Quaker waiting worship and clearness committees

1. Introduction

Version followed: for waiting worship, Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting, 5th edition online), chapter 2, and the Quaker Life leaflet Quaker worship; for clearness, Quaker faith & practice 12.24 and the Quaker Life guidance Clearness (Britain Yearly Meeting, 2006, updated 2012), with the Circle of Trust variant described by Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal named separately wherever it differs.

Unprogrammed Quaker worship ("waiting worship" or "meeting for worship") is a gathering with no prearranged service or appointed minister, in which people wait together in silence, expecting, in Friends' own terms, to experience God's presence; anyone present may speak briefly if moved to do so. Friends describe the silence as active waiting in which the Inner Light can grow, and they stress that it is corporate worship, not individual meditation. [source: Quaker worship leaflet; QF&P 2.12, 2.37]

A meeting (or committee) for clearness is a small group, usually convened through the local meeting's elders or overseers, that helps one "focus person" become clear about options or a way forward by listening and asking questions rather than giving advice. It has been used before marriage, for membership requests, for testing a leading, and for personal decisions. Britain Yearly Meeting's guidance says it is not advice-giving, problem-solving, therapy, mediation or a support group, and it cannot be imposed on anyone. [source: QF&P 12.24; BYM Clearness guidance 2012]

How change happens, as the tradition and its teachers frame it: Friends hold that there is "that of God" in each person and that guidance comes through inward listening, tested in community; Palmer frames the clearness committee as resting on belief in an "inner teacher", with the committee's task being to remove interference so the person can hear their own truth. These are religious and philosophical claims of the tradition, reported here, not clinical mechanisms. [source: Quaker worship leaflet; Palmer, The Clearness Committee]

This is a contemplative practice of a living tradition, not a psychotherapy. In therapy it belongs to the client: the psychotherapist's role is client-led integration within spiritually integrated psychotherapy (Domain VII), with secular cousins in Domain II (MBSR, MBCT) for silence-based work, and trauma-sensitive adaptations as in Domain IV. [synthesis]

2. Framework

2a. Waiting worship as Friends publish it

Format: a group, usually seated in a circle or square, typically for about an hour (the leaflet notes that settling "may take most of the hour"; no fixed length is prescribed). [source: Quaker worship leaflet]
Movements within a meeting, as described in QF&P chapter 2 (these are not formal stages): preparation in daily life and arrival (2.42, 2.45, 2.47); settling or "centring down", including sifting the week's thoughts (2.52–2.53); active, expectant waiting (2.12–2.16); vocal ministry, if any arises, given briefly and received without debate (2.55–2.70); and, at best, a "gathered" meeting, which Friends say can be known only by experience (2.38–2.40). How a meeting formally closes is not described in chapter 2 [uncertain: not verified].
Moving between movements is not timed or directed; there is no leader cueing transitions. [source: Quaker worship leaflet]
Over a life, Friends speak of carrying worship into daily life, holding "a place of inward retirement" (2.21). [source: QF&P 2.21–2.22]

2b. Meeting for clearness (Britain Yearly Meeting guidance, 2012)

Who: focus person plus about five to six participants (QF&P 12.24 says four or five trusted Friends), chosen by a convener, usually a Friend with eldership or oversight responsibility, in consultation with the focus person. A Ghanaian meeting's essay gives three to five. [source: BYM Clearness guidance; QF&P 12.24; Hill House essay]
Length: about two hours, then informal time together. Most are single meetings; further meetings may follow. [source: BYM Clearness guidance]
Sample sequence (paraphrased; timings are the guidance's suggestions): introductions; facilitator explains purpose and ground rules; opening worship; optional naming of bias; focus person presents; clarifying questions; quiet, then questions arising from silence; a more relaxed discussion with the facilitator guarding against advice; quiet, in which the focus person may say where they have reached or that the time is not right; next steps (including whether to meet again); closing worship. [source: BYM Clearness guidance]
Criterion for ending: the focus person's own sense of clearness, or acknowledgement that clearness has not yet come; there is no pressure to decide. [source: BYM Clearness guidance]

2c. Circle of Trust clearness committee (Palmer / Center for Courage & Renewal)

Two hours, with a schedule given to members beforehand. [source: Palmer, The Clearness Committee]
Focus person prepares a short statement of the problem, background factors and hunches about what lies ahead, and presents it orally in 10 to 15 minutes at most. [source: Palmer]
Questions-only period for most of the time; about fifteen minutes before the end, the focus person is asked whether they want mirroring; in the last five minutes the clerk invites affirmation and celebration of the focus person. The focus person chooses how to close. [source: Palmer; Courage & Renewal prep document]
The committee runs its full time even if questions seem exhausted; the problem is not expected to be solved in the session. [source: Palmer]
Origin claims differ: Palmer dates the method to the 1660s; BYM traces the term "clearness" to George Fox. Some Quaker writers argue that personal-discernment committees are a much more recent development [uncertain: not verified].

