A new study has found that spiritual beliefs are not simply a backdrop to family life but actively shape how families communicate, manage conflict, and cope with crisis. Researchers in Turkey have concluded that therapists who overlook spiritual dimensions risk misreading the very dynamics they are trying to address, particularly in cultures where religion and family identity are deeply intertwined. The findings were published in Spiritual Psychology and Counseling.
The study, conducted by researchers at Fırat University, used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore how 14 practising family therapists experienced spirituality in their clinical work. Participants included both early-career and experienced counsellors who had worked with clients for whom spiritual themes had emerged during therapy sessions. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analysed for recurring patterns of meaning.
Seven main themes emerged from the analysis. Therapists consistently described spirituality as a lens through which clients interpret their relationships, roles, and suffering. Rather than treating it as a private religious matter, participants viewed it as a relational structure that shapes everything from how family members speak to one another to how they respond in the wake of bereavement or divorce.
Practices such as prayer and gratitude were found to support emotional regulation and strengthen family bonds, especially during periods of stress. Forgiveness emerged as a particularly powerful theme, with therapists reporting that when clients began to work through forgiveness within the family system, long-standing emotional disconnections began to ease and healthier relational patterns could take shape.
The research also highlighted a less discussed side of spiritual life in families. In some cases, spiritual authority was used to reinforce rigid hierarchies, suppress individual expression, or impose expectations of self-sacrifice on certain family members, particularly women and younger people. Therapists noted that when patience and surrender to God were interpreted in fatalistic ways, clients sometimes avoided confronting problems altogether, treating passivity as a virtue.
Integrating spirituality into established systemic models was found to be both productive and complex. Within the Bowen framework, therapists linked intergenerational transmission of spiritual beliefs to concepts of emotional differentiation. In Minuchin’s structural approach, spiritual norms were seen as invisible rules governing family roles and boundaries. Satir’s emphasis on self-worth and emotional authenticity was felt to align naturally with spiritual values such as compassion and inner awareness.
Therapists also reported significant professional challenges. Maintaining neutrality while engaging with clients’ spiritual worlds proved difficult, and some found themselves being cast as spiritual leaders rather than psychological practitioners. There were also cases where clients relied so heavily on religious explanations that psychological awareness became harder to access.
The researchers conclude that a spirituality-integrated family therapy model specific to the Turkish context is needed, one that is culturally sensitive, ethically grounded, and inclusive of children’s spiritual development. They argue that therapeutic training must equip practitioners to distinguish between spiritual belief as a resource and spiritual belief as a source of harm.