I recently recieved this letter in my professional mailbox (keep in mind, it is now the middle of November). The names have been hidden for the purpose of confidentiality:
Hi Christopher,
Wow, I am embarrassed that this is dated
August 11 and I just now read it. Thank you so much for your interest in
________ [therapy clinic] and your email, it is really appreciated, and I am truly sorry it did
not get read until now. I don't know if you are still looking for a place
to land part time but if you are let me tell you a little bit about us so that
you can determine if you'd see yourself working with us. We specialize in
working with people who have eating disorders and food issues many of them are
dual diagnosis with D/A issues as well as trauma and a variety of other issues.
We also work with anxiety, depression, sexual addiction, OCD, couples
(including co-habitating, married and premarital) and trauma. I
particularly specialize in working with severe trauma and DID although I do not
expect anyone else to do the intensity of work I do, it can sometimes lead to
the unexpected so I do disclose it to potential therapists. We are a
Christian organization, while we work with people from all kinds of faith
traditions and never expect them to believe like we do, we do expect our team
to be followers of Jesus. This is a small bit of what we do. If you
still think you would be a good fit with all of us please let me know, I'd love
to meet you and hear about what you would like to do.
Thanks again for your email and your
patience!!!
K_____.
My honest response:
K_____,
Thank
you so much for taking the time to get back to me. Sounds like your
clinic does a lot of really important work! As a practitioner I strive to
utilize best practices by providing evidence-based treatment to my clients
while teaching cognitive-behavioral methods aimed at improving critical
thinking skills and challenging maladaptive thoughts and emotions. The
practice of non-judgmental awareness (mindfulness) is extremely important
aspect of my work, especially the trauma work I do with individuals, as a great
deal of research has shown that trauma is often held within our bodies, which
you are likely well aware. As an ethical clinician, I also strive to
remain respectful of the various cultural and faith-based belief systems my
clients ascribe to; no matter how alien they may appear to me (especially if
such beliefs do not interfere with my clients functioning and they find
strength within them). I have always felt that my own belief (or lack
thereof) on the subject has no place in the therapy room.
While
it’s exciting to hear all that ________ [therapy clinic] seems to offer, I have to admit
however, that I am somewhat perplexed as to why an agency would explicitly
demand credulity from their practitioners, especially when they don’t seem to
require their clients to be of any particular culturally sanctioned belief
system themselves. I’m wondering whether this requirement is thought to benefit
the clients in some meaningful way, but I’m honestly at a loss as to how. I
could understand how being fluent in Spanish would be of use if one were
working with a Spanish speaking population, or being a follower of a certain
religious and/or mythical figure would be essential if that is the exclusive
belief of the population one is working with, but as you previously stated,
this doesn’t appear to be the case.
I
am genuinely confused as to what this requirement aims to serve and am unclear
as to why a clinic would require its “evidence-based practitioners” to hold
strong supernatural beliefs without evidence. Such a requirement seems to
go against the basic tenets of a scientifically informed method of
understanding which is essential for the success of any empirically validated
treatment approach. The practice of mindfulness, for example, is
considered a best practice in many hospitals and treatment centers throughout
this country and others. It has been shown effective by multiple,
peer-reviewed studies, and the basic underlying neurological functions have
been studied extensively and are beginning to be understood more clearly.
It is also a core tenet of a 2,500 year old Buddhist psychology, which cautions
practitioners to “be a lamp unto yourself”:
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many
generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,
then accept it and live up to it.” - Buddha
To
me, this is the mindset of an effective therapeutic approach, where the
questioning rigidly held assumptions are be encouraged as part of the path in
working towards freeing oneself from suffering. To confine ones spiritual
path to one particular tradition is like limiting ones happiness merely to the
center of a dartboard – only the bull’s eye counts. To me, this just
leaves a great deal of the mystery of life unexamined and/or explored and goes
against the basic tenets of a self-actualizing treatment approach (in my humble
opinion). To require practitioners to follow Jesus (or Ganesh, or Yahweh,
or Buddha, or Zeus, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or whatever) ironically
speaks to the limiting rigidity and/or cognitive fusion therapy aims to
alleviate. While I feel spirituality is an essential aspect of any
therapeutic relationship, I don’t see how requiring clinicians to hold a strong
belief in a particular Bronze Age mythology of 2,000 years ago would be of any
meaningful benefit to the clients, as there is absolutely no empirical evidence
to support such an assumption.
With
that said; while I wish you and your agency the best, I must humbly decline the
opportunity of becoming a clinician at ________ [therapy clinic].
Sincerely,
-Christopher
Tucker, LPC, CADC I
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