Faith and Mental Health Counseling: The intersection of spiritual wellbeing and evidenced-based practice

Who we are can be made up of many different parts. We draw our identity from our values,

perspectives, community, interests, family roles, relationships, and more. Faith traditions and

spirituality, for many, is another core part of one’s identity. In mental health treatment, a therapist cares for the client as a whole, including mental, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual wellbeing.

When faith is a part of our lives, it often plays a large role in influences of decision-making, lifestyle, values, and behaviors. Further, it can also play a significant role in healing, self-care, and mental and emotional wellness as a whole.

How can my faith be incorporated into my therapy?

Faith can be an effective catalyst for healing and working towards goals. It all starts with hope.

Hopelessness is a common experience that can get a client feeling stuck and unable to seek

wellness. Faith, in essence, is hope in action. Those with faith traditions often have an

identifiable hope for when life gets difficult. When incorporated into therapy, client’s beliefs can become central components of their treatment plans, guiding faith-centered techniques for promoting emotional regulation, relaxation, meditation, identity development, peer interactions, processing through trauma and grief, and more.

Research demonstrates the benefits of incorporating faith and spirituality into mental health treatment, offering a hope, purpose, and direction. Because of this, faith-integrated treatment plans have been used in various therapies and process and 12-step groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

What if my faith is important to me, but I don’t want to talk about it in therapy?

That is just fine too! Your space in therapy is yours. Faith is only incorporated into a client’s

treatment under two conditions: (1) It is beneficial to their healing, and (2) the client wants it.

Something valuable to you can be an important piece of your identity and also something

personal.

I have religious trauma and don’t know where I stand with my faith. Religious trauma can leave deep and lasting scars to mental health and even lead us to distrust our own emotions.

Therapy is a safe place to begin the journey of processing through trauma while also asking questions that you may not feel comfortable expressing within your faith community. Your therapist’s job is not to sway anyone in or out of a certain belief or perspective but simply to not let you walk alone as you decide the next steps for you without judgement.

The bottom line

Whether spirituality or faith is an important part of your identity or not, Foundations Counseling

welcomes you with a person-centered approach that follows the client’s lead. No one knows you like yourself, and you are in the driver’s seat of your care. As therapists, we are a guide in

promoting healing while incorporating all that is important to you, your body, mind, and soul.