Is Spiritual/Religious therapy really a CAM?

Christian counseling.  Spiritual advising. Pastoral counseling. Religious institutions.  Prayer with your physician. Pastoral visits while in the hospital. Biblically based addictions treatment. Church based support/recovery groups.
 

The above are all examples of religious or spiritual types of treatment for physical, mental,
emotional, relational and spiritual issues.  But should they be considered Complementary or
Alternative modes of treatment? Or are they a primary source of treatment for many people?

 
Spirituality is on some lists of CAMs (see http://nccam.nih.gov/health/atoz.htm).  To really make
any statements about whether this type of treatment is a CAM or should be considered a primary treatment, we should first define spiritual or religious therapy.  Religion is often seen as a moral set of standards one adheres to that might include participating in a group like setting (i.e. church) to help exercise these standards (Dictionary.com, 2014).  Spirituality has been more difficult to define.  Spirituality in general can be seen as more experiential whether this pertains to religious activities or non-religious activities (Culliford, 2014).  

Furthermore, for the sake of this discussion we need to differentiate between including spirituality or religion into healthcare and therapy that is considered spiritual (or religious).  A patient attends a physicians appointment looking to get treatment for a specific issue (e.g. seeing an oncologist due to cancer).  The physician can include spiritual or religious aspects to treatment and even refer out to someone who has more expertise.  But some people seek spiritual or religious therapy specifically to receive that approach to help with a specific issue (i.e. addiction, depression, relationship issues, etc.). 

Now let's go back to the original question.  Should spiritual or religious therapy be considered a CAM or a primary treatment for some? This is really a matter of opinion.  Some might be offended to say that seeking out a spiritual advisor or a Christian counselor is alternative to anything.  For some, it is the only choice dependent upon the issue to be addressed.  Based on lists of CAMs, it seems to fit.  But it does not make it any less important than traditional forms of therapy. 
 
 

References

Culliford, L. (2014). PsychologyToday.com. What is Spirituality? Retrieved from   

     http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/spiritual-wisdom-secular-times/201103/what-is-spirituality

Dictionary.com (2014). Religion. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion