Mystery, Hope and Reason

A practical, engaging, and honest look at an area of our lives that is often missed in therapy: the role of faith in psychotherapy for both therapist and client. Kate Graham embarks on a must-read exploration for therapists, trainees, and those interested in the mystery of the therapy room and how we talk about the issues that really matter.

How do you react when someone starts talking about God? What do you do when you feel you can’t agree with a client’s beliefs? What is your relationship to uncertainty and the unexplainable? If talking about a client’s faith can lead to better outcomes, why can it be so difficult? In this compassionate, engaging, and deeply human book, Kate Graham draws on her extensive experience as a psychotherapist and Quaker to explore these and other dilemmas. Three characters: Mystery, Reason, and Hope guide us through the book, tussling over their differences and frustrations with each other as they search for understanding. Kate draws on her own experience and interviews with other therapists and people of faith. She shares her experiences through largely fictional client stories, brought to life with humour and honesty. We join her in her vulnerability as she navigates complex relationships, illustrating both ideas for good practice and her learning from mistakes. Relationships and connection run through the book: with the natural world, with ourselves, with clients, and with the “wider than human”. She celebrates the mystery of psychotherapeutic work, the unexplainable alongside practical ideas that can be integrated into practice straight away. Psychotherapy, like faith, involves exploring inner worlds and facing wildness, uncertainty, and not-knowing. There is more common ground here than our initial training may have revealed. There is practical guidance about the where, when, and how you might ask questions and cope with the answers. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter help the reader develop skills and insight and point to further reading. At a deeper level the reader is challenged to explore their own beliefs and what this can mean for their work in the therapy room and outside. This helps you to consider how you connect your inner world to the outer world, how you might act for love and trust in an increasingly fearful world, and the support you need to do this. Mystery, Hope and Reason: Faith in the Therapy Room is a book that will engage, uplift, and inspire you.

Acknowledgements

About the author

Introduction

1. A mysterious relationship: The mystery of psychotherapy
2. Words in relationship: Meanings matter
3. A beneficial relationship: How this can help
4. A challenging relationship: Why it is difficult
5. A learnable relationship: Skills and competences
6. A boundaried relationship: When to stop
7. An elusive relationship: Is hope friend or foe?
8. An amplified relationship: Neurodiversity, therapy, and faith
9. Our changing relationship: Spirituality as we get older
10. Reviewing our relationship: Where have we arrived?
11. A loving, living relationship: The vital role of nature

Notes

Index

,

Acknowledgements

About the author

Introduction

1. A mysterious relationship: The mystery of psychotherapy
2. Words in relationship: Meanings matter
3. A beneficial relationship: How this can help
4. A challenging relationship: Why it is difficult
5. A learnable relationship: Skills and competences
6. A boundaried relationship: When to stop
7. An elusive relationship: Is hope friend or foe?
8. An amplified relationship: Neurodiversity, therapy, and faith
9. Our changing relationship: Spirituality as we get older
10. Reviewing our relationship: Where have we arrived?
11. A loving, living relationship: The vital role of nature

Notes

Index

• By (author) Kate Graham

‘Reading this book involved a very enjoyable imaginary argument with Kate Graham, over everything from the precise meanings of words to the overarching significance of hope, faith, and reason. I'm not sure which of us won the tussle, but it was certainly worth having! Kate writes beautifully and fluently, and states her positions with passion and incisiveness. They are often not the same as my positions – but so much the better.’

— Nick Totton, body psychotherapist, supervisor, and trainer; full member, European Association for Body Psychotherapy

‘The genius of this book lies in its respectful awe of both the therapeutic process and the power of faith, brilliantly presented through a dialogue among mystery, reason, and hope. A must-read for therapists and people of faith.’

— Margaret Benefiel, PhD, CEO of Executive Soul and Program Director of Soul of Leadership; author of 'Crisis Leadership' and 'The Soul of a Leader'

‘I welcome this book. It fills a space in psychotherapy that for too long has been relatively empty, namely the spiritual dimension of the work. The author gently, bravely, and compellingly asks us to value mystery, the unknown, faith, love, and forgiveness. Through numerous case examples, honest self-disclosure, and thought-provoking reflective questions at the end of each chapter, Kate Graham invites the reader, whether therapist or client, to lean into the sacred space that the therapeutic relationship can offer.’

— Robin Shohet, editor of 'Supervision as Spiritual Practice'

'I am a Psychologist and have realised I base most of my work with clients on the visible and provable parts of being human - communication, patterns, relationships, trauma and resulting behaviours and feelings - but have not felt at ease working with faith in the therapy room as I do not consider myself religious.
Reading this book has made me curious about my own relationship with spirituality, fate, hope and mystery, and I intend to use what I have learned in the book to begin my own journey of discovery and hopefully approach faith in all its forms with more curiosity and exploration in sessions.
Thank you for giving me a starting point to expand my skills!'

— 5 star customer review, Louise Styles on 14/06/2026

'I read your book avidly from cover to cover - and I’m not a therapist! I found it really accessible, and it addressed all the issues which make me wary about therapy. Most of all, that the vital source and pulse of being alive is usually omitted from the therapy schedule. You grasped the nettle and extracted the nettle's healing powers. And I love the conversations between Mystery, Hope and Reason'

— Margaret Elphinstone, Author