The Therapy Room Is Changing: Navigating the Spiritual Shift in Mental Health

Camille McDaniel (01:32)
Welcome back to another episode of Christ in Private Practice. I wanted to talk to you today, and maybe this episode won’t be as long as others, but I wanted to talk to you today about something that I am noticing happening in the field right now.

we’re encountering a lot of different things in the therapy room and in the field of mental health that is spiritual in nature and it’s just, it’s not subtle anymore. You know, it was something that originally wasn’t really talked about much. mean, when, goodness, initially when the whole…

whole mental health field was you know really being created, the psychological field being created, spiritual was not a part of what they talked about. That in some cases, some of the individuals who even had the founding methodologies that we that we still kind of use a little bit today, some of them thought that that was even problematic.

there was something wrong with you if you really kind of integrated the spiritual they just did not see the value in it. So it’s been a long time coming where you now have research about it and you have organizations like the you know American Psychological Association showing the value in spiritual and recognizing that our clients come with spirituality and different varieties of faiths and how that can be beneficial to incorporate it. So

it you know it’s just that we are now kind of talking about it more but it’s still it’s still not very loud you know it’s still kind of in the background a little bit but it’s definitely something that is growing as far as confidence in talking about it. You know clients have a variety of different world views, we already know that.

but it’s becoming more visible and more expressive really. And in many cases, a lot more integrated into people’s identity, even in the way that therapists are working and their understanding of healing, their understanding of decision-making. So it’s not just our clients, it’s therapists too, our colleagues.

are discussing more and more about their spiritual practices and their spiritual beliefs and integrating that into mental health care. We’re seeing a lot of discussions, not again really bold on like social media platforms, not that I’ve noticed. If you all have noticed, please share. I’d like to know what’s going on in these areas and so if you have information, please share it with me but

I have seen in online discussion groups more talks about like tarot cards in therapy or like

angel numbers, energy work, a lot of energy work definitely in manifestation and things like that. So yeah, matter of fact, I even saw a question where somebody was asking a therapist, know, do you integrate the Ouija board into your counseling session? So there’s actually a lot more than, you know,

the the faiths that we may be more aware of or have heard more of. So there’s just a lot. I actually as I am as I’m saying this, I am being reminded of many years ago, gosh over a little over a decade ago where um where somebody

was commenting on something that I had posted in a general group and I think it the fact that I was looking for individuals who might be able to provide Christian counseling may have rubbed them the wrong way and then they kind of proceeded to share with me some some things they knew about the faith and it wasn’t all accurate but I think again they were just operating off of maybe some some pain points that me asking for these

these individuals who could provide Christian counseling must have like triggered and brought up. And they then shared about like, you know, their faith and it was a different spiritual practice. And again, you know, kind of talking about that spiritual practice some more and they were just sharing some things. So as I think about that, that tells me, you know, this has really been on the scene for a long time, but really not talked about.

definitely not as open as I see it talked about today and it’s very real right? You know all spiritual beliefs, spiritual practices, it’s very real. I mean the Bible tells us that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood you know but it’s powers and principalities and spiritual forces in high places. So we know that all around us it’s spiritual whether we see it or not.

it’s there and it’s going, it’s running very, very fast and doing a lot, right? And so, yeah, so I just noticed that there’s kind of a shift and I wonder if you’ve kind of noticed that. So today I just wanted to talk a little bit about awareness surrounding it and discernment, you know.

