Both sides of the coin: counsellors’ stories of the influence of a fundamentalist religious upbringing on mental health and wellbeing in adulthood

This study explored seven counsellors’ experiences of the influence of a fundamentalist religious upbringing on mental health and wellbeing in adulthood. The primary aims were to facilitate volunteer co-researchers in the telling of their own and/or their clients’ anonymised stories of growing up within Fundamentalist Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, to psycho-educate professionals and add to the sparse literature on what is often a hidden topic. The research questions were ‘Might a fundamentalist religious upbringing be influential on mental health and wellbeing in adulthood? What are counsellors’ experiences?’
The methodology combined relational-centred reflexivity with the collaborative narrative approach (Arvay, 2003; Etherington, 2004; Finlay & Evans, 2009), with co-researchers being fully involved in a seven-stage process. Stories were collected via unstructured interviews, with a separate reflexive analysis process leading to interpretative interviews, which then produced summative ‘pen portraits’ for each co-researcher.
The advantages and disadvantages of a strict religious childhood were identified in the findings. Benefits include learning about religious matters from a young age, foundational beliefs and values, and a sense of belonging obtained within a religious community, enabling resilience. Conversely, physical and mental health challenges in adulthood were linked to the familial environmental dynamics of a ‘them and us’ culture, feeling different, imposed ‘all-or-nothing’ rules, and authoritarian parental fearmongering through indoctrination.
The outcomes demonstrated the importance of being heard and understood when stories about the influence of a fundamentalist religious upbringing on mental health and wellbeing in adulthood are shared. Psycho-education of counsellors and psychotherapists, and other caring professionals in related occupations, is regarded as crucial. The original contribution to knowledge from this UK-based study is that counsellors’ stories have revealed that there can be beneficial and detrimental aspects of a fundamentalist religious upbringing that can positively or negatively influence mental health and wellbeing in adulthood. The power of such stories being heard and validated by an understanding professional is evident.

This thesis has been published as a book: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032201393