Family therapy and fundamentalism: One family therapist’s exploration of ethics and collaboration with religious fundamentalist families

Abstract

What are the therapeutic limitations of systemic psychotherapy when working with families who hold religious fundamentalist beliefs? At a time of debate about religious fundamentalism, terrorism and radicalisation, where do family therapists position themselves when confronted by extreme beliefs in the therapy room? Research suggests that the increase in modernity within our society equates not just with an increase in secularisation, but rather an increase in pluralism. Contemporary models of family therapy pay explicit attention to issues of gender, culture, ethnicity, discrimination and societal contexts. The author, therefore, proposes that family therapists need to examine their position regarding religious fundamentalism in relation to the social constructionist relativist continuum and engage with uncomfortable questions about whether they believe that fundamentalism has essentially pathological roots. This article will explore whether the dualist position within some religious movements set against a more secular psychotherapeutic and psychiatric cultural milieu can invite a fundamentalised response from clinicians. The author draws on her own work with families who hold religious fundamentalist beliefs and enquires about ethics, transparency and collaboration within family therapy practice. This article invites complex ongoing challenging questions and debate.

Working with Religious and Spiritual Experience in Family Therapy: Manna for the Journey

“…Systemic practitioners have made connections between specific religious communities and systemic models (Messent, ; Mustafa & Byrne, ; Wieselberg, ), explored working with religion and spirituality from within their theoretical orientation (O'Byrne, ; Barker, ), and considered how personal religious and spiritual beliefs can inform therapeutic practice (Bagnall, ; Gross & Mason, ; O'Byrne, ; Page, ). Others have explored the relationship between post‐modernism and spirituality (Moules, ) and practice and dilemmas in relation to gender and religious fundamentalism (Frosh, ; Rivett, ; Sherbersky, ). Why then does it continue seem as if:

…talking about religion and spirituality is still not commonplace in the therapeutic space and can feel risky” (Mason and Malik, .

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The Uncomfortably Important Place of Spirituality in Systemic Therapy

“…However, in some cases, working with families who hold beliefs that appear to be of a dangerous and threatening nature will be extremely ethically challenging. Sherbersky () asks pertinent questions about the therapeutic limitations of systemic psychotherapy when working with clients who hold such beliefs and it is important to consider these dilemmas and ask whether we are suitable for such a task.…”

Fear of faith: A reflection on ‘Family therapy and fundamentalism’

“…For instance, Sherbersky (2016) comments that ‘many fundamentalist religious groups share specific characteristics that are common to cults’. Indeed, she writes that by definition, they ‘ must share certain core characteristics’.…”