Should Therapy Include Spirituality? My Conversation with Dr. Leslie Carr

2024-05-22

Ah, therapy. The one place we can go to let it allllll spill out. The good, the bad, the ugly. But there seems to be one topic of conversation that doesn’t always feel welcome. God. While the therapist’s office is the ideal spot for excavating the darkest reaches of the mind and the heart, it doesn’t always feel like the best place to explore the divine. The uncanny. The unseen. In this conversation, I speak with the brilliant Dr. Leslie Carr about this very issue. Leslie and I talk...

Ah, therapy.

The one place we can go to let it allllll spill out. The good, the bad, the ugly.

But there seems to be one topic of conversation that doesn’t always feel welcome.

God.

While the therapist’s office is the ideal spot for excavating the darkest reaches of the mind and the heart, it doesn’t always feel like the best place to explore the divine. The uncanny. The unseen.

In this conversation, I speak with the brilliant Dr. Leslie Carr about this very issue.

Leslie and I talk about why there seems to be little room for the spiritual/religious in a therapeutic context, and how we might work to expand the conversation both as the therapist and as the patient (or, depending on the setting, “client”) ).

Leslie is a psychologist and an expert in how trauma, stress, culture, and digital technology impact the mind. She's been active in mental health advocacy and public psychoeducation for almost 15 years, and her work in this space has been featured in the LA Times, ABC News, and Ask Dr. Drew, among many other places. She's the host of a podcast, The Nature of Nurture, which explores how people respond to their environments in complicated ways. Learn more about her podcast here, thenatureofnurture.com, or check her out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNatureofNurture

I’m hoping this conversation sparks a much broader conversation about how we can collectively cultivate a more active relationship with something bigger than ourselves.

The Gems ✨

How do you differentiate between organized religion and spirituality, in terms of personal experience of the divine? [00:17:45]

How can we protect our energy from draining people or negative influences in a work environment? [00:21:30]

What are some easy ways to begin to explore our spiritual inclinations without feeling weird about it?? [00:26:03]

Resources Mentioned ✨

Learn more about Carl Jung and his theory system.

Check out Letters From Love with Elizabeth Gilbert.

Want to work with me?

Head over to https://www.bronwyncommunications.com/work-with-me/ to learn more.

As always, thank you for the gift of your time and attention, and SHINE ON. We need your light.

Comments (3)