title: The use of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: enablers and barriers.
abstract: The use of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy has been a contentious issue for decades. This paper explores and describes whether psychologists would use religion and spirituality in psychotherapy as well as enablers and barriers in this regard. A qualitative exploratory descriptive method was followed using purposive sampling to obtain a sample of clinical and counselling psychologists. The focus group strategy was used to collect the data, and Tesch's model of content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative findings. Most participants expressed a willingness to discuss religion and spirituality with their clients. Participants also highlighted specific enablers and barriers to incorporating religion and spirituality in psychotherapy. This article has the potential to influence professional training in psychology and psychotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P O Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa, Ottilia.Brown@nmmu.ac.za.
authors.forename: Ottilia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Elkonin
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naicker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017144:Focus Groups; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D013019:South Africa; D029181:Spirituality
references.citation: Eur J Public Health. 2006 Oct;16(5):457
references.pmid: 17012297
references.citation: South Med J. 2004 Dec;97(12):1149
references.pmid: 15646745
references.citation: Transcult Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;43(4):634-51
references.pmid: 17166951
references.citation: Gerontologist. 2002 Oct;42 Spec No 3:24-33
references.pmid: 12415130
references.citation: J Relig Health. 2000 Summer;39(2):97-106
references.pmid: 12546012
references.citation: J Clin Psychol. 2007 Sep;63(9):891-902
references.pmid: 17674403
references.citation: J Clin Psychol. 2007 Oct;63(10):903-7
references.pmid: 17828766
references.citation: Hastings Cent Rep. 2000 May-Jun;30(3):40-7
references.pmid: 10862371
references.citation: J Psychother Pract Res. 1997 Spring;6(2):130-8
references.pmid: 9071663
references.citation: J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry. 2009 Spring;37(1):99-110
references.pmid: 19364262