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106: Research on Christian Therapies: What You Need to Know to Have a Research-based Practice and Ministry

PRESENTERS

Harold Koenig, M.D.

CREDENTIALS

APA | ASWB | LCSW | LMFT | LPC

CE CREDITS

1.5

LEVEL

Summary 

The focus during this workshop will be on: 1) briefly reviewing the research on religion and mental health in Christians, 2) discussing why evidence-based treatments in Christian counseling for psychologists and licensed mental health professionals are important, 3) illustrating evidence-based Christian therapies now being used, and, in particular, 4) describing how to: a) design, b) fund, and c) manage randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to test the efficacy of certain Christian therapies such as Religiously-Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RCBT) and Spiritually-Oriented Cognitive Processing Therapy, and 5) apply these evidence-based Christian therapies to clinical practice. Challenges involved in the design, funding, and management of clinical trials will be discussed, and how RCTs are now being designed to examine the treatment of “moral injury” in veterans and active-duty military suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. 

 

Learning Objectives 

Participants will: 

  1. Describe what research has discovered about the relationship between religion and mental health, and recognize why evidence-based treatments in Christian counseling for psychologists and licensed mental health professionals are so important  
  2. List the limitations of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and the challenges involved in conducting them  
  3. Outline how to design, fund, and manage an RCT to test a Christian approach to therapy  
  4. Evaluate how to apply Christian therapies to clinical practice for a psychologist or licensed mental health professional 
  5.  

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