Marriage and family therapists and the clergy: A need for clinical collaboration, training, and research

This article calls for greater collaboration between clergy and marriage and family therapists. It spells out the reasons for potential collaboration and suggests some specific ways it can occur. Marriage and family therapists acknowledge the highest rates of religious involvement of any mental health profession, placing them in a unique position to be involved in the continuing education of clergy. There is a clear need for research to understand how marriage and family therapists and clergy can more effectively work together. The dearth of research, training, and collaboration between the two vocations is all the more unfortunate given the clear evidence of the importance of religion in the personal lives of the clients we serve.