Spiritual counselling and therapy: a holistic approach

Exploring your self and experience through spiritual counselling and therapy

Psycho-spiritual therapy and spiritual counselling are a big part of my work with many clients, though they’re not the only approaches I draw from. My own spirituality holds deep personal significance, so I often integrate exploration of spiritual and religious beliefs into the therapeutic process when it feels relevant or supportive for a client. So how can spirituality or religion become part of the counselling journey?

If you’re new here I’m Laura, a counsellor, nature therapist, somatic trauma therapist and space holder. I’m also a Pagan Priestess, although I work with people from all different religious and spiritual backgrounds, as well as those who don’t have any religious or spiritual beliefs. My offerings are all about supporting you to connect with yourself and the world around you.

A big part of the work I do with almost all of my my counselling and therapy clients is working with them to identify the resources that they can access to can bring meaning and support into their lives. Resources can be things like support networks, hobbies and interests or strategies for responding to stress, depression and anxiety. There can also be more existential factors like the support that can be gained from a belief in something bigger that us.

Identifying the resources that bring meaning and support into your life

From my own perspective, my spirituality has been a hugely supportive part of my life. From my belief system, which is rooted in Celtic-Paganism and influenced by teachings from Buddhism and yoga philosophy, to the community that I have connected with through shared perspectives and values. I take the view that our existence is a complex mystery and there are some things we can’t know. By acknowledging and accepting this we can loosen the need to control, which is often a huge contributes to psychological distress.

In my work, spirituality in counselling sits alongside other approaches that honour the whole person, body, mind and soul, rather than focusing only on the mind. I believe that healing happens when we include all parts of us in the process: the physical sensations of the body, the patterns of the mind the emotions that move through us and the way that our soul can be a source of connection to something bigger than ourselves.

My spiritual therapy practice also recognises that our struggles don’t exist in isolation. The systems and structures we live within, whether cultural, social, or political, can affect how safe, seen or supported we feel. Because of this, I hold space not only for personal healing, but also for understanding how wider forces might shape your experience. I talk more about these values here.

Exploring experiences of meaning, connection and the unseen

The spiritual and psycho-spiritual aspects of my work often include exploring experiences of meaning, connection, and the unseen. This can include metaphysical experiences, connection to divinity, energy work, the higher self or personal spiritual practice. This looks different for everyone. When exploring spirituality in therapy, I always work from your frame of reference, honouring your beliefs, background and ways of making sense of the world. My approach weaves together spiritual and psycho-spiritual perspectives with contemporary counselling psychology, drawing on holistic talk therapy, psychodynamic theory, gestalt and somatic approaches, as well as insights from neuroscience. I’ve shared a bit more about my approach as a therapist here.

Exploring spirituality in therapy can open a space for reflection that feels heart-centred and expansive. It allows us to explore life’s challenges while staying connected to a deeper sense of meaning or belonging, to something larger that can hold and resource us. This can bring comfort and clarity in times of struggle. In my own life, I know how much grounding my spiritual practice offers, and I see the same in many of the people I work with.

Sometimes, holistic spiritual therapy involves exploring inherited religious or spiritual beliefs and how they continue to shape our lives. For some, it’s about reconnecting with faith or spiritual practice in an affirming way. For others, it may involve healing from religious trauma or disentangling from belief systems that no longer feel true or supportive. Whatever your path, my role is to hold space for your unique experience and to meet you where you are, with openness and respect, whether spirituality is central to our work or not part of it at all.

What are some issues that you might want to explore in spirituality therapy?

In Gestalt therapy, one of the modalities I work with, we often talk about the idea of the ‘field’. The ‘field’ refers to the whole environment that we exist within; an interconnected web that includes our relationships, cultural influences, spiritual or religious background, social conditions and the personal circumstances that shape our lives. In Gestalt thinking nothing exists in isolation; every part of our experience is influenced by, and in turn influences, the wider field.

This means that even if you come to spiritual counselling wanting to explore something that seems unrelated to spirituality, like depression, anxiety, trauma or difficulties in relationships, your spiritual or religious beliefs (or your absence of them) are still part of the wider field you inhabit. They inform how you make sense of your experiences, how you cope and how you see yourself in the world.

On the other hand, you might come to therapy with issues that are more explicitly spiritual, like questions about meaning and purpose, existential fears like a fear of death, a crisis of faith or feelings of guilt and shame rooted in spiritual upbringing. You may also wish to explore your relationship with a higher power, or find ways of making sense of and integrating experiences that feel mystical, sacred or beyond rational explanation. At times your spirituality or religion might be at the forefront of our work, at others it might sit more in the background, providing a context or framework that influences how you see yourself, how you understand suffering or how you make meaning of your life.

Whether your spirituality or religion is at the heart of what brings you to therapy, or more of a background part of your wider field, it can be useful to include it in the therapy process. Our work together can make space for your unique worldview, without judgement, so that all parts of you have a voice.

How can holistic spiritual therapy help me?

That really depends on you, on what you bring, what feels important to you and what you’d like to explore in counselling and spirituality. Every person’s experience is unique, even if there are shared traditions or practices in your religous or spiritual framework. Your beliefs and experiences are shaped by your life story, your community and your own inner world so our work together will be tailored to your individual needs.

My role as a therapist is not to tell you what to believe or to impose any particular worldview, but to create a safe, respectful space where you can explore your own process. This might mean looking at how your faith supports you, exploring difficult feelings such as guilt, shame, or fear that arise in relation to spirituality, or finding ways to integrate experiences that feel sacred.

What can feel different in spiritual counselling is that we make room for mystery; the things in life that can’t always be explained or neatly categorised. Together we can honour the role of faith, however you define it, as a source of resilience, healing and meaning. For some people, that faith is in a higher power or a spiritual path; for others, it might be a sense of deep connection to nature, community or life itself. Ultimately, spiritual therapy offers a chance to bring all of who you are into the room; your struggles, your doubts, your hopes, and your beliefs, so that you can be met and meet yourself with compassion.

I am here to honour your own understanding and experience of your spirituality or religion

If your religious or spiritual beliefs sit outside of my own experience, that is completely welcomed. I am here to honour your own understanding and experience of your spirituality or religion, and the role that it plays in your life. Your beliefs, practices, and spiritual experiences are deeply personal, and therapy can be a space where these are fully acknowledged and explored without judgement.

We can explore ways to integrate your unique beliefs into our work, using them as a source of insight, strength and meaning. Whether your faith is structured or fluid, traditional or unconventional, I am here to hold space for it. My focus is always on supporting your experience, helping you understand the role your spirituality or religion plays in your life and exploring how it can inform your growth, healing and sense of purposes.

If you would like to explore your spirituality or religious beliefs in therapy, I’d love to hear from you. For in-person spiritual counselling in Birmingham head here, for online sessions head here and for nature therapy sessions that integrate counselling and you’ll find details here.

I also hold a monthly circle, in Birmingham, that’s rooted in Earth based spirituality and nature connection. Check out The Rooted Self Connection Sessions if you’d like to join us.

Other resources you might want to explore include:
Simple rituals for grounding and growth in daily life
Embracing daily devotion: cultivating a sacred practice
The wheel of the year: honouring nature's rhythms