Recently a potential client couple told me that they were Christians, and that their faith was very important to them. They said that to understand them well, I would have to be conversant with their Christianity. They wanted me to know this about them before they began marriage therapy. I assumed that they were going to ask me if I were a Christian as well, and that if I were to answer “no” then they would look for another marriage therapist.

They never did ask me, but I went ahead and told me that I was a practicing Catholic. I also mentioned that Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is the mode of marital therapy that I favor, is well-known in Christian circles and is taught at Fuller Theological Seminary and Indiana Wesleyan University.