This book is for mental health practitioners who want to enhance their clients' psychological well-being using therapeutic tools drawn from spiritual and religious thought. What can a non-religious therapist do when a client directly requests help with a problem involving spiritual matters? How can a therapist who is engaged in a religious tradition frame strategies such as discerning vocation, participating in spiritual or religious rituals, and forgiving in ways that are acceptable to secular clients? Thomas Plante answers these questions and more by presenting thirteen tools to improve psychological and spiritual health that can be integrated into secular or religious-oriented practice.

Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy first reviews history, philosophy, and research behind and evidence for integrating tools such as meditation, learning from spiritual models, and becoming part of something larger than oneself into therapy practice. Dr. Plante makes a case for integrating spiritual and religious tools in therapy as part of ethical practice, and as a way to add value to services such as assessment, counseling, and consultation with other professionals. A rich and diverse collection of case illustrations shows how to conduct psychotherapy using these tools, and walks readers through real-world examples of how to consult with clergy. Finally, the book offers an agenda for continued research and education and a variety of resources for further study in this area.

Thomas Plante, PhD, ABPP is professor of psychology at Santa Clara University and adjunct clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also directs the Spirituality & Health Institute at Santa Clara. He was born and raised in Rhode Island and received his ScB degree in psychology from Brown University, his M.A. and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas, and his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical and health psychology from Yale University. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited eleven books including Sin against the Innocents: Sexual Abuse by Priests and the Role of the Catholic Church (Greenwood, 2004), Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned: Perspectives on Sexual Abuse Committed by Roman Catholic Priests (Greenwood, 1999), Faith and Health: Psychological Perspectives (2001, Guilford), Do the Right Thing: Living Ethically in an Unethical World (2004, New Harbinger), Contemporary Clinical Psychology (1999, 2005, Wiley), Mental Disorders in the New Millennium (Vols. 1, 2, and 3, 2006 Greenwood), and most recently, Spirit, Science and Health: How the Spiritual Mind Fuels Physical Wellness (2007, Greenwood) as well as published over 150 journal articles and book chapters. His area of clinical and research interest focuses on faith and health outcomes, psychological issues among Catholic clergy and laypersons, ethical decision making, stress and coping, and the psychological benefits of physical exercise. He has been featured in numerous media outlets including Time Magazine, CNN, NBC Nightly News, the PBS News Hour, New York Times, USA Today, British Broadcasting Company, National Public Radio, among many others. In fact Time Magazine referred to him (April 1, 2002) as one of "three leading (American) Catholics." He maintains a private practice as a licensed psychologist.