2d. The psychotherapist's framework alongside

[synthesis] Assessment of the practice's place in the client's life (CFI spirituality module) → client-led decisions about whether and how worship or clearness enters therapy → ongoing monitoring for benefit and adverse experiences → referral or collaboration with elders, overseers or a pastoral care group when the client wishes. No session count is given in any source for therapeutic integration.

3. Guiding principles

Worship is corporate, not individual meditation (QF&P 2.37): when a client talks about meeting, ask about the group and relationships, not only inner states.
Silence is active, expectant waiting, not empty time (QF&P 2.12, 2.14): respect the client's account of what silence is for; do not reframe it as relaxation.
Wandering thoughts are normal; return gently (QF&P 2.48–2.49): validates clients who think they are "failing" at worship.
Ministry is spoken only when moved, briefly, and without debate (QF&P 2.59–2.61, 2.69): anxiety about whether one is "really led" to speak is a common, tradition-recognised concern, not in itself a symptom.
Dryness is part of the path (QF&P 2.31, 2.44–2.45): normalise flat periods without pathologising them, while still screening for depression [synthesis].
Questions, not advice (BYM guidance; Palmer): in clearness, and when borrowing its style in therapy, avoid "why don't you…" in disguise.
Honest, open questions are ones the asker cannot anticipate the answer to (Palmer): a practical test for your own questions.
The focus person controls the limits (Palmer; BYM guidance): every question may be declined; privacy outranks the group's curiosity.
Go slowly; silence is welcome (Courage & Renewal prep document): pacing protects reflection.
Confidentiality in two directions (Palmer; Courage & Renewal): nothing repeated, and nobody raises the matter later unless the focus person does.
Clearness is not therapy and is not imposed (BYM guidance): never prescribe a clearness committee; never run one as a therapist for your client.
Not for extremely fragile people or delicate problems (Palmer): screen before encouraging a client toward one.
Bias is named at the outset (BYM guidance): a model for your own disclosure of relevant commitments [synthesis].
Religious claims are attributed (Domain XIII practice): speak of "the Light", "leadings" or "that of God" in the client's own words, without endorsing or dismissing them [synthesis].
The therapist is not an elder, overseer or clearness participant for the client: hold the clinical role; refer discernment to the meeting [synthesis].
Spiritual and religious competence is part of professional competence (Vieten et al. 2013 identify 16 attitude, knowledge and skill competencies): seek consultation when unfamiliar with Quaker practice.

4. Intervention inventory

Part A describes the practices as Friends and the Center for Courage & Renewal publicly teach them, so the therapist can understand what a client is doing. Part B is the psychotherapist's own work alongside them.

Part A. The practices as taught

A1. Meeting for worship (unprogrammed waiting worship)

Purpose and when used: the central corporate worship of unprogrammed Friends, usually weekly; Friends describe it as being still together in expectation of God's presence. [source: Quaker worship leaflet; QF&P 2.35–2.40]
Steps (publicly taught, in summary): come with heart and mind prepared, letting go of outward concerns, and arrive on time so the group can begin together (2.42, 2.47); sit with others, usually in a circle or square; wait in silence, absorbing outside sounds rather than fighting them; if spoken ministry comes, listen for the truth beneath the words; let the silence resume. [source: QF&P 2.42–2.47; Quaker worship leaflet]
Example language (illustrative): "When you say meeting was 'gathered' on Sunday, what was that like for you?" / "Would it help to talk about what you bring into meeting from the week?"
Watch for: a client who feels like an outsider, or who uses meeting to avoid relationships it is meant to deepen [synthesis]; adverse experiences in silence (see B6). Signs it is serving the client, in their own terms: they describe connection, steadiness or clarity carried "into the following days" (leaflet).

