The Architecture of Healing: Psychospiritual Formation of Group Therapists
Abstract:
The formation of group therapists is not merely a technical endeavor. It is a profoundly spiritual and relational journey. This article reflects on a creative pedagogical experience from the Group Therapy: Theory and Practice course at Knox College, where students engaged in psychospiritual reflection inspired by the architecture of the college building. Through contemplative walks inside and outside the structure, students explored its design, color, shape, spatial arrangement, and symbolic elements. These observations became metaphors for the inner qualities essential to effective group therapists such as stability, openness, discernment, hospitality, and rootedness.
Students then translated their insights into drawings of human figures, with each body part symbolizing a psychospiritual attribute connected to aspects of the building. Six students contributed written reflections, offering theological and personal interpretations of these qualities in light of their embodied experience of the Knox College space.
This classroom exercise affirms that the vocation of group therapy involves more than clinical competence; it calls for spiritual presence, theological reflection, and compassionate attentiveness within the dynamics of group life. The article invites readers to consider how physical space, spiritual imagination, and theological insight can converge to illuminate the calling of group therapists who walk alongside others on the path of healing.
“The exercise invited us to discern a few qualities of a group leader and to find their echoes within the architectural landscape of Knox College. As I stood beneath its Gothic vaults, I sensed the presence of authenticity, confidence, and charisma rising from stone and light. The Gothic style, with its soaring lines and luminous spaces, was crafted to lift the human gaze—to draw the heart upward in wonder toward the mystery of the Creator.
The four relational arches, shaped in the likeness of the Cross, rise with steady grace—strong, confident, and charismatic—meeting at the summit like a swift arrow seeking the heart of God. Yet not every quality reveals itself in stone. Cultural sensitivity, for instance, spoke less through the building’s design and more through the living architecture of community—through classmates of many faiths and stories, gathered in shared learning and respect.
Empathy, too, seemed to dwell more vividly in the gentle gestures of people helping one another than in the aging structure’s efforts to meet the needs of modern accessibility. Still, humility whispered through the simplicity of the space—its clean lines and quiet restraint, almost ascetic in its beauty, reflecting the Protestant tradition.
It was in Knox Chapel that, for the first time, I heard the phrase epistemological humility spoken during a multi-faith gathering. The words lingered like a prayer—a reminder that no matter how certain we may be of what we know or how firmly we cling to our truth, there remains an infinite horizon of understanding, waiting to unfold before us in the mystery of God and creation.” – Lucian Timofte
The warmth that emanated from the old radiators and filtered through the windows felt symbolic of the gentle illumination that occurs in group work. The way compassion, like sunlight, reveals and softens hidden wounds, stirred a quiet resonance within. Enclosed by the building’s curved architecture, I sensed a quiet safety, as if the very walls formed a sacred circle of care. Within this circle, the leader becomes not the center but the vessel, holding space for others to unfold. In this way, Knox’s architecture seemed to whisper of leadership as both structure and sanctuary, embodying firmness and grace. The parallels between leadership and architecture offered a living invitation to cultivate wisdom, transparency, and warmth in the sacred task of guiding others toward the transcendence of suffering.
Positioned at the center of the foyer, the library naturally draws the eye. Its elevated perspective evokes the wisdom and insight of a leader: watchful yet unobtrusive, guiding through understanding rather than authority. The interplay of glass and light at the building’s heart encourages reflection on transparency and the mirror-like presence of the facilitator. A facilitator cultivates a mind unburdened by passing phenomena. Their mind resembles a fertile garden, perceiving things as they truly are, free from dualistic distortions wherein the conditions for growth, insight, and renewal can flourish. – Melissa
As I reflected on the task of identifying the inner qualities essential to an effective group therapist and moved through the hallways of Knox College, I noticed myself drawn to a room that was neither grand nor visually striking. Despite its simplicity, it carried a quiet sense of purpose, a space designed for gathering, listening, and belonging- the community room. A room where people from different walks of life, cultures, beliefs, and experiences could come together, embodied the spirit of group therapy itself: fostering belonging, universality, and safety within diversity.
Just as the community room comes alive through the presence of those who enter it, a therapeutic group flourishes when the therapist can hold space, offer welcome, and cultivate a culture where each person feels seen and accepted. The room provides structure without restriction, just as the therapist offers guidance while allowing the group’s natural rhythm and connections to form. Both embody openness, warmth, and inclusivity. In this way, the community room, like the therapist, becomes a living symbol of togetherness—a reminder that transformation often takes root in spaces that may appear ordinary but are sustained by intention, presence, and care. – Colleen Dotson
As we stood before the solid foundation of the building, we were reminded that every group, too, must be grounded upon trust and safety. Just as the stones beneath our feet hold the weight of the whole structure, so too does a group rely on the steady base of mutual care where members may rest and grow.
