HILDEGARD VON BINGEN

The Ministry of Presence: Holistic Healing in Mental Health through the Twelfth Century Practices of Hildegard von Bingen

 

Précis: The healing work of twelfth century German Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was one of presence through observation, spirituality, communal participation, and medical knowledge of her time. This project explores how Hildegard’s medieval holism—examining all of a person’s life for healing—can be applied to modern day healing in mental health. The particular lens of Austrian psychotherapist Alfred Adler’s (1870-1937) holism in Individual Psychology will offer a useful comparison to Hildegard’s practices. I will conclude with the exploration of the function of the therapist’s presence leading to healing through the modern therapeutic relationship.