Spirituality – a forgotten dimension? Developing spiritual literacy in family therapy practice

Abstract

Spirituality is hard to approach and define in family therapy practice, both as a concept and as a process. Spiritual perspectives are seen as important in an ecological understanding of family life, yet there is a research gap in the field of family therapy. The research reported here set out to explore the experience of spirituality from the perspective of family members and family therapists in therapeutic practice in Norway. Using a grounded theory methodology, we developed a middle range theory of spiritual literacy for family therapy practice. Although we offer no solutions to the dilemmas and hesitations experienced around the possible silencing of spiritual matters in family therapy, we make some recommendations for training and supervision practices.Practitioner points Spiritual experiences can be difficult to approach and define in family therapy Lack of recognition of spirituality in training and in practice seems to make therapists hesitant Encourage training programmes to open discussions about spirituality Be open to spiritual issues in supervisor training and practice