I am a secular minded person. Therefore, I have trouble with many therapists in town, who are seminary graduates. Has anyone else found that their psychiatrist or social worker is pushing their religious values under the guise of therapy?
Lonz

on psychotherapy ethics. What you're describing can be understood as a boundary ethics issue.

URL for the thread is

[board.culteducation.com]

I've run into a similiar problem, Lonz, although it was some time ago. The solution I found was to get a referral to someone considered reputable by the local university's psych department.

I think that many devout people have trouble seeing and thinking outside of the values of their religion - I know that was a great challenge for me to overcome, and is something I still struggle with regularly. The person that I had difficulty with was very sincere in her faith, and I really think that she simply couldn't think any other way. I don't think she was actively or conciously trying to push some religious agenda onto me, and certainly she wasn't the kind negative cultic figure that is the main focus of this board - but her center was so built around her faith identity that she wasn't able to counsel me efffectively. I believe she just wasn't able to think outside that box, if you'll pardon the slang.

I do think it a mark in her favour that when I told her I was going to look for another person to work with, she was very comfortable with and supportive of my decision.

Penny