Psychologists and Clergy Working Together: A Collaborative Treatment Approach for Religious Clients

Matthew Breuninger, Sara L. Dolan, José I. Padilla, Matthew S. Stanford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Positive religious engagement has numerous benefits for individuals struggling with mental health difficulties. There is, however, a dearth of literature addressing ways that secular psychologists can engage a client's religious belief system in a manner that allows the positive benefits of the client's religious and/or spiritual involvement to be experienced within therapy without requiring religious knowledge or theological training by the psychologist. The following article proposes a collaborative treatment model composed of distinct interventions functioning in a cooperative, coordinated manner. Discussion is also given to principles that aid psychologists in coordinating psychological and spiritual interventions into a coherent and cooperative treatment process.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)149-170
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Spirituality in Mental Health
Volume16
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2014

Keywords

  • clergy
  • collaboration
  • integration
  • psychological interventions
  • spirituality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Religious studies
  • Applied Psychology
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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