The salience of religion in therapeutic settings has received increasing attention by researchers and clinicians. Two important questions have emerged from this burgeoning literature. First, what is the role of client's religious beliefs in coping with crisis and what coping strategies can therapist's access with their clients? Second, to what extent are clinicians oriented to use client's religion as an integral part of therapy? Recent evidence suggests that clients are more likely to endorse the use of religion during personal and family crisis than their therapists. This suggests that there is a need for therapists to become more aware of the significance that clients attach to their personal religious beliefs in coping with traumatic events. The use of religion has been found to have both positive and negative impacts on those in crisis. This study examines how family therapists and other mental health professionals utilize client's religion to create hope and build resilience in times of crisis. We attempt to expand on the existing literature by exploring the extent to which clinicians working with families in crisis in countries globally utilize the religious experiences of families from a systemic perspective.

We conducted five in-depth interviews with mental health professions currently on international trauma teams located in Southern California. These 45 minute interviews focused on: the mental health professional's view of the use of religion in the therapeutic process; if or when it has been used; implications of the use of religion in coping with crisis; and if used, what methods were most effective. The findings suggest that clinician's levels of religious beliefs are positively related to their use of client's religion in therapeutic settings. However, clinicians reported that while for some families religious beliefs were more useful after the initial impact of traumatic events had been reduced, for others, it was found that the immediate use of religion was more helpful. The implications of these findings suggest the need for clinicians to be aware of both negative and positive impact of religion on families experiencing crisis.