Approach · spiritually integrated therapy
Spiritually integrated therapy
While solving problems is valuable, it is not the end goal. My work with you is designed to help you find more peace, joy, purpose and fulfillment in your relationship to life, self, other and God. People have many names for God, and I honor and respect your own framework. Spiritually integrated therapy simply means that your spiritual life, whatever it is, is welcome in the room rather than left at the door.
Telehealth only, by secure video or audio, for people physically located in California. Laurie, LMFT.
What this looks like with me
People have many names for God based on their spiritual or religious beliefs: Source Creator, Christ, Light, Brahman, Vishnu, Shiva, Higher Power, Goddess and more. Some people have no such name at all. In our work, the words we use will be your words. If your faith is central to your life, we can draw on it as a source of strength, meaning and guidance. If you are secular, atheist or agnostic, you are just as welcome, and nothing spiritual will be brought in that you did not ask for.
This is spiritually integrated psychotherapy, which is a recognized way of practicing within my license. It is not spiritual reading and it is not psychic work. It is therapy, grounded in the same clinical training and methods I use with everyone, with room for the questions of meaning, purpose, faith and mortality that therapy sometimes leaves out.
Spiritual questions often arrive with grief, illness and major change. Why did this happen? Where is the person I lost? What is my life for now? Some people find their faith deepened by hard times, and some find it shaken or lost. Both experiences deserve respect, and both can be explored honestly here.
I hold practices and wisdom from both East and West, and my own foundation includes Biblical teachings of love and endurance, kindness, forgiveness and a focus on the Creator. I was a daily meditator for decades. I share this not to steer you anywhere, but so you know that spiritual life is something I understand from the inside, and that yours will be treated with care.
Offered, never imposed, and always yours to shape.
Relieving the problem is where we begin, not where we are headed.
Where spirituality and therapy meet
Faith and grief
Loss can deepen faith or shake it to its foundations. We make room for prayer, doubt, anger at God, longing for connection with the person who died, and whatever your tradition offers you.
Meaning and purpose
Questions about what your life is for often surface at transitions, milestones and losses. We explore them as real questions, not symptoms to be managed.
Christian faith in therapy
If you are Christian and want your faith to be part of the work, it can be. Biblical teachings of love, forgiveness and endurance can be a genuine resource in healing.
Many paths
Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Indigenous, nature-based, contemplative or eclectic. However you practice, or do not, your framework is honored and respected.
When religion has hurt
For some people, religious experiences have been a source of pain. We go at your pace, use your language, and never bring in anything you did not invite.
How we would work
We start with a free 20-minute consult by phone, text or video. You can tell me what you are hoping for, including how much or how little you want spirituality to be part of the work, and I will tell you honestly whether I think we are a fit. There is no pressure in that call and no obligation afterward.
If we go ahead, sessions are by secure video or audio anywhere in California. Spiritually integrated therapy is not a separate technique. It is a way of holding the whole person, and it combines naturally with the other approaches I use: Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, somatic work, expressive arts, EMDR, and my own Positive Re-Narrative and Repatterning. If prayer, meditation, scripture or ritual are meaningful to you, they can become resources in the work, at your invitation.
- Faith questions during grief, illness or change
- Meaning, purpose and existential concerns
- Christian, Jewish, Eastern and other traditions honored
- Spiritual practices as resources for healing
- Doubt, loss of faith, or changes in belief
- Healing from painful religious experiences
- Secular clients equally welcome
Questions people ask about spirituality in therapy
- Do I have to be religious or spiritual to work with you?
- No. Secular, atheist and agnostic clients are just as welcome, and nothing spiritual will be brought into the work unless you ask for it. For many people the spiritual dimension simply shows up as questions of meaning and values, and we can explore those in whatever language suits you.
- Will you try to change my beliefs?
- No. It is offered, never imposed, and it is always yours to shape. I have genuine respect for people from a wide and diverse set of lifestyles, practices and beliefs. As long as your intention is benevolent, I can honor your life in the way you wish to construct it.
- Is this the same as spiritual direction or a reading?
- No. Spiritual direction is usually offered within a religious tradition, and readings or intuitive work are something different again. This is licensed psychotherapy. It addresses grief, anxiety, trauma, relationships and everything else therapy addresses, while welcoming your spiritual life as part of who you are.
- Can I bring my faith into therapy for grief?
- Yes. For many grieving people, faith is central: a source of comfort, a place of struggle, or both. We can explore what your tradition teaches about death and continuing bonds, what you are feeling toward God or the universe, and how your beliefs can support you now.
Your whole self is welcome
If you have been looking for a therapist who will make room for your faith, your questions or your sense of the sacred, please reach out. Text or email and we will find a time to talk. Telehealth only, by secure video or audio, for people physically located in California. Laurie, LMFT.