Incorporating Spirituality into the Therapeutic Setting: Safeguarding Ethical Use of Spirituality Through Therapist Self-Reflection

As various mental health professions are increasingly open to incorporating the client\u27s spirituality into the therapeutic process, therapists now more than ever feel greater freedom to discuss topics that heretofore may have been perceived as off limits. Yet, inviting discussion about a client\u27s spirituality within the context of therapy is fraught with danger due in large part to the subjective nature of such a deeply personal, life changing, and in today\u27s world, political aspect of human experience. This chapter invites the therapist to consider one\u27s ethical obligations to the client before attempting to utilize a client\u27s spirituality as a therapeutic tool. Specifically, the therapist is invited to engage in a self-examination process in which one\u27s clinical and spiritual orientations are articulated as part of a process of safeguarding against a pejorative, reactive, and/or prescriptive use of spirituality in the therapeutic setting