How did the Spiritual First Responders Begin?

Studies indicate that individuals experiencing changes in their faith often struggle with some of the lowest mental health scores. The SFRP was started to explore how those unraveling the complexities of faith deconstruction while still yearning for meaningful spiritual experiences can find health and healing. Our approach addresses these needs by using mentally healthy settings to explore spiritual experiences. Our support groups generate interactions that allow for the exploration of spirituality in a non-coercive, open-ended manner.  

What do these groups look like?

The SFRP groups serve as spaces for active spiritual practices that don’t require specific religious commitments. All participants are taken seriously, affirmed, and held as sacred by a group of witnesses on the same journey. Their perspectives are valued. 

The spiritual practices of each group could include contemplation, meditation, or slow attentive listening to sacred or meaningful texts, meditative practices focused on opening awareness of one’s body, or thoughts/emotions in connection to ultimate meaning and purpose. The groups typically involve a flexible, non-dogmatic engagement with sacred writings. This approach allows for a more profound exploration of meaning, where the significance of the moment is both recognized and revered. While we draw from Biblical literature, our exploration is not confined to it. 

What makes these groups mentally healthy?

The SFRP model is grounded in a peer support approach to fostering healthy social development, emphasizing attunement and the establishment of positive boundaries. In contrast with a mentally unhealthy spiritual setting (i.e., a high-control, authoritarian environment where one perspective dominates all others), we are engaging in mentally healthy process groups that clearly articulate values of the group that are consented to by all who participate. The groups are guided by peer group leaders who do not insist on any set outcome, but who help establish group values and consent to ensure that the integrity of the group is maintained. Group guidelines are established at the beginning of the process and reinstated each week as a reminder, clearly outlining expectations. 

This inclusive approach ensures that each member is acknowledged, heard, and supported. Participants are encouraged to share their unique insights, with the understanding that unanimity is not a prerequisite for finding collective spiritual significance. In fact, it is often the diversity of views that enriches the group's spiritual journey. 

How do we know this process works?

This project exists to explore the benefits of this group process. In 2024, we began a 26 month project with a team of 2 theologians, 2 psychologists, and 5 mental health professionals. We will expand a public impact study of the effectiveness of spiritual practices fused with mental healthcare in group settings for the spiritual flourishing of those experiencing deconstruction.