The Secular Therapy Project, sometimes abbreviated to STP, is a 501(c)(3)

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

founded in 2012 by Dr.

Darrel Ray Darrel Wayne Ray (born August 24, 1950) is an American organizational psychologist and author who focuses on topics such as workplace organizational culture, secular sexuality, and the treatment of religion-induced trauma. He is a public speake ...

as part of its parent project,

Recovering from Religion Recovering from Religion (RfR) is an international non-profit organization that helps people who have left religion, are in process of leaving, or are dealing with problems arising out of theistic doubt or non-belief. RfR provides support groups ...

. The aim of the organisation is "to help connect

non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and anti ...

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

persons who need

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

services with outstanding mental health professionals, such as

psychologists A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how ind ...

psychiatrists A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...

, counselors, clinical

social workers Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, and others."

History

In 2011 and early 2012, during a book tour for his book ''Sex and God,'' psychologist Dr.

was contacted by many people sharing stories of therapists using religious or spiritual techniques rather than scientific methods. Ray learned of the difficulties in finding therapists using evidence-based techniques in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, speculating that such therapists avoided advertising themselves as

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

because it might drive away religious clients. To provide a solution to this problem, in April 2012, RfR launched the "Secular Therapist Project", a service using only secular therapists. Just over a year after the launch, in August 2013, the project had reached a key milestone of 2000 registered clients. In 2016, Ray stepped down as director of the project to focus on projects with

, and made way for Dr. Caleb Lack, a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of Psychology at the

University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO or Central State) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with more than 17,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founde ...

. In September 2017, RfR updated the project's name to the Secular Therapy Project, launched a brand new website and database, and revealed that over 10,000 clients had found secular therapists in the five years since the organisation's launch.

Services

The organization provides services for both registered

psychotherapists Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

and potential clients: for clients, the website is a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases spa ...

of therapists who use scientific and secular methods to treat their patients; for therapists, it's a way to discreetly offer those services without their wider client base – which is often heavily religious – finding out. According to the organization's website, "therapists are not free to advertise that they are secular without endangering their practice or their families." In

vetting Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award, or doing fact-checking prior to making any decision. In addition, in intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine th ...

potential therapists for the database, the organization uses a three-step process, ensuring the therapists are

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

professionals A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

, are using evidence-based practices, and are themselves secular. For clients, the organization maintains

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

by requiring clients to only give minimal information upon registration – an

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

address and a zip code – and allows clients to contact therapists through the website with this basic information. Clients are then free to contact their chosen therapists outside of the website in order to proceed with sessions.

Response

The organization has won several proponents since it launched in 2012, most notably from professional psychologists. Dr. Ann Lane, a secular psychotherapist, praised the project, claiming that evidence-based practices are beneficial to the most people: "Everyone can benefit from psychological strategies aimed at altering negative patterns of thinking, improving

communication skills Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

, overcoming difficulties in

decision making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...

, setting effective goals, proper

time management Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves of various demands upon a person relating to work ...

and improving organization." Matthew May,

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and gene ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

at Oakland University, undertook a study which demonstrated that individuals who consider leaving their faith but, for whatever reason, do not end up doing so, are more prone to depression.{{Cite journal, last=May, first=Matthew, date=2018-11-01, title=Should I Stay or Should I Go? Religious (Dis)Affiliation and Depressive Symptomatology, journal=Society and Mental Health, language=en, volume=8, issue=3, pages=214–230, doi=10.1177/2156869317748713, s2cid=149154528, issn=2156-8693 He claimed that "we haven’t given much attention to the people who think about leaving and decide to stay", and instability caused by failing to match the expectations of those around us causes "distress". May's comments were taken by STP Director Caleb Lack as validation for the work of the project.

References

501(c)(3) organizations Freethought organizations Atheism in the United States Irreligion in the United States Organizations established in 2012 Secularist organizations 2012 establishments in the United States