The symmetry and balance we observed within the design spoke of the delicate rhythm of giving and receiving support, an unspoken dance of presence and vulnerability that sustains the life of a group. The openness of the windows, welcoming both light and air, invited us to consider how honesty and attentive listening create spaciousness within human relationships. The very architecture seemed to proclaim collaboration: beams, arches, and corridors joining not in uniformity but in harmony, each part contributing its own form and function to the greater whole. In this, we glimpsed a vision of community, where diversity does not divide but rather becomes the architecture of healing itself. – Chang Il Kim
Late, feet soaked from the pouring rain outside, I breathe easier knowing that I have made it to class. Relief is palpable as I find that my peers are engaged in a reflective activity, roaming the Knox College building. I am not too late. My posture moves from harrowed to hallowed, from a rushed panic to a restful peace – the contemplative task a vessel for this necessary shift.
And such is the process of psychospiritual therapy.
The first aspect of the building I note is the roof, the tangible shelter it has a provided from the torrent outdoors. So must a group therapist be a steward of space and time in such a way that does not provide escape but refuge from the storms – inside and out. Then there are the walls. They provide the structure that makes the aforementioned shelter possible. A group therapist is different from a friend. There are boundaries to the therapeutic alliance that allow it to be ethically transformative.
My eyes are drawn to the paradoxical functionality and beauty of the windows. They are made to bring light into what would otherwise be a dark space. Likewise, the therapist has a role to facilitate the processes of insight and clarity. Where there is the darkness of confusion and trauma, we help the client open their awareness to what they do not yet see. We do not manufacture or create the light, we are a vessel through which the light becomes apparent to them. It was always available, just not easily accessible. In the beauty of the windows, through their colourful stained glass, they become guides to wonder about the Sacred. The stirring of curiosity is akin to the work of the therapist. We are not the experts of our clients’ lives, but choose to become curious about their way of being, thinking, feeling, and acting. Our curiosity becomes contagious, helping them to gaze at their own reflections with wonder; seeing the beauty in their becoming.
Yet, what the client often does not see is what we cannot see in a building: the foundation. There is no enduring architecture without one. Likewise, a therapist must have a foundational competence. Regardless of the modality, the fundamental skills of listening and asking questions are essential to the therapeutic process. There is an intentional work we go through as therapists to know that we are safe places to build, which makes us safe places to land.
Sana’ Richards
When I look at this building that has stood for more than a century old, I do not simply see age but, I see beauty. A constant gothic oasis in the heart of a contemporary, ever-changing metropolis. Inspired by its sibling image across the ocean (Oxford and Cambridge), Knox College, with its high arches, and heavy stone, is built on a strong foundation. Now there has been upgrades, amendments and renovations but the substructure both physically, and theological has remained the same. Knox is rooted, it is planted, and it continues to grow.
Quiet corridors give a respite to weary souls passing through, just to get from the always busy St. George Street to the academic bustle of Kings Circle. The delightful open vaulted and open walkway that gives open access to gardens teeming with nature and life, this building never ceases to inspire. And oh, let’s not forget about your chapel, your place of worship, with your Chancel organ which makes the simplest hymns seem as though we are hearing angels singing from heaven; Knox you are truly special!
However, what may be most special and remarkable about you is not your structure but your heart. For at the very core of you; when the limestone and arches have been fully considered is a building that gives people education, theology, peace, and Christ. You are more than just a structure, you are more than just an ancient castle in an urban municipality, you are warmth, you are hope, you are and have been redemption for many.
As a therapist, we must have strong structures of morality and high arching ceilings of patience. We must be able to journey through life’s walkways with our clients and be open as windows to what may be seen. Like our beloved Knox, though built strongly in our modalities and interventions, we as therapists must stay flexible to upgrade, amend and change our perspectives to help our clients. And as human corridors, therapists must also give our careseeksers respite from their challenges wearing struggles. Truly, we must reflect our beloved Knox.
As spiritual therapists, we too must offer a place of sanctuary for our careseekers. Those sessions are safe places, where they are able to express themselves without judgement or concern.
There is much to mirror from our beloved Knox building as therapist. It still has much to offer!
- Kirk