{"id":1646,"date":"2019-04-15T19:54:13","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T19:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/?p=1646"},"modified":"2019-04-15T19:54:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T19:54:15","slug":"the-atheist-in-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/2019\/04\/15\/the-atheist-in-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atheist in Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a guest post by Dr. Jon-Patrik Pedersen. Dr. Pedersen is a clinical psychologist in California and a member of the Secular Therapy Project. Learn more about Dr. Pedersen at <\/em>his website<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In seven states, laws exist to ban nonbelievers from holding public office, even though the Supreme Court deemed this unconstitutional in 1961.\u00a0 In a 2009 Newsweek<\/em> poll, 26% of responders reported that atheists are \u201dinherently immoral.\u201d\u00a0 In a 2006 University of Michigan study, Americans rated atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians, and other minority groups in \u201csharing their vision of American society.\u201d Atheists were also the minority group that \u201cmost Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry.\u201d\u00a0 This study observed that \u201catheists \u2026 offer a glaring exception to the rule of increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years.\u201d\u00a0 Currently, TheFreeDictionary.com <\/em>gives these synonyms for atheist:\u00a0 nonbelieving, sceptic, disbelieving, faithless, heathen, infidel, godless, irreligious, unbelieving, freethinking, paganistic, and that pesky nullifidian.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In psychology\u2019s mission to best serve\ndiverse populations by incorporating multicultural education and research,\nthose who identify themselves as atheist or agnostic have received little\nattention.  While in the last decade passionate and sometimes strident\nnonbelievers have become more visible in the media, cultural attitudes toward\natheists have remained quite negative, as can be seen in the statistics\nabove.  Likely because of this, the clinical dynamics regarding atheists\nas clients have been overlooked, if not disregarded.  Whereas a client\u2019s\nreligious beliefs were generally excluded from treatment, or were interpreted\nas regressive, during modern psychotherapy\u2019s birth in Europe, a client\u2019s\nspirituality or religious beliefs (as well as those of the psychotherapist) are\nnow generally considered an\nimportant part of treatment<\/a>. Thus, ironically, the tables have turned\nto a significant degree. It is now the case that most psychotherapists would not\nwant to be identified as atheist, many for fear of losing potential clients and\nreferrals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term atheist (Greek for without\ndeity<\/em>) can simply mean that one does not believe a god or gods exist. \nThis position is referred to as weak <\/em>atheism.  Some atheists go\nfurther and assert that no god can<\/em> exist, which is referred to as strong<\/em>\natheism.  Either way, the term atheisthas taken on such a pejorative meaning that many atheists choose to\nrefer to themselves as agnostic (\u201cI don\u2019t\nknow <\/em>if a god or gods exist\u201d),\nsecular, or nonreligious.  In the U.S., these groups together were\nestimated to be approximately 9% of the population only a decade ago, but new\ndata shows this to be the largest growing demographic group in the US. Recent\nwork even shows that as\nmany people identify as non-religious<\/a> as now do Catholic or Evangelical\nChristian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this does not mean that all\natheists have disowned the idea of spirituality for themselves.  As states\nAndre Comte-Sponville (The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, <\/em>2006): \n\u201cPeople can do without religion\u2026but they cannot do without communion, fidelity\nand love.  Nor can they do without spirituality.\u201d   The renowned\nbiologist Ursula Goodenough writes of her experience of Mystery in The\nSacred Depths of Nature <\/em>(1998), and psychologist Kirk J. Schneider\ndescribes his understanding of spirituality in his Existential work, Rediscovery\nof Awe (2004)<\/em>, to name just a few who write on this\ntopic.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some atheists share aspects of\nwhat can be called spirituality, it is important to note, as Jennifer Hecht\nobserves in Doubt: A History<\/em> (2004),\nthat atheists share no common bonds other than their non-theistic stance.  Not only do they run the gamut of political\nallegiances, they belong to groups as diverse as Humanism, Naturalism,\nExistentialism, Objectivism, Buddhism, Communism, and many others.  Currently in the news, the group The Sunday\nAssembly has arisen, with \u201ccongregations\u201d in Europe, New York City, and Los\nAngeles, to provide a community experience described as \u201cchurch without\nGod.\u201d  Their Public Charter states they are \u201cradically inclusive\u201d and that\nthey have \u201cno doctrine. We have no set texts so we can make use of wisdom from\nall sources.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People come to an atheistic\nperspective by various paths that can be generally grouped into three categories: \nPhilosophical, Scientific, and Reactive.   The Philosophical Path is\ncomprised of those seeking to understand the meaning and value of\nexistence.  The Scientific Path is informed by a specific way of\nunderstanding the natural world, and it is interesting to note here that a\ntotal of 93% of those responding to a 1998 survey of the National Academy of\nSciences represented themselves as either having a \u201cpersonal disbelief in a god\nor gods\u201d (72.2%) or as Doubtful or Agnostic (20.8%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reactive path, which is comprised\nof those who have felt traumatized by a religious organization or\nrepresentative, is particularly relevant to psychotherapy.  