THE THERAPIST WHO IS PERCEIVED AS SPIRITUALLY CORRECT - STRATEGIES FOR AVOIDING COLLUSION WITH THE SPIRITUALLY ONE-UP SPOUSE

Marital and family therapists who are perceived by the community as ha ving a strong spiritual orientation face unique and difficult challeng es. Clients who seek their help often bring a mix of expectations that can create a situation in which the therapist may struggle with multi ple roles, some not of his or her choosing. These expectations are esp ecially challenging when one spouse views him- or herself as ''spiritu ally one-up'' and wants the therapist to form a spiritually based coal ition against the other partner. This paper describes the various dile mmas that therapists may face when clients perceive them as having spi ritual expertise and presents strategies that can be used for avoiding these dilemmas. A case study illustrates the use of these approaches.