Practice Innovations, Vol 9(1), Mar 2024, 1-18; doi:10.1037/pri0000237
In the past few decades, researchers have delineated the importance of acknowledging and addressing harm, trauma, and abuse from religion/spirituality. With this increase in awareness around these issues, the dearth of research on psychotherapeutic intervention for these concerns has become more apparent. The present scoping review is a synthesis of the psychotherapy recommendations for addressing harm from adverse religious/spiritual experiences that have been published in the peer-reviewed and grey literature. Of the 8,048 studies reviewed, 44 studies met the following inclusion criteria: were an empirical peer-reviewed article, doctoral dissertation, or master’s thesis; discussed implications to inform the process of psychotherapy; therapy implications were directed toward addressing harm, trauma, or abuse from adverse religious/spiritual experiences; and were written in English. Results were synthesized according to research characteristics and methods, conceptualization, participant demographics, therapy implications as the purpose of studies, and therapy implications as discussion commentary. Studies were frequently qualitative, grey literature, White, Christian, and U.S.-based, with therapy implications often only as discussion commentary. Recommendations for research, practice, cultural diversity, and ethics are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)