Christian-based Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy for East Asian Canadians and Findings from the CSPEARIT Study

Abstract

There is a paucity of literature in the use of spiritually integrated psychotherapy with clients of East Asian descent. A wide variety of spiritual interventions are utilized in Christian-based spiritually integrated psychotherapy with East Asian Canadians, and more types of interventions may not necessarily lead to better outcomes. This chapter provides an overview of Christian-based spiritually integrated psychotherapy in Ontario, Canada, focused on East Asian Canadians. Some references are made to findings from the Christian-Based Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy for East Asians Research Initiative of Toronto (CSPEARIT) project conducted as part of the Bridges Consortium for Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy. The study had three recruitment sites, all outpatient centers located in Toronto, Canada: (a) Tyndale University, which includes Tyndale Counselling Services, serving the student population, and Tyndale Family Life Centre, serving clients coming from the surrounding communities; (b) Grace Health Centre; and (c) Living Water Counselling Centre