These are critical in the treatment of anxiety and depression. When people’s lives are out of whack with what is meaningful to them, they get despondent at their lack of connection to purpose. They get anxious that they are not completing their life’s work. Some of my clients are highly religious (I work with all religions) and we talk about how they can get reconnected with the best aspects of their religion. Other clients are spiritual rather than religious and we work to reconnect them in appropriate ways. A simple example would be someone who feels spiritually connected to nature yet has stopped taking weekly walks by the river. (You can guess what their homework assignment might be!) An agnostic or atheist might find meaning through helping people, researching family genealogy, doing their best quality work, painting, or any number of other possibilities. My clients and I work hard using specific tools to figure out what feels right to the client.