An Orthodox Jewish Perspective: A Qualitative Approach: Exploring the Impact of Religion and Spirituality within Counselling and Psychotherapy.

"Previous research exploring the role of religion/spirituality within counselling/psychotherapy has largely taken a quantitative approach, whilst also being limited in terms of its investigated religions. In response to these limitations, this study qualitatively explored the role of religion/spirituality within counselling/psychotherapy from an Orthodox Jews perspective. Six UK people who identified as Orthodox Jews, participated in semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts, which led to the identification of the following superordinate themes:1. Therapist selection process 2. Religion/Spirituality and their Intersection with Therapy 3. Conceptualisations of Community Attitudes Each superordinate theme provided insight into the complexity of the relationship of religion/spirituality within therapy, from the perspective of an Orthodox Jewish client. The research supported previous literature concerning the influence ones’ religion/spirituality on their engagement with therapeutic services. Moreover, the findings indicated toward the prolific effects therapy can have over ones religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, of which ought to be researched further.