ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111

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This may look a bit confusing
but the therapy takes a person
through the different aspects of
this model and gradually helps the
client to develop a personal inner
map of themselves focusing on
their strengths and potential. The
therapy helps clients to explore
the helpful patterns that facilitate
this potential and also to change
the unhelpful patterns that hinder
who they truly are. The therapy can
be used as an individual therapy
but I have also developed a group
programme based on the model
called ‘Free to be Me’ which is a
16 week personal development
course.
Figure 1:
HCBT formulation
Holistic CBT uses generic spiritual
language so that it is inclusive to
all faiths and spiritualties, while
still being a model rooted in
Christian tradition and Biblically
based. Clients are encouraged to
use language that feels authentic
to them and so some clients
use terms such as identity or
consciousness instead of spirit.
Within the course I describe God
as Life’s Source and Flow and some
clients wish to use the term God
whereas others use terms such as
the Universe or the Divine. This feels
a really important aspect of therapy
particularly when it is used with
people of all different faiths and
with varied relationships with God.
Having worked outside of Christian
circles I have found so many people
with genuine experiences of God
and also people that have been
very hurt by the church. Many feel
a real sense of loss and spiritual
abandonment that they do not feel
able to connect with God through
church because of these past
hurts. So by not using names such
as ‘God’ or ‘Jesus,’ which might
trigger painful memories, people
may be willing to talk about their
relationship with the Divine and
have a desire to reconnect, when
these trigger words are removed
but we are still talking about
the same divine being. This was
something I saw in the first Free
to be Me group which I ran at a
hospital in East London. We had
a group made up of Christians,
Hindus and Muslims and also a
woman who emphatically told me
she was an atheist. However by the
end of the course she shared how
her father had taken her to church
as a child and she felt drawn to go
back as a result of the course. This
isn’t the goal of the course but is a
side effect of people reconnecting
with their spiritual side and
wanting to be all that they are in
God.
So inclusive and welcoming
language is an important principle
of the Holistic CBT model. Another
aspect is about developing a
person and not just solving a
problem; focusing more on
potential and purpose rather than
problems. By doing so, we find
ways to overcome the problems
indirectly because we connect
with our God-given strengths and
passions.
Holistic CBT uses different
modalities such as art and reflective
writing to explore ideas and it
recognises the importance of
peer support, connecting with
creation and connecting with the
Creator. Holistic CBT has come
out of my own spiritual journey
and so it also draws from Christian
contemplative traditions and
encourages people to connect with
the still centre within them and
to respond from that place which
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