SPIRITUALITY
Integrating spirituality
into your therapy
More than nine-in-ten Americans (92%)
believe in the existence of God or a universal spirit.*
Because therapy requires navigation of deep waters, feeling safe is paramount. One should not have to hide their faith or leave spirituality outside of their therapy.
People may be hesitant to share their most deeply-held beliefs with their therapists for fear that they will be misinterpreted, dismissed, or, worse, “analyzed”. But there is growing evidence that it is important to attend to and integrate a client’s religious and spiritual beliefs in their therapy, if they believe that it is helpful for treatment. Moreover, for those for whom faith is central, omitting the spiritual lens from therapy can be a significant barrier to healing.
But research is showing that spirituality and psychotherapy can work in synergy, accelerating the process of transformation and change.** So incorporating faith into therapy is actually a practical matter. 1A Wellness offers spiritually integrative psychotherapy.
References for Spirituality Page
Barnett, J. E. (2014, November). Integrating spirituality and religion into psychotherapy. [Web article]. Retrieved from
Pearce MJ, Koenig HG, Robins CJ, et al. Religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy: a new method of treatment for major depression in patients with chronic medical illness. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2015;52(1):56–66. doi:10.1037/a0036448spspi
Hodge, D., Spiritually Modified Cognitive Therapy: A Review of the Literature, Social Work, Volume 51, Issue 2, April 2006, Pages 157–166, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/51.2.157
Pearce, M., Haynes, K., Rivera, N. R., & Koenig, H. G. (2018). Spiritually Integrated Cognitive Processing Therapy: A New Treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder That Targets Moral Injury. Global Advances in Health and Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956118759939
Pearce, M. & Koenig, H. (2013) Cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of depression in Christian patients with medical illness, Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16:7, 730-740, DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2012.718752
Fahmy, Dalia, Pew Research Center, Key findings about American’s belief in God, APRIL 25, 2018
Rupert, D., Moon, Sarah, H., & Sandage, S. J. (2018). Clinical training groups for spirituality and religion in psychotherapy. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health. doi:10.1080/19349637.2018.1465879
Sherman, M. D., Usset, T., Voecks, C., & Harris, J. I. (2018). Roles of religion and spirituality among veterans who manage PTSD and their partners. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 10(4), 368-374.
https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/rel0000159
Tan, S.-Y. (2003). Integrating Spiritual Direction into Psychotherapy: Ethical Issues and Guidelines. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164710303100102
“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”
Fred Rogers
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