Making Space for Spirituality in Therapy
Integrative therapy is about making room for the full complexity of human experience, not just our cognitive and behavioural health, but also meaning, identity, and the deeper questions people carry.
As a Registered Counselling Therapist, I often come back to Jungian depth psychology, which explored these questions of the soul. I also return to the roots of the word psychology, from the Greek psyche (soul) and logos (study). At its origins, psychology was the study of the soul. Over time, modern Western psychology has narrowed its focus toward thoughts, emotions, and behaviour, which has brought important advances to the field. Yet spirituality and the sacred are often treated as outside the scope of psychotherapy, even though it is officially within the scope of psychotherapy and spirituaity is indeed a part of many people’s lived experiences. The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) recognizes this, stating that “the therapeutic process applies recognized cognitive, affective, expressive, somatic, spiritual, developmental, behavioural, learning and systemic principles to facilitate human change.”
Alongside my license and Master’s in Counselling Psychology from McGill University and ongoing professional development, I have received training in spiritually-informed psychotherapy through the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute in New York. This approach is not about providing spiritual guidance or promoting any particular belief system. It is a clinical framework that recognizes spirituality, the sacred, and the search for meaning as important parts of psychological life.
Spirituality is often confused with religion, but the two are not the same. Spirituality is the human experience of connection, meaning, purpose, and belonging. It includes moments of awe, wonder, gratitude, or feeling connected to something larger than ourselves. Religion is one path through which people can cultivate spirituality, offering beliefs, rituals, traditions, and community. Others experience spirituality outside of organized religion through nature, relationships, creativity, meditation, or other meaningful practices.
As someone who values both research and lived experience, I appreciate that the evidence reflects this reality. Making space for spirituality is important in psychotherapy because 1) People often turn toward spirituality during grief, trauma, illness, major life transitions, 2) it’s been found that spirituality becomes increasingly important when people face questions around aging and mortality. 3) Research has linked spirituality with resilience, hope, meaning-making, and psychological well-being, 4) and lastly, spirituality can also contribute to shame, exclusion, trauma, or distress. Like family, culture, or identity, spirituality can be both a source of healing and a source of suffering.
For that reason, spirituality cannot simply be separated from psychotherapy. Whether it offers comfort or causes pain, it shapes how many people understand themselves, cope with adversity, and make meaning of their lives. Ignoring it does not make it disappear. It simply leaves an important part of someone’s experience unexplored.
