Solitude and hermitage

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines

What it is

Solitude and hermitage is a cross-traditional family of practices, not a single method. In the Catholic tradition, the hermit dedicates life to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through stricter separation from the world, solitude, prayer and penance, and may be recognised as…

Format

• No source gives a session count or fixed format for therapy around solitude or retreat; the phases below are a clinical structure built around the steps the traditions themselves describe. Durations of retreats and of hermit life are set by the client, the tradition and its authorities, and are not…
• Catholic hermit: a sense of call tested over time with a priest, spiritual director or community; long formation; a written rule (plan) of life approved by the bishop; public profession of the evangelical counsels; spiritual direction continuing for life. McDonough reports that lay hermits may lack…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Jumping to the least supported option; shame about choosing a gentler step. Working when each step is completed safely and reviewed.
• A plan with no named person; a belief that telling the teacher would be failure. Working when the client can say the plan back and agrees to use it.
• Flashbacks, shutting down, feeling unreal, panic in silence. Working when the client can notice rising arousal and bring it down with chosen actions.
• Loneliness or low mood after solitude, especially if it felt imposed; use as avoidance. Working when the client chooses it freely and reports calm without lasting low mood.
• Effects that persist or worsen; isolation that continues without choice; grief at leaving solitary life. Working when the client functions well and has made sense of the experience.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.