The influence of therapists’ spirituality on their practice: A grounded theory exploration

Abstract

BackgroundCounselling and psychotherapy have complex relationships with religion and spirituality. Therapy has not tended to focus a great deal on the spirituality of the client, much less that of the therapist. More recently, there has been an increased interest in the role of spirituality in therapy.Aim/MethodologyThis study used a grounded theory methodology to explore the spirituality of nine therapists and to identify the ways in which their spirituality influences their practice.FindingsOne overarching theme emerged from the data, which was the reflective, dynamic, and developmental process in which participants were engaged, in order to integrate their spiritual and therapeutic identities. Within this, two sub‐themes emerged: the direct influence of therapist spirituality on therapeutic work, and finding harmony between spirituality and broader professional context.ImplicationsProcesses of professional and spiritual development of therapists are discussed along with implications for practice, training, and research.

Religious Sensitivity at Secular Universities – A Cross-Sectional Replication Study among Norwegian Psychology Students

“…can be answered by saying "an ambivalent one". These findings align with qualitative research on the therapists' experience and selfunderstanding, which highlights a high degree of spiritual involvement as well as many conflicted religious biographies among psychologists (Blair, 2015;Magaldi-Dopman et al, 2011).…”

“…Therefore, it is insufficient to inquire about church membership only to measure the religious or spiritual participation of professionals. Historically and currently, psychotherapists appear to have extremely diversified attitudes to (institutionalised) religion and a frequently complex and conflicted spiritual biography (Blair, 2015;Magaldi-Dopman et al, 2011), and church membership and service attendance may reflect religiosity but not spiritual involvement (Kapuscinski & Masters, 2010). A second level of progress is research on the professional skills that are required to overcome the tension between the clients' existential and spiritual concerns on the one hand and the therapists' personal and professional attitudes on the other hand (Utsch & al., 2017;van Nieuw Amerongen-Meeuse et al, 2018).…”

Veiling and unveiling: Caution in explicitly integrating Jewish spirituality in psychotherapy in Israel.

“…Some therapists integrate specific spiritual traditions into their therapeutic work (Richards et al, 2023). Doing so presents a significant challenge: How can psychotherapists apply their spiritual/religious worldviews when working with their clients (especially if the clients do not share precisely the same spiritual values and worldviews) while simultaneously being culturally sensitive and not imposing their own perspectives (Blair, 2015; Scott, 2013)?…”

“…There is relatively little research in this area, and most of the few studies done have dealt with different types of Christian denominations (e.g., Scott, 2013). Other cultural and spiritual traditions may provide significant new insights on these issues (Blair, 2015). The current research focuses on certified psychotherapists in Israel who integrate Jewish spirituality into psychotherapy.…”

Finding God in the intuitive: Reclaiming the therapist’s spirituality

“…Second, I wanted to remove the fear faced by many people around embracing their spirituality within a work context and within therapeutic relationships (West, 2005). Literature concerned with spirituality in therapeutic practice tends to focus mostly on the spirituality of the client and how the practitioner can explore this most effectively (Blair, 2015;Tsiris, 2017), whereas my discussion situates the therapist's spirituality as the central concern. And third, I wanted to offer practitioners a safe way to explore -a model of practice that encourages the spiritual possibilities available to the therapist.…”