RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE AMONG PSYCHOTHERAPISTS

Psychology and its practitioners have historically been seen as part of the process of secularization of modern culture. However, recent research has challenged this stereotype. This article contributes to the literature on the religious and spiritual character of psychotherapists by using a version...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2004-06, Vol.41 (2), p.144-151
Main Authors: Smith, David P, Orlinsky, David E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Female
Human
Male
Psychotherapists
Religiosity
Religious Experiences
Spirituality
Therapist Characteristics
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Summary:Psychology and its practitioners have historically been seen as part of the process of secularization of modern culture. However, recent research has challenged this stereotype. This article contributes to the literature on the religious and spiritual character of psychotherapists by using a version of the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire (DPCCQ) to collect information on the religiosity and professional characteristics of 975 international psychotherapists from New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Two independent dimensions of therapists' religious and spiritual experiences were identified and replicated across multiple subsamples. A typology derived from these dimensions showed that 51% of therapists exhibited a pattern definable as Personal Spirituality, 27% a pattern of Religious Spirituality, and only 21% a pattern of Secular Morality. This work shows that the religiosity of psychotherapists is more complex than suggested by a simple distinction between secular and religious orientations.
ISSN:0033-3204
1939-1536
DOI:10.1037/0033-3204.41.2.144