Spirituality, Religion, and Faith in Psychotherapy

Book excerpt: For decades psychotherapy has avoided addressing the religious or spiritual experience of clients; but as society grows and changes so do the problems wants and needs of individuals seeking helpato continue to overlook the sacred could be to miss out on the greatest source of a client's resiliency or the very root of her problems. There is a measurable value in addressing the psycho-spiritual needs of clients both as a means of practicing cultural-competence in regards to the continually growing diversity among people seeking help and for the sacred's connection with many contemporary issues including trauma and bereavement. Helen Land uses current research in interpersonal neurobiology to show readers how to integrate religious spiritual and faith content into psychotherapy through the use of evidence-based expressive practices. Using an approach appropriate for both theistic and atheistic clients this book will be an invaluable resource for addressing the holistic health of individuals dealing with trauma bereavement incarceration and addiction as well as counseling for returning veterans. Featuresa highly-inclusive client-centered assessment model that considers religion spirituality and faith alongside psychological social and biological factors and can be used across theoretical orientationsin-depth discussion of interpersonal neurobiology based on current research into mind-brain-body connectionsclear distinctions made between spirituality religion and faith and a discussion of how each functions within the life of the client and as an aspect of treatmentseven expressive treatment methods presented in detail including background underlying theories spiritual and religious relevance instructions for implementation case studies and research findings of eachcase studies of clients from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds that include commentary and analysis