[AmysJourney]

My T is a Christian. She doesn't advertise it or even mentions it to her clients, which I think is very appropriate. But when I told her that I was a Christian, she disclosed her faith to me.
It helped me tremendously to know that we have the same faith in common and I love it. It even became the strong foundation of our work together now and for me personally, I know I wouldn't want to miss the faith aspect in our therapeutic relationship. I wasn't looking for a Christian T when I decided who I wanted to work with, and she is not a Christian counselor or usually uses Christian belief systems or principles for her therapy. But when we talk, it is a central part of our sessions. I know with others of her clients it's not a topic at all.

I would like to hear your stories.. Does you T have faith? Do you Ts share their faith with you? Are you even interested in that? And is it a rule-breaker for you if you have different faiths?

[RTerroni]

My Therapist told me that she does celebrate Christmas (when I asked about giving a holiday card) but she hasn't told me how religious she really.

[tealBumblebee]

Originally Posted by Amelia112

...I would like to hear your stories.. Does you T have faith? Do you Ts share their faith with you? Are you even interested in that? And is it a rule-breaker for you if you have different faiths?

My T and I share the same faith and it is advertised on her website (although, I think the whole place is faith based in it's own way). She realized early on though that we have quite different fundamental views and she has, with permission, shared with me her own (which initially sparked an interest with me, then caused a huge reaction from me, and in the end has been very helpful as I am a "beginner" and she is not).

I'm not sure that it would be a rule-breaker for me if she had a different faith, but I do feel a bit safer to explore faith based issues knowing that she and I share somewhat common ground there, even if they are different in foundation because it gives me a second perspective to see things from.

[A Red Panda]

I don't think my T is very religious, but wheter he is a bit religious or not at all is beyond me. I made it clearly the first time spiritual beliefs came up (in regards to places to meet people) that I'm an atheist. So if he is religious at all, he's never brought it up. It doesn't matter to me what his beliefs are or aren't, so if he does ever bring it up it'd be fine with me.

[stopdog]

I have seen 4 therapists in my entire therapist seeing career. Only one, a current one, seems to still practice a religion and it rarely comes up - only in that I needed to explain something from childhood further because it was not part of her background.
I am not religious at all, do not want it anywhere near therapy for me, and would not continue to see a therapist who talked about it at all other than to use an example of activity from sometime (example - once I spilled wine while lighting the menorah OR the xmas tree fell on the cat when she climbed it- sort of thing), not as a religious belief based discussion.

No idea if my T has a religious faith or not, but I assume not. I don't really want to know either way. He knows enough about the religious tradition I was brought up in to comment knowledgeably when I mention it, but since religion is not important to me, it rarely comes up. Religion has no place in my therapy except where it is relevant for my thoughts and feelings and attitudes.

It would probably be very awkward for me to have a T who had a religious faith that they brought into my sessions, but it would depend on the T. Religion is a very, very private matter in my culture - more so than sex (unfortunately). However, celebrating Christmas is not a religious thing here - I mean, obviously Christians celebrate it, but so do all the atheists and agnostics, so mentioning a Christmas tree would not imply anything.

[Rapunzel]

Religion is very important to me, and most of the therapists that I have gone to have had the same religion that I do. The others seem to know the basics. Even knowing that we had the same beliefs, for a long time it never occurred to me to talk about religion in therapy. I was not the first to bring it up, and was surprised when T did the first time. I guess I thought that there was some kind of rule against that. But since then, I have found that religion can be an important topic and can be very complementary to therapy. My beliefs are how I make sense of life, and part of therapy is making sense of life, so either we talk about religion or talk around it somehow, which is awkward. The therapists who were not my same religion sometimes didn't understand how important my beliefs are to me, or the role that religion has in my life.

When I became a therapist, I also found that religion can be a very effective part of therapy when the approach is right. I have worked with clients with the same religion, different religions, and no religion. While I respect their choices about beliefs and whether or not to talk about religion as part of therapy, there are times when I will bring up values or ask something like "how do you make sense of this" and usually those discussions tend to involve beliefs. Generally, I feel that most talk about religion in therapy should be initiated by the client, and I follow their lead, and I don't use therapy as a platform for talking about my beliefs. It has its place though, and I will nudge clients to think about spirituality at least in the sense of how they find some kind of a connection between self, the universe, and fellow citizens of the universe. Even atheists need to think about that.

[growlithing]

School T is either Christian or Jewish. It's kinda annoying when we try to talk about grief. LCM is an atheist or a atheistic Buddhist or something along those lines. I know she grew up religious and then broke away from it a lot like what I did. I know that because when I told her about breaking away from religion, she said that she remembers going through what I went through. It is very nice to have someone working with the same belief system as me because I never have to worry about offending her. I never knew about exTT's religion.

