[ScarletPimpernel]

I have read other posts about having different religious/spiritual beliefs from your T. This is different.

I have issues with my own religion/spirituality. I know what I believe in. I just have other issues that I haven't dealt with. I don't want my T to teach me her beliefs. I don't actually care what her beliefs are. But my issues can only be helped by a neutral person; not someone like a priest, pastor, rabbi etc. And I do NOT know my T's religion. I have an idea where her beliefs lie, and I think it's very similar to my own. But then again, this is all assumption, and I could be wrong...

Have any of you actually worked with non-specific or specific religious/spirituality issues with your T? Or maybe even conflicting beliefs in another aspect/topic?

Is it appropriate to even bring up such a "sensitive" topic with your T? (I mean we talk about almost everything else with our T's...)

[RTerroni]

No but I think that my current Therapist wouldn't mind me discussing it since she is open to discussing pretty much anything with me.

[nottrustin]

I have as religion is a huge part of our family. Hubby grew up in a strong Catholic family. T knows I converted and that my kids are/have attended Catholic school so we have discussed the financial strain this has put on our family. Also T knows I have a difficult time allowing my kids to spend the night away from home..My 2 oldest have gone to weekends or even weeks away both in and out of state. She has helped me work through it. Also, she has often mentioned finding strength in my religion.

Most importantly though I have discussed that recently have had a very difficult time with the whole religion thing. However, I have one kid who wants to be a priest, my kids are all alter servers and hubby and I provide communion at mass...so it is a struggle feeling fake.

I know T is not Catholic only because she once mentioned her religion once in general communication. She has never tried to change me or persuade me in any way. I have also not really gotten into discussions of Catholicism just more in general.

[CantExplain]

One of my early Ts thought I needed spirituality. I never found out what she meant.

[tealBumblebee]

I've talked to mine about it, but she openly states from her online bio and her first session that she uses a religious module to do T. She accepts clients of any belief, etc. but its the foundation of her knowledge.

I was kind of hesitant about such thing but while we have the same "religion" she realized after some conversation that we had different 'core beliefs' about it. So she asked if she could dedicate a session to tell me things from her perspective (and yes this could seem like a boundary crossing but she left it entirely up to me, told me we could stop at anytime or not talk about it at all, etc.) So anyways, we did have the session (I was really glad because like you I wanted to talk to a somewhat neutral party) and telling me her side of things.

To be fair - I didn't (and still am not quite sure) agree wholly with her perspective but at least in doing so it has helped me realize the questions that I am in search of the answers for instead of being just completely lost in it all.

I think it is just fine to bring it up as long as you trust that the T will not manipulate you or show bias when discussing it.

[Freewilled]

I've mentioned it - tip toed around it. But it's hard to share something like that without knowing my Ts thoughts on the matter.

He just recently told me that he wants me to feel free to talk about literally anything I want to in the therapy room. Anything.

I'm guessing this would include religion/spirituality. It's hard though because I know he's human.

[stopdog]

The first one I ever saw was sort of into spirituality/shaman sorts of stuff. She tried to talk to me about it once or twice - and I did start meditating and have kept it up for over 25 years - but that is all. She was trying to push me towards spirituality of some sort not a religion. One of the two I see now refers to her religion every so often but not in a way that relates to me but like a story that took place during a holiday in her youth sort of thing. The other one is no longer a practitioner of her religion and we sort of have the same attitude about past religious upbringing but other than saying she understands when I say something about the upbringing - there is no mention of it.
I don't believe in god nor do I really have any big leaning to spirituality and if I did, I don't think I would want to talk to the therapist about it. I don't care if a therapist believes in god or follows a religion or has some spirituality belief as long as it doesn't enter the appointment when I am there.

[growlycat]

When I first saw T as a youth, our religious backgrounds/my lack thereof worried me. Would he push anything on me?

With a wink he said "Jews don't recruit."

Love this guy

[LadyShadow]

I have discussed spirituality with my T. Many different aspects of it too. Meditation, belief in a higher power and God. I don't really have a particular religion or anything specific but it would bother me if my T didn't believe in God, which he told me he does.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I have never discussed religion or spirituality with a T before, but I have never been in a place in my life where I wanted to deal with my issues.

My issue with religion is that I believe one thing, but was "taught" another. So I struggle with balance, self-acceptance, guilt, etc. This is why I don't want someone who is going to try to sway me to their beliefs. I don't think my T would.

My T went to a christian college... The meaning of her name is extremely christian. Other little things point to Christianity. But then, she lent me a book of hers that she said she fully believes in, and it has more Buddhist foundation. And today she gave me meditation cd's to listen to.

I don't care if she's christian or Buddhist or something else. My only fear is that if she is christian, and finds out that my issues with guilt come from Christianity, is that going to conflict with her? Idk. I just know that she would probably be the safest person to work this out with, but I don't want to disrespect her or her to disrespect me. Why I wanted to know if anyone has had experience with this.

[growlycat]

My Jewish T has given me all kinds of meditation/Buddist influenced books.

lol--Mindfulness is kind of a "thing" with therapists of many stripes.

