On Being a Spiritually-Tuned-In Therapist

What does it mean to be a spiritual being? And what does it look like for therapists to be spiritually "tuned-in"?

At Bristlecone Therapy, we believe humans are relational, embodied creatures--and as we’ve explored in recent blog posts, these two themes fundamentally shape the way we approach healing in therapy. We furthermore believe humans are more than just intelligent mammals or high-functioning machines. We are also spiritual beings.

So what does this mean? It means that we are more than synapses that fire in our brains or the hormones that course through our bodies. We are imaginative, meaning-making creatures with an innate sense of being part of something beyond us. Maybe you notice this metaphysical reality in the way a small child's eyes light up as she discovers the taste of ice cream for the first time and immediately demands more. Or maybe you sense it when someone comes close to you and empathizes deeply with the pain you carry. Or maybe you feel part of something much larger than yourself as you gaze into a starry night, aware of your finitude in the face of a vast universe. All these sensory and relational experiences (and many others like them) remind us that we were made to connect with the divine.

Sometimes a place or encounter allows us to glimpse our spiritual nature more readily. St. Gobnait of Ireland called these “thin spaces”—places where invisible realities seem to collide with visible realities in a special way. As spiritually-tuned-in therapists, we hope to foster such “thin spaces” in therapy, where the veil between what is seen and unseen is less binding. We seek to create spaces where imagination can usher in new connections with ourselves and others.

Needless to say, we don’t try to keep away from matters of spirituality in our practice of psychotherapy. In fact we aren’t even sure this is possible, as the transcendent and the mundane are ever colliding in our world. Instead, we hold space for our clients to express and explore their spiritual practices and beliefs as a true and vital part of their personhood and intimate relationships. We welcome all clients and hold a posture of curiosity and hospitality toward them as they explore the ways they make meaning of the world and their place in it.

Of final note, as practitioners who are also followers of Jesus, our faith shapes the way we hold space for our clients in therapy. Howso? We sum it up like this: Jesus has another name, “Immanuel,” which means “God With Us.” In honor of Immanuel, we seek to create therapeutic spaces where our clients might be able to experience a presence of divine “with-ness” as they explore the heartache, longing, adversity and resiliency of their stories.