All of my T's have been Christian, and I have been helped by that commonality with them. My second T was actually my pastor and licensed as a licensed pastoral counselor. The ironic thing about that is I don't think we ever discussed our faith, perhaps because we so closely understood each other that way and it required no discussion or explanation. My first T was of a different denomination, but we were still very much aligned in the importance of faith in our lives. My current T is Christian and of a different denomination, but one very, very similar to my own. He and I have probably discussed faith and the importance of my church in my life more than the other two combined (which is still not terribly often).

I didn't seek out any of them for their faith, but I am glad they were all Christian. I wouldn't have excluded a T who wasn't Christian, but being comfortable sharing with someone who has a true understanding has been valuable to me.

[GenCat]

My T is a Christian, she works for a center that is Christian based. I went to her because I had disagreements with my last T. We tend to agree and stay on a same page. And I feel like I can trust her and talk to her about anything because of her religion, is very accepting.

[A Red Panda]

Originally Posted by Rapunzel

It has its place though, and I will nudge clients to think about spirituality at least in the sense of how they find some kind of a connection between self, the universe, and fellow citizens of the universe. Even atheists need to think about that.

My T asked me to write a story about Connection and Purpose, where we had talked a bit about spirituality before. I started the story with a quote from Carl Sagan about how we are all made of star stuff, and how we're all connected through death when we decompose and provide life to new organisms.

I'm not sure that he was prepared for that one, haha. But I'm quite at peace with that.

Same thing happened with my t. I was so relieved to hear she was also a christian. I wanted someone who could relate to my life in that way. We talk a lot a out christianity and God and our faith in sessions.

[Stronger]

Of the four Ts I've had, none of them have been Christians. But I badly want one who is, because it's so hard to get faith-filled encouragement from anyone but my church pastor.
I'm so glad that your situation worked out the way that it did!

[AmysJourney]

Thanks for all your replies. It's very interesting for me how other people combine faith and therapy. For me it is such a central part of my life that it's a relief to know my therapist is on the same page. She says she prays for me and as strange as it may sound for people who don't believe, to me that is so comforting and so helpful. I can't describe it really. With the faith I have, I believe that prayer is the most powerful tool we have and to know that she prays for me is like a gift that connects me somehow.

[stopdog]

I think it is good that people can find therapists who have beliefs the client finds important. For me, I have less difficulty with a therapist who has a completely different religion that they still practice because it is very different from the religion my family was raised in (christianity) - if religion has to be around me at all.

For me, I have had religion forced on me so often that I avoided any and all therapists who mentioned Christianity, or any religion, in their web sites or profile pages. I resent deeply having someone try to urge to me think about spirituality and would quit a therapist who tried that. Several of my friends locally have tried various people who advertise as "Christian counselors" and across the board all have had bad experiences. It turns out that in our State, if a person holds him or herself out as a "Christian counselor" as opposed to a therapist, or just a counselor, then that person is exempt from the mental health licensing requirements.

My current T is Jewish, but doesn't believe in God. That is working well for me. I feel free to discuss my rage and frustration about the ways religion was used as a weapon against me growing up.

[stopdog]

I would not go to one who listed their religion of any sort on their web page.

[blur]

i had one T who was the same faith as i am and she was amazing as far as the spiritual aspect. she'd occasionally pray in session and she really heard from God which was so helpful. i recently tried another T who was also the same faith and while i didn't get the sense we were a great fit personality-wise she was also amazing in the spiritual aspect. i like Ts who are into hearing from God, healing prayer, etc. (e.g. like at the vineyard) and it's made a big difference when i've had that incorporated into my therapy. that isn't always easy to find though.

[eskielover]

I am a Christian....but don't think I have ever had a Christian psychologist. My last one in California was orthodox Jewish.....which was cool with me as Judaism is the foundation of Christianity. He was actually from Israel & had the accent even though he had lived in the US for years.

I moved 2100 miles away when I left my H almost 7 years ago.....& had to look for a new psychologist. I chose a Christian counselor...but at our first visit....she said that my issues were way too complex for her training (trauma & depersonalization along with major depression & anxiety that came before the trauma).....so she gave me the name of a Christian psychologist....but I really didn't click with him....as he seemed to brag about all the success he had in certain areas.....to much like the bragging my H used to do about his intelligence........rubbed me seriously the WRONG way.

