Spirituality
Spirituality is a deeply personal and significant aspect of many individual’s lives. It encompasses a broad range of beliefs and practices, but usually includes belief in something beyond the self, whether that is a higher power or an inherent connection to others and the world. An individual’s faith has a major impact on their values, perspective, and experiences, so it is often helpful to consider one’s beliefs in their therapeutic journey.
Therapy can be beneficial for individuals seeking to pursue their spirituality and have a deeper understanding of the impact their convictions have on their lives. Spirituality can help individuals cope with difficult life events by providing meaning and purpose, offering comfort, and asserting moral guidelines for how to live. A therapist can give individuals a safe space to talk about their belief systems and how they can be a pillar of support during challenging times. Therapy also provides an environment to express questions and doubts regarding religion or spirituality.
Despite spirituality’s benefits for well-being, many people have negative experiences with religion that make it a complex and difficult subject. Sometimes spirituality is used to manipulate, control, shame, or abuse individuals which leads to religious trauma. This can have severe and long-lasting effects that are often difficult to overcome. Therapy provides a space for healing and recovery from spiritual abuse and religious trauma with the goal of processing and overcoming these experiences, rebuilding trust in your beliefs, and promoting self-worth and well-being.
People who work in vocational ministry can also have negative experiences when it comes to spirituality, whether it involves ministry burnout, isolation, role conflict, or feeling pressure to live up to a certain standard. For these individuals, therapy can be a place to identify and work through the challenges that come with leadership roles in a ministry setting so they can sustain their sense of purpose and continue to serve well.
It is important to note that therapy that focuses on spirituality is very different from Christian counseling in its approach and scope of practice. Spirituality integrated into therapy utilizes traditional therapeutic methods while Christian counseling integrates the principles of psychology with the beliefs of Christianity. If you are seeking a faith based approach for your therapeutic journey, Minnesota Renewal also offers Christian counseling. For more information, navigate to the “Christian Counseling” page under the services tab.