[Favorite Jeans]

Originally Posted by ScarletPimpernel

I have never discussed religion or spirituality with a T before, but I have never been in a place in my life where I wanted to deal with my issues.

My issue with religion is that I believe one thing, but was "taught" another. So I struggle with balance, self-acceptance, guilt, etc. This is why I don't want someone who is going to try to sway me to their beliefs. I don't think my T would.

My T went to a christian college... The meaning of her name is extremely christian. Other little things point to Christianity. But then, she lent me a book of hers that she said she fully believes in, and it has more Buddhist foundation. And today she gave me meditation cd's to listen to.

I don't care if she's christian or Buddhist or something else. My only fear is that if she is christian, and finds out that my issues with guilt come from Christianity, is that going to conflict with her? Idk. I just know that she would probably be the safest person to work this out with, but I don't want to disrespect her or her to disrespect me. Why I wanted to know if anyone has had experience with this.

Let's say she is, in fact, Christian. It seems very possible that she could still have compassion for your issues with religion. It would also be possible to have a nuanced view of religious matters where she could, say, love some things about being Christian and find others problematic. Christians are a pretty diverse group in their beliefs and social/political views, right? I think you should bring it up with her and check it out. If you feel that religion is important to you or has had a deep impact on your life you should feel free to discuss it with your t.

[msxyz]

I asked my therapist during my first appointment whether he was religious, I wanted a "secular" therapist.

[blur]

I had one T that I could speak very freely to about spiritual things. It really helped that we were on the same page spiritually. She was amazing and if I felt critical of my own faith she wouldn't have had a problem with that.

I think it really all depends on where the T is coming from spiritually and also their maturity level in that faith or about spiritual things. Some can handle people's hard questions, criticisms and doubts and some are not in a place where they can do that yet. Some may try to convince you to either keep your faith and others may subtly encourage you to abandon your faith if that is something you are grappling with. I'm not sure there is really a place of neutrality (don't mistake not having a faith, being undecided or open to all views as neutral as they are each a position.), but they can be accepting of your choices wherever they end up.

As a follower of Jesus I can understand & accept where someone might get fed up with the nonsense that goes on in my faith and decide to abandon it even if I think they're making a mistake. A good T should be able to help you with whatever conflict you are experiencing despite their personal views whatever they may be.

[PurplePajamas]

We have discussed religion a few times. We've discussed it when it has been positively or negatively affecting my life, and he has listened to all my rants, raves, and questions about religion while just being a patient, compassionate listener. He's Christian. He's also really open minded to other faiths/perspectives/opinions. I'm very comfortable talking about religion with him... he never seems to be offended or surprised by things that come out of my mouth.

[RTerroni]

It's interesting how many people have discussed religion with their Therapists, I never discussed it much with my 4 year Therapist but I can't tell you that it don't think she was very religious.

[A Red Panda]

My T and I have talked about "purpose" and "connection" and religion came up during that - to which I said quite plainly that I am an atheist and have no need or desire to connect to something that I personally cannot accept as anything near factual, and that I'm quite alright with knowing that I'm part of the universe and that all the atoms and molecules in my body will be recycled when I die.

That's as far as that conversation went on that thread.

It comes up from time to time as I am a person of faith who has the occasional spiritual crisis that affects my life in various ways. Certainly not a major topic of discussion, but I am comfortable talking to him about it.

[Webgoji]

I haven't worked with any specific religious topics with my therapist because she simply doesn't understand them. If I need to talk about religious topics I'll call the nun who is my teacher and she can provide guidance for me.

[willowbrook]

I'm Wiccan and my spirituality is a very important part of who I am. My Pdoc is a Buddhist, and we've discussed and compared a lot about spirituality and spiritual practices. When we talk about mindfulness I will often describe various Wiccan based meditations that I've incorporated into my own mindfulness practice, and we will then talk about the Buddhist similarities or equivalents to those practices. He's also asked to see a photo of my altar, and I've explained all the tools on there, and what each one represents/is used for. It's not at all uncommon for us to discuss spiritual issues, and he encourages me to continue embracing my Wiccan practice as part of my over all treatment. It's been such a relief/breath of fresh air to find someone who is so well balanced with both a strong grounding in western medicine, but who incorporates/respects the spiritual side of things as well.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Originally Posted by willowbrook

It's been such a relief/breath of fresh air to find someone who is so well balanced with both a strong grounding in western medicine, but who incorporates/respects the spiritual side of things as well.

That is exactly what I'm hoping for. It doesn't matter if T and I have different beliefs. What's important is the acceptance of all aspects of each other. And even though my issues deals with religion, it's more about the conflict between what I do believe and what others have tried to guilt me into believing. I want to work with my T on letting go of that guilt. Based upon the experiences that everyone has posted here, I think I might have a good opportunity to do just that.

Thank you all for sharing!

My t and i are both christians, and we talk about the Bible and Jesus a lot, and she uses things from both to teach me things. Its something i am totally ok with.