Psychodynamics and the giving of the spiritual exercises in Australia: a phenomenological exploration of the relationship between director and exercitant

This qualitative research aimed to explore the relationship between director and exercitant in the giving of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). Though there is much written about the Spiritual Exercises over the centuries, there has been very little empirical research into the giving of the Exercises, and in a literature search, no previous empirical research was found into the relationship between the director and exercitant. The research reported here was a phenomenological exploration of the experience of24 directors of the Spiritual Exercises in Australia, including 11 Jesuits, 3 religious and 10 lay people, overall, 14 men and 10 women, ranging in age between 30 and 90. An indepth semi-structured interview was conducted with each of these participants, exploring their experience of receiving and giving the Exercises, as well as their different paths of formation to become a director. A particular focus of the research was on the place of psychodynamics occurring in the relationship between director and exercitant. The research results suggest that the relationship between the director and exercitant parallels the exercitant's experience of God in the Exercises; further that there are parallels in the relationship between the director and the exercitant in the Exercises, which are somewhat similar to that between therapist and patient in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Findings of this research are discussed, including themes that emerged from the participants' interviews: transformation and healing in the Exercises, the complexities in the role of the director, understanding of psychodynamics, and supervision of directors. The research suggests that greater formation in psychodynamics could help directors and supervisors in assisting the exercitant to have a deeper experience of Jesus in the Exercises. Specific suggestions regarding future research are made.