Religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: a practice‐friendly review of research

Abstract

The role of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy has received growing attention in the last two decades, with a focus on understanding the ways that religion and spirituality relate to therapists, clients, and treatment methods. The authors reviewed recent empirical research on religion and spirituality in psychotherapy to inform practitioners about effective ways to incorporate the sacred into their clinical work. Three main areas are covered: religion/spirituality and therapists, religion/spirituality and clients, and religious/spiritual interventions. Research indicates that therapists are open to religious/spiritual issues, that clients want to discuss these matters in therapy, and that the use of religious/spiritual interventions for some clients can be an effective adjunct to traditional therapy interventions.

Psychological resources in spinal cord injury: a systematic literature review

“…[120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129] Spirituality can be an important component in psychotherapy. [130][131][132] Beneficial effects of meaning making interventions on SE, optimism and self-esteem are reported. 133 The review of the literature suggests that people with SCI who are hopeful and optimistic are also more satisfied and less depressed.…”

Psychotherapy with African American Women with Depression: Is it okay to Talk about Their Religious/Spiritual Beliefs?

“…According to Post [7], -awareness of one's own beliefs and biases regarding religion/spirituality will help therapists avoid imposing their own values on their clients.‖ Use of a spiritual autobiography is one method to explore and examine one's own religious and spiritual views and values, as well as experiences, situations, and education that have led to their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices or doubts, skepticism and biases [77]. During this self-awareness process and in the process of providing psychotherapy, psychotherapists need to recognize and own their limitations.…”

“…However, they could be open [7] to differing doctrines. Recent research indicates that when clients felt their therapist were open to discussing and respectful of their religious/spiritual beliefs it helped to strengthen the therapeutic alliance [78]. In sum, clinicians should be mindful of their own beliefs, and biases regarding religion and spirituality.…”

“…and (2) do psychotherapists know when and how to incorporate religion/spirituality into psychotherapy in working with African American women with major depressive disorders (MDD)? Currently, these two questions are unanswered due to: (1) limited use of religion/spirituality in psychotherapy; (2) little or no training provided to psychologists and clinical social workers regarding use of religious/spiritual psychotherapy [7,8]; and (3) little published literature to help psychotherapists incorporate religion/spirituality into psychotherapy when working with African American clients [7].…”

“…Although the terms religious and spiritual are distinct, they have overlapping meaning [13] and are often used interchangeably among African Americans. There is, however, debate among researchers about the definition of these constructs [7,14]. See Zinnbauer, Pragament, & Scott, 1999 [15] for more details about these debates.…”