Faith & Spirituality as Strengths in Therapy
spirituality is an essential element of being human that can bring beauty to our lives and animate us in powerful ways. -Gillian Gonda, The Fetzer Institute.
In my years of teaching and practicing social work I have developed a set of rules to teach and guide myself and my students in our jobs as helpers. Rule #19 (of 25) says, “All people are spiritual, some choose to be religious.” In social work we believe that people have 5 dimensions to their personality, one of which is the spiritual dimension (others are physical, emotional, cognitive, & social). So, everyone has a spiritual part of themselves that they can develop and nurture. Social Work Educator Ed Canda defines spirituality as the “individual feelings, aspirations & needs which are concerned w/ humanity’s effort to find a purpose & meaning in life experiences”. Spirituality includes our search to be better, to be more than we are. Faith is very similar; it is putting our trust in something bigger than ourselves that can guide us and give our lives purpose and meaning.
For many of us in western Kentucky we were brought up or at least exposed to a form of Christianity that has influenced how we look at the world and try to live our lives. And for many of us our faith is a strength to us and can be something we can lean on in troubled times and when we are healing from various mental and emotional wounds that can happen in any of our lives. Our faith can be a foundation of strength for us if we nurture that faith and practice our spiritual disciplines. James Fowler studied the development of faith in Americans and found that most people needed to decide whether to make the faith they had been raised in by their family their own faith or chose a different religion or way of expressing their personal spirituality in order for that faith to be their faith and a strength for them throughout their lives.
In therapy we want people to utilize all the supports they have to help them to grow and change. For many people faith or spirituality can be one of those supports. But for some their spiritual history has not been a strength and for those we want to help them heal from that trauma. But for the majority of people who come for counseling their spiritual history holds some good memories and helpful beliefs about themselves and the world that we want to encourage them to utilize as they grow into more healthy and happy individuals and families.
Our faith and spirituality give our lives purpose and meaning and guides us as we strive to become better people: more loving and compassionate and helpful to others.
Our faith and spirituality give our lives purpose and meaning and guides us as we strive to become better people: more loving and compassionate and helpful to others. It should be a part of your work with your counselor and coach. And at Compass Counseling we want to help you find ways to use all of your strengths and supports to accomplish your goals.
Grace & Peace,
Jeff Wylie, MDiv, LCSW
Therapist, Compass Counseling of Paducah
Sources:
Canda, Edward R. & Furman, Leola Dyrud. (1999). Spiritual diversity in social work practice: The heart of helping. New York: The Free Press.
Fowler, James. (1981). Stages of Faith: The psychology of human development and the quest for meaning. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
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