Casebook for a Spiritual Strategy in Counseling and Psychotherapy

CASEBOOK FOR A SPIRITUAL STRATEGY IN COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY. P. S. Richards, & A. E. Bergin. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2004. Pp. 329. Pb. $49.95. APA members/affiliates $39-95. ISBN 159147-056-0. Reviewed by Kimberly N. Lowe (Regent University/Virginia Beach, "VA). Richards and Bergin offer a rich experience for those wrestling with integrating faith and therapy. They begin by offering a theistic spiritual strategy that is ecumenical in its assumptions. "God exists . human beings are the creations of God, and . there are unseen spiritual processes by which the link between God and humanity is maintained" (p. 7). Richards and Bergin suggest that their theistic definition is broad enough to be applied to the five major theistic world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. In spite of the diversity between these world religions, Richards and Bergin offer that they share a "common global worldview" (p. 8). Unfortunately, Richards and Bergin do not supply the reader with a comparison of these five world religions that would offer support to their claim. Richards and Bergin then offer the reader a comparison between a theistic spiritual worldview and the modernistic, naturalistic-atheistic worldview. They make their comparisons on five levels: view of deity, view of human nature, purpose of life, view of spirituality, view of morality, and view of life after death. The central chapters are written by a variety of therapist/authors and divided into three main categories of application: programmatic, group and marital therapies; individual denominational therapies; and individual ecumenical therapies. Examples included in the programmatic, group, and marital therapies include work with inpatient eating disordered clients, group treatment with depressed, adolescent, pregnant girls and forgiveness in marital counseling. The chapters on denominational therapies focus on work with clients and therapists who share similar religious and spiritual beliefs. The final group, ecumenical therapies, demonstrates work across religious traditions. Richards and Bergin then conclude by providing a table that succinctly outlines each of the case examples. Challenges of integrating theistic perspectives into mainstream psychotherapy and recommendations for future philosophical and empirical work round out the editors' concluding remarks. One of the most helpful aspects of this book is the organization of each case example. Beginning with an introduction of the therapist/author, the reader is given an understanding of how his/her faith and therapeutic orientation are conceptualized. This indirectly suggests that integration is a deeply personal process that cannot exclude the person of the therapist. For example, Lisa Miller writes, My theoretical orientation might be described as a form of Interpersonal Psychotherapy with a spiritual foundation . central to my theoretical orientation is that the life transitions that clients experience are not random, but rather they are universal opportunities for profound spiritual evolution. When one embraces and attends to these transitions, one can grow interpersonally and spiritually, (pp. 75-76) Pertinent information is then presented such as: setting and demographics, client demographics, client history, presenting problems and concerns, assessment and diagnosis, and treatment process and outcomes. …