Background The research presented in this paper aimed to explain how psychotherapists in New Zealand attended to religion and/or spirituality (RS) in the therapeutic process. Thirty‐three in‐depth interviews were conducted with 28 psychotherapists throughout New Zealand, exploring their thoughts about RS in psychotherapy. Method and Methodology Grounded dimensional analysis (a variant of grounded theory), underpinned by symbolic interactionism, was used to collect and analyse data. Findings The study found that participants made decisions about what belonged to psychotherapy regarding RS based on three perspectives; that psychotherapy is secular, that psychotherapy and RS are inextricably connected, and that psychotherapy and RS intersect episodically. Participants’ perspectives influenced their level of engagement of RS material when working with clients. The professional and personal outcomes of this process included expanding practice, maintaining the status quo and being seen to present as “legitimate.” Discussion Deciding what belongs is an iterative process and many participants adjusted their responses when faced with changing contexts and conditions. Implications This study was significant since it found that it was participants, namely the psychotherapists themselves, who actually decided what belonged at all stages of the process of attending to RS in therapeutic engagement.

Since the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, declared religion to be an illusion, deciding what belongs, and therefore what does not belong, in psychotherapy is highly determined by the dominant school of thought in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy and the training institutions. These foundations pose a barrier in the therapeutic encounter when considering the importance of religion and spirituality in the lives of people and the development of pathways to healing for Indigenous Māori. There has been no enquiry into how psychotherapists are working with religion and/or spirituality (RS) within psychotherapy in the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand, which presents as both a knowledge gap and the rationale for further exploration. The relationship between religion, spirituality, psychotherapy and biculturalism has been an uneasy one. This article, from grounded theory research conducted by the first author in Aotearoa New Zealand, delineates the process that psychotherapists engage in when they encounter a therapeutic challenge relating to RS considered beyond the scope of practice. It also discusses indigenous Māori spiritual perspectives and professional responsibilities.