Ended up going to the community mental health center & when I called them, they set me up with one of their top psychologists......I don't care what religion she is.......I comment about mine & my beliefs & why I react/don't react to things the way I do given the faith I am continually working on having.......but God has always come through before in providing......so these topics do come up even though she doesn't seem to relate to them in any way.....very completely neutral reaction which implies to me that it's not what her belief is......but it doesn't bother me as even though I grew up in a Christian family, my whole life has been spend around people of all religions or not religions. It's not going to change my Christian beliefs as they are only growing stronger continually. It's good to be able to explain what I think & why. I have all my other Christian friends I share with & get all my Christian support from......so it doesn't bother me one way or another what beliefs my psychologist has.

[blur]

Originally Posted by My kids are cool

It turns out that in our State, if a person holds him or herself out as a "Christian counselor" as opposed to a therapist, or just a counselor, then that person is exempt from the mental health licensing requirements.

really? that doesn't sound good at all. if a T tried to force their beliefs on me, told me to go to church more or just quoted scripture at me i'd be so annoyed as that isn't really therapy. i think it really is an art for a T to handle the spiritual aspect well.

My current T is Jewish, but doesn't believe in God. That is working well for me. I feel free to discuss my rage and frustration about the ways religion was used as a weapon against me growing up.

glad you have someone who is helping.

[Mactastic]

I picked my T for two reasons: he's male and Buddhist. He lists his religious affiliation as Buddhist and it informs a lot of our therapy together. I consider Buddhism to be more of a philosophy rather than a religion but it still matters a great deal to me and we are both daily practitioners.

I like that he is male because I have been hurt by men in romantic relationships time and time again and I (unconsciously, now consciously) wanted the experience of being "held" by a man without getting hurt.

His gender and religion aren't paramount to my decision to keep going with him but they're certainly really important to me, important enough that I pay out-of-pocket (he doesn't take insurance) until I can be reimbursed from my ins co, which takes months.

[healed84]

One of the reasons I originally started going to my T's practice was for its reputation for having Christian therapists. They don't advertise themselves as a Christian practice, but many of the therapists are, and many of them will integrate their faith into the therapy if the clients asks.

T and I do talk a lot about our Christian faith... A lot of what I have been struggling with is my identity and doubting what I believed, so it is good to be able to talk about all of that stuff with somebody who understands what it exactly I have been taught faith wise over the years. Ironically, we both grew up in pretty conservative Christian churches and now, we both lean way more to the liberal side of Christian beliefs.. SO, its been good to be able to talk all of that stuff with him!

[pinkbutterfly]

My current T is a Christian, at a Christian counseling center. I have been wanting a Christian counselor, as I am a Christian. One of my previous Ts was not a Christian, and some of her advice was very very opposite my beliefs - actually, probably not something a T should EVER say to a client (about me needing sexual experience with more men before settling on someone).

Anyway, current T is great. It was difficult at first because I have been hurt by so many Christians and people in leadership at churches throughout my life, but it's also helped. She typically begins and ends each session with prayer - but I was having a difficult time with it. I was able to assert myself and ask her not to pray. Since then, she started doing so a couple of times and then stopped herself. I think it's habit for her.

Anyway, I do like that we have a similar foundation, and that she can help me think about my values and beliefs. One of the big things we have been working on is me learning to view myself as God views me. This is SUPER important in my healing process because I have so much self-hate. I can see value in others so clearly, but it's hard to see it in myself.

Anyway, I am also studying to be T myself. I attend a Christian University where there are classes on psychology and spirituality/theology. They try to help us learn to incorporate it, but then to also be sensitive to those who may not share our faith. We are instructed (as it SHOULD be) to only incorporate faith if the client desires it. And quoting scripture and telling them to pray more or go to church is NOT therapeutic. Adding in appropriate scripture as it fits in for a client who WANTS it can be if it's done sensitively.

Anyway, this is a great discussion. Thanks for starting it.

[SeekerOfLife]

I like this discussion. A while back I got up the nerve to ask my T. about her religious background. She said she was raised with no religion, but at some point in her life she chose to be a christian. She does not offer to discuss or bring up her beliefs, but I would like to open this subject with her. I feel like a wandering disciple. I think it would help me to reconnect with myself better.

[Outcast_of_RGaol]

I wish that I could find a Christian MH professional as my faith is very important to me. But then again, I'd want their theology to be pretty similar to my own. But I'd want someone with a doctorate degree... so I'd prefer a psychologist.
I've been to a few Christian MH peeps but I didn't fit well with their ways of dealing with philosophical and medical/psychological issues.
(Sorry if that sounds confusing, I didn't get much sleep last night... I guess I could say "If it's not one thing; it's another." when it comes to choosing the right MH people for me.)

The fella I've seen the most lately is an agnostic, humanist and he's been the best at helping make progress so far.
So I figure that "a bird in hand..."