Putting the spiritual into perspective
Religious belief is not the same thing as spirituality. Preaching and proselytizing have no place in providing care for someone who is suffering from trauma. Our focus is on the Friend’s experience. We are not there to tinker and fix what we believe to be more in alignment with our beliefs.

If we are providing help within a religious tradition, though, these common beliefs may have a place in the support we provide. Even so, we have to respect their interpretations of belief.

Regardless of religious belief, what unfolds during a helping encounter has a spiritual dimension. When we feel ourselves spinning in a black hole of uncontrolled emotionality after a significant loss, pure rationality is not the only path to recovery.