Because many of us may not be aware, but many of us may actually be thinking, you know, what does it mean to practice as a Christian counselor in a field that is becoming increasingly spiritually diverse? What does that look like? I think that’s a good question. There might be other individuals who are asking and they’re not Christian, but they’re like, you know, what does it mean for me to be practicing in a world where people may be talking more about their Christian faith?

everybody might be asking their own questions, but just for the purpose of this podcast today, I just kind of wanted to talk a little bit about that, that spiritual surge that I noticed happening in mental health spaces. And slowly but surely it’s, know, coming up a bit more bold, a bit more bold.

in online therapist communities and social media discussions and you know we even have continuing education that talks about spirituality and and you know integrating the spiritual into our

our mental health care and that it doesn’t always have to be Christian but there there are more discussions about the spiritual being had. Clients also you know they have their own experiences and beliefs that they are bringing in. I have personally seen therapists openly discussing you know the use of different tools and techniques that are of different spiritual practices

and integrating those into their care. There are other things that happened. I remember still someone telling me about feeling like there was a lot of negative spiritual forces surrounding a visitor to their practice. And in order to combat that, they had then picked up a spiritual tool and they were that

tool was being hidden in their in their counseling room under one of the like chairs or couches. It was out of visibility of their clients and and they were using that as a form of protection. So there so when I say like you know there’s so much spirituality going on all around us you know I’m nobody knew it wasn’t like a part of their informed consent or anything so

here you are coming into counseling and you’re surrounded by all kinds of spiritual things because the person invited them into the room, you know.

So it’s something that is going on and I just kind of feel like we need to normalize the conversation around it and just normalize what do we think we need to do because of that, right? know, and scripture has a lot of answers about what we need to do because of that, right? You know, the other thing too that we don’t think about, not just necessarily in the field of mental health coming from the professional side, but also from our client side.

may bring us up in a lot of spiritual ways. I know we may not even know about it. I was told that I was brought up.

in somebody’s psychic session actually and that was some time ago, I remember a few years back, but they actually told me that they brought me up in their psychic session, know, brought me up to the medium. I wasn’t obviously, I wasn’t there in the session but my name came up and so we don’t even know who is maybe bringing us up in their own spiritual practices.

know so I feel like we should maybe be bringing this up because it’s it’s happening. Had you ever thought about that, that you might actually be brought up by name in someone else’s spiritual practice?

And that is definitely not something we were trained for in graduate school. That is not in the DSM, right? But it is very real. And it does raise some questions, I think, for us as professionals in the field who happen to be Christians. So it’s like, what role do I play when clients actually bring these experiences into session?

one professional that I was talking to was just like, does that actually, do you talk about consent with that? know, should there be some discussion about consent? Did you consent for your name to be brought up in those spiritual sessions or spiritual practices? You know, it’s like, that’s a good question to ask, you know. But really,

even outside of that one of the things that it made me think of is you know the Bible talks about putting the full armor of God on right you know and and that is because he in his infinite wisdom knows all that we cannot see that is going on around us all the time. So it’s like how do you respond when these things come up right you know

And how do you respond when they come up in your actual counseling sessions? Because you don’t want to shut anybody down, but you also want to be able to move forward without compromising what you believe. So it’s like, what is your responsibility, both spiritually and professionally? Because it’s here, it’s in the room. And I think that sometimes becomes a little bit difficult for us to think about all the time.

because we really have been taught to be neutral. We have definitely gotten that if we didn’t get anything else. But I wanna say this, I wanna kind of push against that to say that being neutral is not neutral. Like I don’t even think there’s no such thing as just being neutral. I don’t think there ever really was.

it just felt like we were being neutral because nobody was really talking about the spiritual. But now, you know, now when you have therapists there that are integrating their faith, whether it’s Christianity, whether it’s tarot, whether it’s secular views, angel numbers, I mean, there’s there’s just no absence of a worldview.

in any of our sessions, no matter who we are, no matter what our beliefs, there’s no absence of a worldview. There’s only different worldviews that present themselves in the counseling session. So you know when we say

I’m neutral. You know, what we might actually be doing instead is avoiding clarity, avoiding defining ourselves, maybe avoiding responsibility for the lens that we actually bring into the room. And in today’s environment, I don’t know, that lack of clarity can actually create a lot of confusion. I don’t think it creates.

