Secular congregations

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Sanderson Jones, Pippa Evans, Mike Aus · 2013 · London

What it is

Secular congregations are not a psychotherapy. They are non-religious communities that keep some of the forms of congregational life: regular gatherings with music, talks, readings, shared values, small groups, mutual help and life-cycle ceremonies, without worship or supernatural belief.

Format

• The congregations publish formats, not phases. The phases below are a therapist-side arc for integrating a client's involvement into therapy. None of the sources gives a session count for this work. Session counts are given only for van der Hart's ritual method (below).
• What the bodies publish about format

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Oasis: a weekly Sunday-morning meeting with original music by local musicians, a "community moment" in which a member speaks on a topic, a coffee mix-and-mingle, a main presentation by a member or guest, and closing music, with children's activities alongside. Talk topics have included secular humanism, empathy and stories of people who left their churches. Each Oasis is independent, and all follow a shared code of…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• confidentiality slips in small communities. It is working when each person knows their role.
• the therapy being the client's only real connection. It is working when support exists outside therapy.
• over-disclosure, and exposure of family members. It is working when the client feels heard and still safe.
• over-commitment, people-pleasing and helper burnout. It is working when helping adds energy and connection.
• staying only in the audience role. It is working when the client has a named person they look forward to seeing.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.