Secular versus Christian Inpatient Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Programs: Impact on Depression and Spiritual Well-Being

Abstract

Holistic conceptions of healthy personality and functioning theorize that spiritual and psychological well-being and wholeness are interconnected. In an inpatient group of clinically depressed Christian adults, this study compared the effectiveness of Christian cognitive-behavior therapy (CCBT; n = 18) to that of traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (n = 11). There was a significant correlation between a reduction in depression and an improvement in spiritual well-being (SWB; p < .0005). Both groups demonstrated significant reductions in levels of depression (p < .0005) and improvements in SWB (p < .0005). Furthermore, there were significantly higher overall SWB scores for those in the CCBT program (p. < .01). This provides encouragement for the use of therapy that matches and utilizes religious values.