Psychotherapy for Evangelical and Fundamentalist Protestants.

Abstract

Protestant church members now comprise 51.3% of the adult population in the United States, with 26.3% of them being Evangelical Protestants. In recent years, there has been an increase in the proportion of Protestants who identify with the large Evangelical denominations but a significant decline in the large mainline Protestant denominations (Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2008). As a result of these shifting demographics, Evangelical Christians now comprise a potentially substantial market for psychologists, but one that they have traditionally been undertrained to serve. This chapter will provide information that is designed to equip psychologists to provide clinical services to this population. PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR EVANGELICAL AND FUNDAMENTALIST PROTESTANTS NANCY STIEHLER THURSTON AND WINSTON SEEGOBINFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Psychotherapy with religious and spiritual clients: an introduction

“…During the same period of the 1980s, many theologically conservative clients became more assertive in seeking explicitly religious psychotherapists who tailored their approach to a specific religion (Miller & Lovinger, 2000;Thurston, 2000;Wylie, 2000). For example, the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) contains more than 50,000 counselors, primarily master's-level therapists.…”

“…Many religious clients never talk about their religion in psychotherapy unless religion is their focal concern or heavily related to their presenting problem. On the other hand, many religious clients, especially those with more theologically conservative beliefs (Thurston, 2000), have sought and even demanded, therapy tailored to include religious concepts (e.g., sin, soul, karma, dharma, five pillars of Islam, salvation, reincarnation, the laws of Moses), themes (e.g., grace, forgiveness), and even practices (e.g., prayer or use of scripture). Overall, clients who fit into this category are seeking a psychotherapy approach tailored specifically to their beliefs and values.…”

“…The highly religious client may take affront, interpret this as an evasive response, and assume that the therapist does not share the client's religious values. Even if the therapist makes accepting and tolerant statements after that, the client might not be mollified and might nevertheless terminate or resist the therapist's influence (Thurston, 2000).…”

Fundamentalist Protestant Christian Women: Recognizing Cultural and Gender Influences on Domestic Violence

“…Pagelow (1981) described traditional ideology as a group of internalized beliefs that favor a patriarchal and hierarchical social order. Fundamentalist Protestant Christians are a more conservative subset of evangelical Christians, who have their roots in the Anabaptist tradi-tion in the United States (Thurston, 2000). Fundamentalist Protestant Christians have a well-defined traditional ideology that has been criticized for beliefs and practices that maintain and redorce the oppression of women by violent spouses.…”

Abused Conservative Christian Wives: Treatment Considerations for Practitioners

“…As a group, Conservative Protestants tend to prefer counselors with similar religious beliefs or avoid secular therapy altogether. Informed, in part, by a separate worldview, Conservative Protestants may view counseling as a sign of limited faith in God or divine intervention (Thurston, 2000). Some Conservative Protestants fear that practitioners will misunderstand or disparage their religious beliefs or insist that they renounce them for secular values (Thurston, 2000).…”