing Avoidance

  • Clinical signs that spirituality is masking unresolved pain

Bypassing Patterns

  • Positive-only focus, over-intellectualization, premature transcendence

Clinical Interventions

  • Practical strategies to address avoidance while respecting beliefs

Mindfulness & Evidence-Based Ttools

  • Using ACT, CBT, and compassion practices to deepen authentic healing

Ethical & Cultural Considerations

Clinical Applications: Case vignettes and examples to translate strategies into practice

Target Audience

  • Counselors
  • Social Workers
  • Marriage & Family Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Psychotherapists
  • Case Managers
  • Physicians
  • Mental Health Professionals

Reviews

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