A Series of Progressive Legal and Ethical Decision-Making Steps for Using Christian Spiritual Interventions in Psychotherapy

Abstract

Recently, there has been a growing trend in the professional literature to address the question: “In what ways should spiritual interventions be used in counseling, with which clients, and under which circumstances?” However, few therapists have received training and supervised experience in incorporating spiritual interventions into their work. This article briefly addresses the purpose and prevalence of Christian spiritual interventions and proposes a series of progressive legal and ethical decision-making steps to improve therapists' skills in incorporating such interventions into psychotherapy. The initial steps include an assessment of the therapist's role, the setting of therapy, and the presenting problem of the client. Additional steps include obtaining informed consent, evaluating a therapist's competency, maintaining professional and scientific responsibility, respecting the client's religious values, documenting the use of spiritual interventions, making appropriate financial arrangements, and promoting the welfare of the client.