I don’t think it allows us to just stand neutral like we may want to because clients sometimes do have questions of a spiritual nature. Many clients may actually be very open with their spirituality. Sometimes clients are spiritually vulnerable because of their experiences. And so if we are unclear about where we stand, then we actually risk

a couple of things, one of which is softening our discernment or muting it all together.

we risk like you know just cosigning on things without even understanding what we are going along with and agreeing with things that we don’t even really fully understand what we’re agreeing with. Staying silent when you know clarity is actually needed is something else. So again if being neutral was truly neutral

then what does that mean for how we actually practice? Because we we see a ton of examples in our everyday dealings that shows that your worldview shows up. So what does it really look like to be neutral? What does it look like to to have no worldview? That’s just a question you know that I want to throw out there and everybody can kind of

think about what they feel about that. And again, I’m all for like, you know, discussion. So let me know. Let me know what your thoughts are. It’s important for us to really be thinking about, I think this idea that even if you don’t want to bring it up, as far as faith and as far as spirituality, it is happening all around you, whether you want it to or not.

So we want to maybe take a look at how do we address it. So I guess what does this all mean for us as counselors, as professionals who happen to be Christians? I think that it means you need to know where you stand. It doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t mean that we, you know,

get worried about it, get concerned about it. And I think it just means that you have to know where you stand, that really you can’t be vague. This is not about it being private or just in my heart. You have to really be able to be clear, because we’re in a time where spiritual boundaries actually matter. Discernment, having discernment absolutely matters. And being spiritually prepared.

matters. This is where, like I was talking about putting the full armor of God on, that’s from the book of Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 11 and he tells us to put this full armor on because then we can withstand against darkness and that’s an instruction, that’s like a direct instruction that while there’s so many different things going on spiritually

we need to make sure that as we move forward in our profession and in our personal lives that we are actually armored up because there’s so many things going on around us all the time that we can’t even see. And so if we are stepping into spaces, into therapeutic spaces where there are multiple beliefs that are active that might be flowing in and out of your room,

multiple practices that are going on, some you’re aware of, some you’re not. Clients might be engaging in different types of spiritual practices and inviting spiritual influences. Sometimes your colleagues are as well, you are as well as a Christian. We need to just be aware. We need to be aware, we need to be clear because whether you acknowledge it or not,

this is all going to influence how you respond, how you interpret what’s going on in your counseling sessions and outside of your counseling sessions and and how this helps you to guide yourself moving forward and guide others as you move forward. So I want to

I want to give some, all of us, everyone listening, I want to just kind of throw out some questions for your consideration. I want to leave you with a few things to just sit with and see what comes up for you as you consider these questions. So first, I want you to ask yourself, where do I actually stand spiritually when it comes to being a mental health professional and how I align what I do?

with my faith. Another question, am I clear about what I believe or am I avoiding clarity because I’m afraid of being canceled? Another one, have I mistaken silence for being neutral? So as in you feel like if you if you just don’t talk about it then that’s you being neutral.

Am I operating in discernment or is my discernment muted? Am I prepared for the kinds of spiritual dynamics that are now entering the therapy room today? And am I grounded enough to engage in my profession without being influenced by my profession? So

These are some important ones because we are, we are definitely called to serve. We are definitely called to use our gifts and talents, but we are also called to stand firm in our faith. Right? So think about some of those, see what comes up for you. It’s just about being awake. You know, the therapy room is changing and

and the spiritual forces that are coming in and out of the therapy room, it’s changing, ever changing. So just like the world is, right? And so you can, you have a choice, because you can actually decide to stand firm or you can go with the flow of the change.

If this episode gave you something to think about, I would love for you to share it with another clinician who may also be noticing a similar shift. if you’re navigating these questions around faith or practice and discernment in work, then you’re not alone.

and I do not think that it is by coincidence that you are hearing this podcast episode. This is exactly why Christ in Private Practice exists. So please share it, like and thank you so much for listening. Until we meet again, God bless.