Looking for a Secular Therapist? Start With a Non-Religious Therapist Today

Dominic Schmuck, Ph.D., ABPP
4 days ago
6 min read

If you’ve been searching for a secular therapist, you may already know exactly what you’re looking for: a therapist whose work is grounded in psychology and centered on your values, without underlying religious assumptions.

If that’s you, you don’t need to keep searching.

Click the button below to connect with a secular psychologist today. If you’d like to learn more about what secular therapy means and how it works, keep reading.

I am a PhD-level secular psychologist.

You can learn more about me toward the bottom of this article, or get started now by clicking the button below.

Start Working With a Secular Therapist

*Telehealth services available in most U.S. states

Many people begin searching for secular therapy after realizing they want counseling that focuses fully on personal growth, mental health, and evidence-based psychology, without religious expectations or beliefs built into the process.

What Is Secular Therapy?

A secular therapist provides care grounded in psychological science rather than a religious or spiritual framework. Having a religious background does not make a therapist ineffective; however, many clients report that spirituality or religion is often introduced into therapy even when it does not reflect their values or beliefs.

This does not mean religion cannot be discussed in therapy. Instead, it means your therapist does not assume beliefs or introduce religious interpretations unless you include them.

In secular therapy, your worldview becomes the starting point.

Whether you identify as religious, spiritual, agnostic, atheist, questioning, or simply private about personal beliefs, therapy focuses on understanding your experiences and helping you move toward meaningful change based on your own values.

Why People Search for a Secular Therapist

People search for secular therapy for many different reasons. Often it has less to do with rejecting religion and more to do with wanting neutrality and clarity.

A Therapy Space Without Assumptions

Many clients want confidence that therapy will be free from moral or spiritual prescriptions. For many people, it is significantly easier to trust a secular psychologist who does not hold religious beliefs and who approaches their experiences without filtering them through a predetermined spiritual lens.

This allows clients to explore difficult topics such as: relationships, identity, meaning, or personal decisions, without concern that therapy is trying to guide them toward pre-determined values.

Therapy Centered on Your Values

Rather than applying a predefined framework for meaning or purpose, secular therapy focuses on helping you clarify what matters most to you.

Questions often include:

What kind of life feels authentic to you?
What patterns are creating distress or conflict?
What changes would genuinely improve your wellbeing?

The goal is not to define the “right” way to live, but to help you live more intentionally according to your own beliefs and priorities.

When Past Therapy Felt Pushy

Some clients begin searching for secular therapists after previous counseling experiences felt uncomfortable, misaligned, or even pushy. They may have felt pressure, sometimes subtle and sometimes explicit, toward certain beliefs, values, or lifestyle choices.

Others have never had a negative experience but simply want assurance from the outset that therapy will remain grounded in psychology rather than spirituality.

Support During Periods of Change or Questioning

Secular therapy can be particularly helpful during periods of transition, including:

Anxiety, burnout, or chronic stress
Depression or loss of direction
Perfectionism and high self-pressure
Relationship or family conflict
Identity development or life transitions
Periods of questioning or redefining personal beliefs

In these moments, many clients prefer a space where exploration happens without assumptions about meaning or faith.

Is Secular Therapy Only for Non-Religious People?

No.

Many religious clients intentionally choose to work with me, a secular psychologists, because they value a setting where beliefs are explored openly rather than assumed. A secular therapist does not attempt to challenge or replace faith; they simply do not introduce their own religious beliefs into the therapeutic process. Because genuine secular therapists do not hold religious beliefs themselves, clients often experience therapy as a space guided by curiosity and understanding rather than by implicit spiritual or moral expectations.

If spirituality or religion plays an important role in your life, it can absolutely be part of therapy. The difference is that it enters the conversation because it matters to you and not because it matters to your therapist.

What to Expect from Secular Therapy

Secular therapy typically relies on evidence-based psychological approaches supported by research. These may include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to understand and change unhelpful thought and behavior patterns
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to help process difficult experiences, heal from PTSD, and reshape beliefs that develop after trauma
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to build psychological flexibility and values-based action
Solution-Focused Therapy to identify strengths, clarify goals, and create practical steps toward meaningful change
Mindfulness strategies grounded in psychology rather than spiritual practice
Practical skills for managing anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm

Sessions are collaborative and focused on understanding patterns, developing skills, and creating meaningful, sustainable change.

Rather than being told what your life should look like, therapy becomes a process of discovering what works for you and building toward it intentionally.

How to Find a Secular Therapist

If you are still exploring options, here are a couple reputable resources that can help you locate other therapists who practice from a secular, evidence-based perspective. Sadly, resources are currently still extremely limited:

The Secular Therapy Project - a directory of therapists committed to science-based, non-religious counseling.
Psychology Today Therapist Directory - type in your zip code, then click on "All Filters", scroll down to "Faith" and select "Secular and Non-Religious."
Alma Therapist Directory - When searching for a therapist, select the option "My provider's faith" when it comes up and then choose "Secular and Non-Religious."

Please also know thta it is entirely appropriate to ask therapists directly about their religious background or beliefs. Some may prefer not to answer, and that is their choice. But you are equally free to seek a therapist who can clearly reassure you that religion will not influence the therapeutic process because they are not religious. Many clients report being assured that religion would not enter therapy, only to later encounter subtle or explicit pressure toward spiritual or religious perspectives reflecting their therapist’s beliefs. Here are example questions you can ask during a consultation or intro call with your next potential therapist:

How do you approach religion or spirituality in therapy?”
"Are you religious and/or spiritual?"
(if yes above) "What religion are you a part of?"
“Do you work from a secular framework?”
"What does secular therapy mean to you?"
“How do you make sure therapy stays aligned with my values?”

A good therapist will welcome these questions.

Secular Therapy Available Nationwide

You no longer have to limit your search for a secular therapist to your local area. Through new legislature, many people can now work with a licensed psychologist from almost anywhere in the U.S.

If you live in one of the 40+ PSYPACT participating states, you can meet with a secular psychologist from the privacy and comfort of your home. This allows you to choose a therapist based on fit, values, and comfort, and not geography.

As a secular psychologist, there is a strong likelihood that you are eligible to work with me. Simply check the PSYPACT map (states shown in blue) to confirm whether your state participates.

Start Working With Me

A Little About Me

I grew up Mormon and was religiously active for many years. I eventually stepped away from religion and now consider myself agnostic–atheist (leaning atheist).

Earlier in my career, while I was still religious, I began noticing something important: even when I believed I was being neutral, my religious framework sometimes influenced my clinical decisions in subtle and often unconscious ways. There was no malintent. Over time, I came to recognize that my beliefs shaped aspects of my interpretation, emphasis, and therapeutic direction.

As I deepened my commitment to evidence-based psychological science, this awareness became clearer. I came to believe that therapy is most effective when it is not filtered through a therapist’s religious framework, even unintentionally. Stepping away from religion made this easier for me. Not because I no longer have biases (all therapists do), but because I no longer carry an underlying assumption that there is a single “right” way to live that could quietly influence therapeutic decision-making.

That realization is a large part of why I strongly identify as a secular psychologist today. My work is grounded in research, clinical rigor, and deep respect for each client’s autonomy and worldview.

At TruU Psychology, I specialize in therapy for religious trauma, life transitions, relationship trauma, and professional challenges. Many clients seek me out specifically because they want clear assurance that their therapy will not be shaped by religious assumptions. Others come after difficult experiences with prior providers and are looking for a space that feels neutral, steady, and psychologically grounded from the outset.