Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy (PDF)

This book is for mental health practitioners who want to enhance their clients' psychological well-being using therapeutic tools drawn from spiritual and religious thought. What can a nonreligious therapist do when a client directly requests help with a problem involving spiritual matters? How can a therapist who is engaged in a religious tradition frame strategies such as discerning vocation, participating in spiritual or religious rituals, and forgiving in ways that are acceptable to secular clients? Thomas Plante answers these questions and more by presenting 13 tools to improve psychological and spiritual health that can be integrated into secular or religious-oriented practice. Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy first reviews history, philosophy, and research behind and evidence for integrating tools such as meditation, learning from spiritual models, and becoming part of something larger than oneself into therapy practice. Dr. Plante makes a case for integrating spiritual and religious tools in therapy as part of ethical practice, and as a way to add value to services such as assessment, counseling, and consultation with other professionals. A rich and diverse collection of case illustrations shows how to conduct psychotherapy using these tools, and walks readers through real-world examples of how to consult with clergy. Finally, the book offers an agenda for continued research and education and a variety of resources for further study in this area.