Psychology or, more specifically, therapy, leads to major worldview questions of Why, which are addressed by world religions and ethics. Therapy’s starting point is popularly thought to be morally and spiritually neutral, using specific modalities like CBT, or its more nuanced cousin, DBT, in order to address, say, black-and-white thinking. But, therein, lies the rub. Ethics has been smuggled into therapy’s starting point. By seeking to transcend this either-or thinking, the implication is that it’s objectively bad for patients to continue in their respective mental state. With that said, someone can say, yes, therapy like any other professional field has ethical codes set in place for their counselors to follow because without them the establishment risks, say, the emotional manipulation of staff sleeping with their patients/clients/students.
But the dark side of therapy I’m referring to goes beyond sexual impropriety to include the more elusive ethos of breaking the boundary of personal values. The American Counseling Association “Code of Ethics” states this concern explicitly,
“Counselors are aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature.”[1]
The first sentence is psychologically revealing. That is, counselors are mandated to be aware of their own biases and thus not impose them onto their clients. But this is easier said than done infers a freelance writer for the American Psychological Association.
Zara Abrams shares,
“When politics, religion, cultural differences, or other sensitive topics come up during a session, it can be tough to know how to respond. Therapists may have an emotional reaction to beliefs they consider extreme. They may unintentionally disclose their views to a patient who disagrees, harming the therapeutic alliance. Or they may be caught off guard by a direct question and wonder how to respond.”[2]
Therapists thus need to work to prevent their personal-religious-political beliefs, which contradict those of their patients, from entering their sessions so as not to sway their patients, similar to the way attorneys are prohibited from swaying witnesses. Authority bias is real. Why? Simply put, power is contagious. And people want to connect with people who have power. Why? Because no one likes to feel weak/alone.[3] One goal of a good therapist is to empower her patients by asking questions that enables them to feel like they’ve come up with their own answers. But even this process can be manipulated.
The goal of the client then needs to be not only to find a counselor they can trust, but also to seek a holistic approach to answering life’s existential questions since counselors are not typically experts in the academic disciplines of theology, ethics, epistemology, cosmology, etc. This will require patients to seek answers outside the confines of their therapist’s office. Depending solely on a therapist’s opinion about, say, the existence of God, is a misguided start to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and happiness. Admittedly, life would be much easier if therapy were a one-stop-shop to answer all our questions. But it most definitely is not. Experts in their respective disciplines need to become their padawan’s new intellectual sparring partners, being asked pertinent questions which they were trained to answer. Of course, for clients, especially young clients, wrestling with the acquisition of knowledge as a complicated web of interdisciplinary information, cognitive dissonance is almost certain. This “friction” of new data, which may feel like living with contradictions is something counselors can help with, as long they do not allow their biases to get in the way of their clients’ personal journey of self-exploration and deliberation.
I would like to conclude by saying how therapy has greatly affected my mental health and behavior. I have come to appreciate the no-shame-safe-zone of self-disclosure and self-expression. To have a trusted counselor listen with empathy as I share my greatest fears and mistakes as well as my darkest secrets is a key component to feeling validated and safe. I have grown tremendously under the tutelage of CBT, by changing negative thoughts and behaviors to improve mental health, as well as DBT, by learning acceptance and change, distress tolerance, and emphasizing mindfulness. I am also grateful that the Christian therapists and counselors I’ve had over the years have steered me clear of what I call an “emotionally repressive mindset,” while modeling repentance of sins and dependence on God. By therapeutically pushing me past the taboo-attitude of sin by condoning conversation by asking non-judgmental why questions with a curious mindset, I’ve been able to sit with and process my prideful, selfish and fear-based motivations as I turn it over to the LORD to receive Fatherly affection and supernatural wisdom to become more Jesus.
[1] American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, “A.4.b. Personal Values,” www.counseling.org (accessed July 3, 2025).
[2] Zara Abram, “Navigating Thorny Topics in Therapy,” American Psychological Association, March 1, 2022, Vol. 53. No. 2, www.apa.org (accessed July 3, 2025).
[3] I am not saying that wanting to connect with people with power is the only reason we seek connection. It’s human nature to connect for reasons such as but not limited to validation, belonging, emotional support, etc.