FAMILY THERAPY AND THE INTEGRATION OF SPIRITUALITY

Family Therapy and the Integration of Spirituality

Family Therapy and the Integration of Spirituality

Introduction

Over the last ten years, the family treatment publications has echoed a increasing perception of matters of spirituality in therapeutic perform (Chubb, 2002; Sprenkle, 1990; Walsh, 2006a), as well as in family pastoral therapy (Burton, 2006). This perception has been converted into investigations of clients' preferences (Stewart & Gale, 2002), investigations of the location of spirituality in family treatment teaching, as well as descriptions of perform acquainted by a religious dimension.

This growing interest reflects an increasing awareness in all mental health professions that ethical practice requires a respect for clients' beliefs (Canda, 1988; Sansone, Khataim, & Rodenhauser, 1990; Sims, 2002). It is also significant that family therapy has recognized the role of the "self" of the therapist, (Aponte, 2002; Hildebrand, 1998). This inevitably involves the integration of therapists' own beliefs into their practice. A number of surveys have highlighted the value that family therapists place on both religious and spiritual practice (Bergin & Jenson, 1990; Street & Rivett, 2005). For these reasons, family therapists need to orient themselves to concepts of spirituality so that they can respond meaningfully to families who have clear spiritual experiences and values. Moreover, they may wish to consider their own spiritual beliefs and assess how these connect with their therapeutic practice. This "self-reflection" is extremely important.

 

Spirituality and religion

Although this article is largely concerned with spiritual beliefs, it is equally important to note the link between those beliefs and religious practices. In keeping with previous definitions (Anderson & Worthen, 2009; Bergin 2007), spirituality is defined as referring to the human experience of discovering meaning, which may or may not include the concept of a personal God. Aponte (1998) uses a wide-ranging definition when he refers to spirituality "as the meaning, purpose and values in peoples' lives" (p. 37). But as Anderson and Worthen (2009) note: religion "solidifies [spirituality] into particular forms, rituals, sacred scriptures, doctrines, rules of conduct and other practices" (p. 5). Spirituality, therefore, encompasses the individual's beliefs concerning his or her link with the universal, whereas religion is the social, organizational, and practical expression of such beliefs. Clearly these two elements of human life are interconnected, and aspects of religious affiliation add an extra layer of analysis to a consideration of spirituality and therapeutic practice. As is often true when one tries to cover all aspects of spiritual practice, we have left much "unsaid."

 

Framework of connection

Even though there is a growing body of literature on spirituality in family therapy, no attempt has been made to synthesize this literature or to propose a model for the connection between therapeutic endeavors and spirituality. A model that identifies the relationships between issues of a spiritual nature and those of a psychological nature is that of Carter (1977), and loosely based on this we identify two dimensions of connection between these spheres of activity. The first dimension is what we term an instrumental ...