Therapy and faith – including Christianity – are not always blended well in the counseling room. One reason is that the statistics show counseling to be one of the fields with the least professed faith. Second, even when the therapist claims a religious tradition, many counselor training programs don’t include any preparation for integrating psychology and faith in the counseling room.
Therapists Have Little Faith
Statistically speaking, it is true that fewer therapists have faith than most Americans. As I’ve noted in my comments about my counseling services and approach, research shows a persistent gap between the religious beliefs of the general public and mental health clinicians. About 83% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit (Pew Research Center, 2025), and 49% say religion matters to their daily life (Gallup, 2025), down from 66% just a decade ago. By contrast, the most recent large-scale survey of psychologists found only about a third describe their approach to life as religiously grounded (Delaney, Miller & Bisonó, 2007, replicating Bergin & Jensen, 1990), a gap that has remained essentially unchanged for over 30 years.
So, what does this mean to you if you are thinking about starting therapy? Well, research has shown that the outcome of therapy is better when the client’s religious beliefs and practices are incorporated into the therapeutic process. The therapist and client don’t have to see things exactly the same way. But the therapist needs enough understanding of your faith tradition to integrate your faith perspective in the counseling room.
Therapist Training
So, why the disparity in religious faith between clinicians and the rest of America? The reasons are many. But one significant contributing factor is the training process for therapists and counselors. A survey of psychology textbooks found that although religion plays a prominent role in most people’s lives, faith issues have historically been ignored in psychology curricula (Lehr, E., & Spilka, B., 1989).
More recently, some texts have started to mention faith. But religion still isn’t treated as a serious area of psychological research, and negative coverage persists (Wesely, L. P., & Miller-Perrin, C., 2024). Further, a “values-neutral” approach is cultivated throughout the training of many clinicians, teaching them to be hands-off with a value-laden area like religious belief.
And what about those doing the teaching and training? A 2009 study of academics found that half of psychology professors don’t believe in any god, and another 11% identify as agnostic, placing them among the least religious groups in academia (Gross, N., & Simmons, S., 2009).
What Does It Mean?
When you can hold therapy and faith together, treatment tends to work better. So be mindful of three things. First, as noted above, you should be aware of your therapist’s religious orientation and, even more importantly, the counselor’s ability and willingness to integrate your faith perspective into the therapeutic process. Most are not trained to do that. Look for someone who is. This factor will have an impact on the outcome of your therapy.
Second, don’t be afraid as a consumer of psychotherapy services to bring your faith into the counseling room. Doing so will help ensure the best possible outcome for your therapy. If your therapist reacts negatively or you feel that your faith values are discounted, you may need to consider looking for a new therapist.
Third, if you bring your faith values into the room, don’t expect the therapist to share those exact perspectives. The issue is not an exact match in perspective; rather the goal is for the therapist to be able to integrate your faith perspectives into the counseling process.
This piece first appeared here in 2011. I’ve revisited it as part of rebuilding this site, updating the research it references and refreshing the links. The heart of it hasn’t changed.
Photo by h. koppdelaney used under Creative Commons License