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THE THERAPIST WHO IS PERCEIVED AS “SPIRITUALLY CORRECT”: STRATEGIES FOR AVOIDING COLLUSION WITH THE “SPIRITUALLY ONE‐UP” SPOUSE
Author(s) -
Rotz Ed,
Russell Candyce S.,
Wright David W.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1993.tb00999.x
Subject(s) - spouse , face (sociological concept) , psychology , psychotherapist , collusion , social psychology , marital therapy , spirituality , medicine , sociology , law , alternative medicine , business , political science , pathology , industrial organization , social science
Marital and family therapists who are perceived by the community as having a strong spiritual orientation face unique and difficult challenges. Clients who seek their help often bring a mix of expectations that can create a situation in which the therapist may struggle with multiple roles, some not of his or her choosing. These expectations are especially challenging when one spouse views him‐or herself as “spiritually one‐up” and wants the therapist to form a spiritually based coalition against the other partner. This paper describes the various dilemmas that therapists may face when clients perceive them as having spiritual expertise and presents strategies that can be used for avoiding these dilemmas. A case study illustrates the use of these approaches.