Faith & Therapy: A Match Made in Heaven?
When it comes to good therapy, there are a lot of ingredients that go into the recipe, like finding a therapist who you like, who gets where you’re coming from, and who helps you feel confident in setting and meeting your goals.
The single best predictor of a good outcome in treatment is the quality of your relationship with your therapist.
Decades of research confirm that more than any particular type of therapy, intervention, fancy degrees or length of treatment, the more you trust and believe in the relationship with your provider, the more likely you are to experience positive results.
So, what does faith have to do with the therapeutic relationship?
We know that therapy improves when the therapist takes time to learn about your family and cultural background – and faith is part of that! Unfortunately, not all graduate programs address how to integrate faith into the therapy room as a resource. For some of our clients, it’s the very reason they’re seeking therapy - maybe they’ve grown away from their faith, or experienced pain in their community and are looking to repair their attachment to God. For others, their relationship with God has been an anchor amidst tough storms in life, and they want to find a way to lean into this safe and loving relationship as a safe haven (regardless of what life hands them!)
For this reason, we argue that faith and therapy are like bacon and eggs…or chocolate and literally anything…they’re a match made in heaven! And over the past 20-years, research has supported how incorporating faith into treatment can support treatment outcomes (Wade & Post, 2009).
So what is faith-integrated psychology?
It’s our way of saying that we know faith plays an important role in therapy, and that we have specialized training to integrate your values, culture, and spiritual relationships as an essential part of your care.
What faith-integrated care is not…
It’s not spiritual direction or confession. And we are not theologians or the morality police. At times, you may find that therapy removes barriers to growing in your faith and spiritual life, and is especially effective when sought in combination with spiritual direction.
Our primary goal is to walk with you and facilitate healing, both interiorly and in your relationships, so you can reach your goals and connect with others wholeheartedly, by creating a space where you can feel vulnerable and loved at the same time, with your faith woven into the fabric of this healing and change.
Learn more about Catholic Christian Counseling or schedule a consultation below.
