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The therapeutic contribution

by
27 March 2012

Anne Holmes reviews studies where religion meets psychology

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American Protestantism in the Age of Psychology
Stephanie Muravchik
Cambridge University Press £55
(978-1-107-01067-3))
Church Times Bookshop £49.50

Faith, Hope, and Therapy: Counseling with St Paul
Roger Grainger
Trafford Publishing £8.43
(978-1-4269-9583-5)
Church Times Bookshop £7.59

EACH of these books belongs to the borderland between Christian faith and practice and the world of psychology and counselling. After the Second World War, the growth of interest in both religion and psychology, especially in the US, led to some concern.

On the one hand, many clergy feared that the burgeoning and availability of psychotherapy and counselling in both professional and amateur contexts would draw people away from traditional sources of healing and redemption. On the other hand, some practi­tioners of psychotherapy, especially at the psychoanalytical end of the spectrum, followed the Freudian perception of religion as a defence against a true understanding of self and other.

Grainger writes from his experi­ence as an ordained clinical coun­selling psychologist. Using case ex­amples, he describes encounters in which clients sought spiritual and psychological help. It was often their idea of God, unexamined since child­hood, or their past experience of Christian communities which had contributed to their emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounds. The therapeutic relationship en­abled interpersonal healing and a wish to continue their truncated spiritual journeys.

Grainger wants to educate Chris­tian communities in the benign nature of the therapeutic relation­ship. He shows how the writings of St Paul offer congruence with such work. He seeks to embrace those who may support pastoral care with counselling skills within their con­gre­gations, but who are fearful of the potential of secular therapies to erode religious faith and practice.

Muravchik writes as a profes­sional scholar drawing on extensive and meticulous research. She seeks to give evidence of a profound mis­understanding within 20th-century American Protestantism, namely, that the therapeutic outlook had undermined religious faith, weakened ethical standards, and enervated social conscience.

By examining the development of Clinical pastoral education (CPE), Alcoholics Anonymous, and the Salvation Army, she demonstrates the opposite. In their different con­texts — the training of pastors, the treatment of alcoholics, and support for homeless men — the blend of psychology and religion has enabled rather than obstructed spiritual growth.

CPE has never taken off in this country — more’s the pity — as it involves the self-examination of clergy in training and the practice of giving verbatim reports of pastoral encounters to supervisors. CPE trains pastors in attentive, non-judgemental listening, thus reducing the likelihood of tactless or even brutal responses that can damage already vulnerable people.

Alcoholics Anonymous and the Salvation Army are well known in this country. A chance encounter with strangers recently reminded me both of the efficacy of AA groups and their spiritual dimen­sion — a lifeline in the management of a serious illness. The work of the Salvation Army is also well re­spected here.

These very different books offer evidence of the complementarity of psychology and religion. There is still fear on both sides of the equation. Faith groups fear secular therapy, and some secular therapists are suspicious of religion. For some people, it is an experience of counselling or psychotherapy which helps them to resolve their human dilemmas. They are then free to respond to their spiritual calling. Far from seducing them away from their faith perspective, their psycho­logical insights act as an internal anchor as they reconnect with their faith communities. I recommend both these books.

The Revd Anne Holmes is Chaplain of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership.

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