Psychologists and Clergy Working Together: A Collaborative Treatment Approach for Religious Clients

Abstract

Positive religious engagement has numerous benefits for individuals struggling with mental health difficulties. There is, however, a dearth of literature addressing ways that secular psychologists can engage a client’s religious belief system in a manner that allows the positive benefits of the client’s religious and/or spiritual involvement to be experienced within therapy without requiring religious knowledge or theological training by the psychologist. The following article proposes a collaborative treatment model composed of distinct interventions functioning in a cooperative, coordinated manner. Discussion is also given to principles that aid psychologists in coordinating psychological and spiritual interventions into a coherent and cooperative treatment process.