When considering treatment, these prospective\nclients are often quite concerned and sometimes vigilant about the possible\nreligious orientation of their psychotherapist. \nIn response to how real and prevalent this situation is, psychologist Dr.\nDarrel Ray developed The Secular Psychotherapist Project (seculartherapy.org),\na national registry dedicated to providing \u201ca psychotherapist that will use\nproven, state-of-the-art therapeutic methods that do not involve supernatural\nor religious elements.\u201d  Currently, 385\npsychotherapists are available and over 14,000 prospective clients have signed\nup. Obviously, this shows demands far outpacing supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that some\npeople requiring a non-religious psychotherapist do not identify themselves as\natheist but are still recovering from abuse in a religious context.  Having specialized in treating this\npopulation, psychologist Dr. Marlene Winell has proposed the diagnosis\nReligious Trauma Syndrome, which is modeled on PTSD (journeyfree.org\/rts\/<\/a>).   She states, \u201c\u2026religious indoctrination can\nbe hugely damaging, and making the break from an authoritarian kind of religion\ncan definitely be traumatic.  It involves a complete upheaval of a\nperson\u2019s construction of reality, including the self, other people, life, the\nfuture, everything.  People unfamiliar with it, including therapists, have\ntrouble appreciating the sheer terror it can create and the recovery needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many who do identify as atheist,\nthe process of public disclosure, \u201ccoming out,\u201d can be a difficult experience\nthat may be brought to therapy.  In her\nlauded Off-Broadway \u201cmonologue,\u201d Letting\nGo of God<\/em>, comedian and writer Julia Sweeney uses humor to describe her\nexperience of sharing her \u201cnaturalist\u201d perspective with her devoted Catholic\nparents:  \u201cLast night your father even\nsaid he wished you\u2019d announced you were gay!\u2014at least that\u2019s socially\nacceptable.\u201d  More seriously, most\natheists speak of the difficult reception they receive when sharing their views\nwith others, which can range from discomfort to avoidance\u2014all of which can\ntrigger feelings of shame, discouragement, and anger (Sweeney also comments\nmore soberly that her parents initially stated that they would no longer speak\nwith her.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because atheists and questioning\nclients can be vigilant about any sign of religious belief in their\npsychotherapist, the question of how much personal information psychotherapists\nshould disclose becomes germane. Regardless of one\u2019s opinion here, increased\nawareness of the sensitivities of a particular population can only help serve\nthe client. To wit, one might consider the possible effect of  wearing a cross pendant,  or displaying a sculpture of the Buddha in\nyour waiting room, or having the Quran on a bookshelf. Likewise with using\nphrases such as, \u201cEverything happens for a reason,\u201d and \u201cShe is in a better\nplace now.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We as psychotherapists must also be\nas aware as possible of our biases and how much of the predominant values of\nour culture we carry with us.  Since\nthese are decidedly critical of non-believers, and pervasive, it is necessary\nthat we reflect on how an atheist client might affect us.  Are we uncomfortable or perplexed about how\nto respond, or invested in leading this person to a more spiritual experience\nof life?  Or might we associate atheism\nwith cynicism, amorality, hopelessness, or arrogance?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of life situations and instances\nof severe or chronic suffering are times when it can be particularly difficult\nnot to introduce our beliefs into treatment. \nAs professionals devoted to reducing suffering, and simply as fellow\nhumans who want to provide comfort, how do we address these most profound times\nwhile respecting our clients\u2019 own value systems and wishes?  As much as we might believe that death is not\nthe end, how do we honor a client who believes it is, and wants to face this finality\nexistentially.  These are not easy\nquestions or easy times, and it is facile to think there is one answer to\naddress all situations, but for atheist clients, what not<\/em> to do is clear.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned earlier, the segment of\nthe population who identifies as non-religious has grown immensely in the past\ntwo decades, which means that more and more people with this view on religion\nwill be seen in various mental health contexts. \nAnd while the number who explicitly identify as \u201catheist\u201d may be small, considering\nthat many non-believers avoid the term atheist and others are reconsidering\ntheir beliefs, it is inevitable that we will be greeting atheist clients in our\nwaiting rooms more and more.  It is my\nhope that the information presented in this post can help make that interaction\nmore informed, more conscious, and more beneficial.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post by Dr. Jon-Patrik Pedersen. Dr. Pedersen is a clinical psychologist in California and a member…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":1647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[632,100,29,12,86,402],"tags":[221,30,33],"class_list":["post-1646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-health","category-mental-health","category-psychology","category-religion","category-secularism-2","tag-atheist","tag-mental-health-2","tag-psychotherapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/gps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}