Navigating Faith-based Practices in Therapy: Psychotherapists’ Experiences in India

Addressing clients’ faith-based practices (FBPs) is indispensable in psychotherapy, especially in a religiously diverse country like India. This can be particularly challenging in contexts where psychotherapy is highly stigmatized and FBPs are culturally accepted. A review of the literature highlighted a gap in research on how psychotherapists negotiate FBPs in the Indian context. This pilot qualitative study aims to address this gap by exploring the experiences of Indian psychotherapists in navigating FBPs as mental health service providers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Indian psychotherapists. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data generated three major themes and eight subthemes. The findings indicate that FBPs play a nuanced role in clients’ mental health care, especially when clinical services like psychotherapy are stigma-laden and difficult to access. However, it is often challenging for psychotherapists to discern the adaptive and maladaptive aspects of FBPs for the client's welfare. Additionally, systemic factors shape clinician interactions with FBPs in psychotherapy practice. This study highlights the dual role of FBPs in supporting and hindering psychotherapy and provides insights into the interplay of culture, faith, and mental health. However, all participants revealed that religious and spiritual competence training programs were unavailable in India. Although psychotherapists learn these skills through experience, their ability to effectively engage these competencies is limited by social barriers like stigma. The findings of this study underscore the importance of these competencies and provide insights into contextualizing such training programs.