APA Books on Religion/Spirituality

Many people I know have the view that the American Psychological Association (APA) is very anti-religion.  My impression is that it really depends on who you interact with.  There are a lot of psychologists who are both faith-filled people and involved with the organization, and a sizable group that advocates for religion and spirituality (R/S) as a valuable topic that must be respected by psychologists.  In recent years the APA has published a number of books on the topics of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy, and many are wonderful resources for students or clinicians.  We have posted several of them here as a sampling and a resource.

Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy: Thirteen Tools for Enhancing Psychological Health   By Thomas Plante. Plante is a Catholic psychologist with a long history of working with the Church and advising clergy. This is a great resource for religious therapists.

Forgiveness Therapy: An Empirical Guide for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope   By Robert Enright and Richard Fitzgibbons.  Enright is widely considered the originator of the psychological study of forgiveness, and has stated that study in this field was a part of bringing him back to active participation in the Catholic Church.

Spiritual Strategy For Counseling And Psychotherapy   By P. Scott Richards and Allen Bergin. This is one of the original books in the field, one of the first on religion and spirituality to be published by the APA.  A broad resource and fantastic introduction for psychology students.

Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity   By P. Scott Richards and Allen Bergin

Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy for Trauma   Edited by Donald Walker, Christine Courtois and Jamie Aten. This is a brand new book that considers the effects of trauma on R/S issues, and addressing trauma with those with a religious or spiritual worldview.

Spiritually Oriented Interventions for Counseling and Psychotherapy   Edited by Jamie Aten, Mark McMinn, and Everett Worthington Jr.

Spirituality and the Therapeutic Process: A Comprehensive Resource from Intake to Termination   By Jamie Aten

Spiritual Interventions in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy   By Donald Walker and William Hathaway

 

Just FYI:  PsychedCatholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn a fee when you buy a book we recommend while visiting these links to amazon.com.  The way we see it, this works out well for you, us and the authors whose work we would like to support.