The 45-year-old public relations consultant had become obsessed with work, driving herself to toil long hours at the expense of her social life—all to make everyone else happy. But Herrod herself was miserable. Her family had recently relocated to Boston from the West Palm Beach area, where Herrod remained; she felt lonely and isolated. She was exhausted and rundown. "No matter how hard I worked, nothing ever seemed good enough," Herrod recalls.
Until she started seeing Laverna Cullom, a social worker who delivers therapy with a Christian frame of reference, openly discussing God and the Bible. "I wanted to see someone who would understand that I believe in the power of prayer and that I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in me," Herrod explains. "And who wouldn't think I was crazy or insane if I told her so."
Not only could Cullom understand Herrod's worldview, she also provided scriptural guidance. She showed Herrod how misreading the Bible may have led to her unhappiness. Where Herrod had sought to "turn the other cheek," Cullom counseled that "Jesus was no pushover." Now, after two years of weekly sessions, Herrod is amazed by the new balance in her life and by how much happier she is. "I'm excited about the future now," she says.
Like Herrod, Americans are flocking to counseling that incorporates a spiritual or religious element. Faith-based therapies—from pastoral counseling to ecumenical Christian counseling to fundamentalist Bible-based treatment—have surged in popularity. The American Association of Christian Counselors has grown from 15,000 members in 1999 to 50,000 today. Specialized services are also thriving: It is becoming increasingly easy to find Christian-based eating disorder treatment centers or Christian life coaches.
Faith-based counselors vary in amount of religious training and psychological expertise. They differ in how much religion they incorporate into their practices and in the populations they serve. Some aim to holistically integrate mind, body and spirit for people of all faiths. Others seek to apply Scripture rather than social science to the resolution of human problems. But all of them, and especially the burgeoning evangelicals, reflect a growing divide in America. According to Harold Koenig, co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, "They're turning away from mainstream cultural institutions to create their own therapeutic solutions to the stresses of modern living."
America has always accommodated a push and pull of secular and religious impulses. It may be that the rise in Christian counseling is "a way for religion to regain the role it lost to doctors and therapists" in the mid-20th century, says John Portmann, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "After all, religion has always been about suffering." But whether people are looking to overcome depression, relieve anxiety or address a family problem, they may prefer faith-based counseling simply because it's in a language that fits them and their culture most snugly.
Same Problems, Two Paths
In general, faith-based counseling favors short-term approaches. Most Christian and pastoral counselors are open to psychopharmacology and other medical interventions, though they usually do so through referral and eschew drugs for problems such as anxiety or depression. Methods of secular psychotherapy—cognitive and behavioral techniques, for example—are also used in religious clinics. And people look to Christian counselors to solve the same personal and interpersonal problems.
"There's a growing awareness in the counseling field and in seminaries that Christianity and spirituality in general are integral to a person's well-being," says Paula Baylor, a Christian counselor and graduate advisor at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, a school that trains faith-based counselors. "We're trying to integrate cognitive, psychodynamic
and psychoanalytical practices with a Christian perspective."
Theology and therapy have never been very tight. Atheist Sigmund Freud famously viewed religion as a pathology, and religious Americans, particularly fundamentalist Christians, have long held psychotherapy suspect as a hallmark of secular America. "Historically, psychology and psychotherapy have been alienated from religion," observes Scott Richards, professor of counseling psychology at Brigham Young University and author of books on spiritual strategies for psychotherapy.
"Not only was Freud antireligion, but the behaviorists who came afterward were extremely eager to avoid religion in order to establish psychology as a respected science," Richards contends. Consequently, psychotherapists were careful not to broach religion in their practices. Over time, however, the values of psychotherapy have made inroads into religious as well as secular culture.
Observant Americans may feel most comfortable seeking help outside the traditional psychological profession because mental health professionals tend to be less religious than the general population. Nearly three-fourths of Americans say their whole approach to life is based on religion. But only 32 percent of psychiatrists, 33 percent of clinical psychologists and 46 percent of clinical social workers feel the same. The majority of traditional counselor training programs have no courses dealing with spiritual matters.
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