Preventing dropout in spiritually integrated psychotherapies: What are the effective methods of attending to clients' spirituality?

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between clinicians' use of varying types of spiritual interventions in the first session of spiritually integrated psychotherapies (SIPs) and clients' likelihood of returning for a second session. In total, 154 practitioners of SIPs from 33 settings in a practice-research network reported on their implementation of different methods for addressing clients' religion/spirituality on an after-session summary checklist. Roughly 80% or more of the clinicians implemented at least one spiritual intervention in the first session; on average, clinicians used 3.

Practice-based evidence for spiritually integrated psychotherapies: Examining trajectories of psychological and spiritual distress.

The aims of this practice-based evidence study were to (a) examine clients' trajectories of psychological and spiritual distress over the course of spiritually integrated psychotherapies (SIPs) and (b) explore the role of varying types of spiritual interventions in these outcomes. In total, 164 practitioners of SIPs from 37 settings in a practice-research network administered the Clinically Adaptive Multidimensional Outcome Survey (Sanders et al., 2018) at each session with 1,227 clients and reported their use of theoretical orientations and spiritual interventions on an after-session summary checklist.

Enhancing the evidence base for spiritually integrated psychotherapies: Progressing the paradigm of practice-based evidence.

Spiritually integrated approaches to psychological therapies enable practitioners to be responsive to clients' religious and spiritual concerns and have been combined with most mainstream therapeutic approaches. As such, although evidence is required regarding their efficacy, with randomized controlled trials having a privileged status, a single research paradigm is unlikely to deliver both a robust and relevant evidence base for the psychological therapies, that is, embedded in routine practice. The research paradigm of practice-based evidence provides a complementary approach to trials methodology as carried out in routine practice via the application of a myriad of qualitative and quantitative research designs.