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In this article, we provide an overview of current considerations of spirituality in family therapy literature and practice. We suggest that whatever practice of therapy is undertaken, implicity or explicitly it will reflect views on the connection between spirituality and family therapy-- connections involving clients' and therapists' beliefs. A thematic framework based on dimensions of the instrumental and metaphysical is outlined. Clinical approaches and practices within these connections are discussed.
Fam Proc 40:459-467, 2001
OVER the last decade, the family therapy literature has reflected a growing awareness of issues of spirituality in therapeutic practice (Chubb, 1994; Sprenkle, 1990; Walsh, 1999a), as well as in family pastoral counseling (Burton, 1992). This awareness has been translated into studies of clients' preferences (Stewart & Gale, 1994), studies of the place of spirituality in family therapy training (Patterson, Hayworth, Turner, & Raskin, 2000; Prest, Russel & D'Souza, 1999), as well as descriptions of practice informed by a spiritual dimension (Anderson & Worthen, 1997; Prest & Keller, 1993).
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, 1994). It is also significant that family therapy has recognized the role of the "self" of the therapist, (Aponte, 1994; 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, 1996). 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.
Ideas about how human beings relate to the universal are at the core of all cultural views on "being." Our beliefs about how our world and universe operate, be they theistic or atheistic, form part of the gemeinschaft (worldview) of us all. Therefore, as with any and every system of thought concerned with human activity, family therapy conceptualizations implicitly or explicitly involve perspectives and views on spirituality. In common with...