The John Templeton Basis awarded me a $3.57 million grant in 2017 for the Enhancing Apply-Based mostly Proof for Spiritually Built-in Psychotherapies undertaking. This undertaking addressed the query, “Can the knowledge, values, and non secular practices of the world’s nice non secular traditions improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy?” My crew and I awarded roughly $1.8 million of our funding to 19 analysis groups worldwide. These groups have been composed of researchers, psychological well being practitioners, and clergy from many non secular traditions, all based mostly at prestigious universities, hospitals, or psychological well being therapy services.
Our analysis groups employed practice-based proof analysis designs to guage the processes and outcomes of spiritually built-in therapy approaches at over 60 psychological well being services throughout eight nations in North America, Europe, and Asia. We collaboratively gathered shopper end result and therapist course of knowledge from greater than 32,000 remedy periods involving roughly 9000 distinctive purchasers. This represents probably the most complete dataset at the moment obtainable on spiritually built-in therapy approaches.
The info have enabled us to deal with a number of key analysis questions: (1) What non secular approaches and interventions do psychological well being professionals implement throughout therapy? (2) When and the way typically do psychological well being professionals apply non secular approaches and interventions in therapy? (3) Do non secular approaches and interventions enhance therapy outcomes?
We reported a few of our undertaking’s findings in an article revealed in 2024 within the American Psychological Affiliation’s Journal of Counseling Psychology, 71(4), 291-303. The desk beneath exhibits that the psychotherapists used all kinds of non secular interventions throughout their therapy periods with purchasers. The non secular interventions they used may very well be grouped into 4 normal classes: (1) Fundamental Abilities; (2) Non secular Practices; (3) Focus on Virtues; and (4) Spiritual Attachment. Therapists listened to non secular points, mentioned non secular dimensions of issues and options, mentioned compassion and hope, and affirmed purchasers’ divine price and makes an attempt to belief God in 20% to 40% of the periods. Our evaluation additionally revealed that 90% of the purchasers participated in a number of of the non secular interventions, and in complete, the therapists used non secular interventions with 50% to 75% of their purchasers.
We additionally reported our evaluation of some shopper end result findings, which revealed that purchasers, on common, skilled important reductions in psychological misery throughout therapy, with probably the most fast enhancements occurring within the first month. We additionally discovered that purchasers combating their non secular religion and/or spirituality reported greater ranges of psychological misery and confirmed slower enchancment. Moreover, a number of non secular interventions (i.e., non secular evaluation, self-control discussions, encouraging acceptance of divine love) predicted purchasers’ charges and durations of enchancment in psychological and non secular misery. Total, our findings help the effectiveness of spiritually built-in psychotherapies and supply insights into particular non secular interventions that provide potential worth in facilitating restoration amongst purchasers with non secular and/or non secular identities.
We have now offered further analysis findings at skilled conferences and revealed over two dozen articles in revered scholarly journals. Moreover, I edited the Handbook of Spiritually Built-in Psychotherapies, launched in 2023 by the American Psychological Affiliation, which is predicated on our undertaking. I additionally based the Bridges Institute for Spiritually Built-in Psychotherapies to make the findings from the grant undertaking extra accessible to professionals and the general public, and to make sure that folks worldwide have higher entry to competent, spiritually built-in psychological well being therapy.
Additional posts on this web page will spotlight extra key findings and insights from the Bridges-Templeton Basis grant undertaking. I may also:
- Describe main historic occasions, vital contributors, and landmark analysis research and publications which have helped advance the trouble to mainstream spirituality into psychotherapy over the previous 50 years.
- Share my experiences collaborating on this “Dissent from Freud” motion.
- Present excerpts from interviews with distinguished psychological well being professionals, clergy, and members of the general public concerning spirituality, psychotherapy, and psychological well being.
- Describe evidence-based non secular assets that may assist purchasers and different people cope, heal, and thrive within the face of emotional and relational challenges.
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