The Way of Camino Santiago de Compostela

The Camino is not well known to the man in the street, and less as therapy. Since pilgrimage is mainly associated with religious practice and penance in the West, the author has taken a multi-disciplinary approach to step-wise describe the Camino history, phenomenon, and walking processes, as to present and promote it as a self-help tool to a wider public. In cross-cultural interviews with pilgrims, the author reveals that people walk this way for far more personal, spiritual and relational than religious reasons, such as seeking their sense of self and existential meaning. The author shows how walking the Camino helps reclaim and reinforce the spirit, eliciting reflection in the encounter with others, oneself and nature, revaluating and giving new life perspectives and truths. The book is thus useful as a spiritual and practical guide to people who are considering walking the Way or alternative ways of self-healing. Likewise, it is enlightening to therapists who have never heard about walk therapy, towards which the author disclaims surrounding scepticisms, and argue for its need and approval by documenting its psycho-physio-spiritual beneficial effects and therapeutic potential.