Family therapy and fundamentalism: One family therapist’s exploration of ethics and collaboration with religious fundamentalist families

Abstract

What are the therapeutic limitations of systemic psychotherapy when working with families who hold religious fundamentalist beliefs? At a time of debate about religious fundamentalism, terrorism and radicalisation, where do family therapists position themselves when confronted by extreme beliefs in the therapy room? Research suggests that the increase in modernity within our society equates not just with an increase in secularisation, but rather an increase in pluralism. Contemporary models of family therapy pay explicit attention to issues of gender, culture, ethnicity, discrimination and societal contexts. The author, therefore, proposes that family therapists need to examine their position regarding religious fundamentalism in relation to the social constructionist relativist continuum and engage with uncomfortable questions about whether they believe that fundamentalism has essentially pathological roots. This article will explore whether the dualist position within some religious movements set against a more secular psychotherapeutic and psychiatric cultural milieu can invite a fundamentalised response from clinicians. The author draws on her own work with families who hold religious fundamentalist beliefs and enquires about ethics, transparency and collaboration within family therapy practice. This article invites complex ongoing challenging questions and debate.