‘A soul wound’: Exploring the therapeutic practices of Christian psychological therapists addressing religious or spiritual abuse that occurs within a Christian religious setting

This research explored the therapeutic style and practices of Christian-identifying psychological therapists, working with clients who have experienced spiritual abuse [SA] from within a Christian setting. Religion and spirituality are often central in people’s lives and can be a source of support as well as associated with shame and struggle. However, religion and spirituality are often left unaddressed by psychological therapists, unsure how to accommodate this aspect of clients’ experiences into their therapeutic practice. Whilst religion and spirituality have been discussed at length in the counselling and psychotherapy literature, minimal empirical work documents the nuances of working therapeutically with SA. There is a lack of research literature pertaining to how therapists work with clients who have experienced struggle and toxicity within the same community of faith that they, the therapist, identify with. Therefore, I conducted nine semi-structured interviews with accredited Christian-identifying therapists exploring the manner in which they therapeutically address SA, using a full, social-constructivist version of grounded theory. Three major categories emerged in the data reflecting the core processes that the participants were engaging with as they worked with SA; positioning self alongside the client, holding tensions and boundaries, and orienting towards hope and healing. These core processes are arguably universal within therapeutic practice and therefore the conclusions drawn apply to clients and therapists without faith. However, this research has particular relevance for an aspect of therapeutic practice where minimal empirical research exists. What emerged strongly in the data was the extent to which the therapists’ own experience of faith impacted their capacity to both recognise SA and manage it therapeutically. This research has relevance for practitioners wanting to integrate working with the more challenging aspects of religion and spirituality, which perhaps has particular relevance at a time when SA is entering the wider discourse. Following a full analysis and discussion of the results, I offer recommendations for practice and outline the intended contribution of this research.