A2. Centring down and returning from wandering thoughts

Purpose: settling into worship. QF&P describes people arriving with a backlog of thoughts, sifting the week, or with competing inner voices that are gradually quietened (2.52–2.53).
Steps (as described): turn the mind toward the Light and wait (2.41); when thoughts wander, do not be disheartened; stay still and let distressing thoughts pass; gently return the mind to its focus, as QF&P quotes Francis de Sales advising (2.48–2.49). No breath technique is taught. [source: QF&P 2.41–2.53]
Example language (illustrative): "Your tradition seems to expect wandering and treats gentle returning as part of worship. Does that fit how you've been judging yourself?"
Watch for: harsh self-criticism about "bad" worship; intrusive or distressing thoughts that do not pass (consider trauma, OCD or depression, B6–B8).

A3. Discerning vocal ministry

Purpose: speaking in meeting only when moved; Friends describe ministry as coming "through us, not from us" (QF&P 2.60).
Steps (as described): speak only under a sense of divine leading and keep close to your gift (2.59); if unsure, consider that you should not speak (2.60); ask whether the message could be shorter or given through your life alone (2.64); wait for the right moment and avoid adding to a meeting already complete (2.55); do not answer or debate earlier ministry (2.69); leave silence between messages (2.70). Elders nurture ministry and may advise those who speak (2.71). [source: QF&P 2.55–2.71]
Example language (illustrative): "You've been rehearsing whether you were 'really led'. What would your elders say about how Friends usually test that?"
Watch for: social anxiety around speaking; scrupulous checking of whether one was led (B8); distress after being eldered. Working well: the client can tolerate uncertainty about speaking.

A4. Dryness and perseverance

Purpose: Friends anticipate dry or weary periods and encourage continuing to attend with a sense of need; difficult times can be "training times" (QF&P 2.31, 2.44–2.45).
Steps (as described): keep attending; do not let turmoil or tiredness keep you away; wait for light to return. [source: QF&P 2.31, 2.44–2.45]
Example language (illustrative): "Your tradition has words for dry seasons. Alongside that, I'd like to check how your sleep, appetite and mood have been."
Watch for: depression presenting as spiritual dryness; do not reduce one to the other [synthesis].

A5. Inward retirement and worship in daily life

Purpose: carrying the attentiveness of worship into ordinary life; QF&P speaks of holding "a place of inward retirement" during the day (2.21–2.22).
Steps: brief inward turning and prayer through the day, as the client's own tradition practises it; no method or timing is prescribed in the passages consulted. [source: QF&P 2.21–2.22]
Example language (illustrative): "Is there a moment in your day when that inward turning already happens?"
Watch for: use as avoidance of necessary action [synthesis].

A6. Worship sharing and other enriching practices

Purpose: QF&P lists worship-sharing groups, small-group Bible study and meetings in homes as ways of deepening worship and trust (2.78–2.84). The format of worship sharing is not set out in the passages summarised [uncertain: not verified].
Steps: refer the client to their meeting for the local format.
Example language (illustrative): "Would a smaller group at your meeting feel safer than the full meeting right now?"
Watch for: pressure to disclose; confidentiality norms in the group [synthesis].

A7. Meeting for clearness (Britain Yearly Meeting)

Purpose: helping a focus person discern options and a way forward; used for marriage, membership, leadings, new directions, laying down past matters and uncertainties. [source: BYM Clearness guidance; QF&P 12.24]
Steps (paraphrased from the guidance): the focus person (or someone else) suggests a meeting; elders or overseers are normally consulted; a convener explains purpose, process and confidentiality and, with the focus person, chooses about five or six participants with a gift for discernment who can refrain from advice; anyone with strong feelings states them at the outset; the focus person writes down the issues, circulating notes if detailed; the meeting runs through introductions, ground rules, opening worship, optional naming of bias, the focus person's presentation, clarifying questions, questions arising from silence, a guarded discussion, quiet for the focus person to say where they have reached, next steps, and closing worship. An optional note-taker records questions for the focus person. [source: BYM Clearness guidance]
Example language (illustrative, from a participant): "It sounds to me as if part of you already knows, and part of you is afraid of what it costs." (The guidance recommends tentative phrasing of this kind.)
Watch for: drift into advice or conversation (the facilitator's task to prevent); a focus person who feels pressed to decide; group members with undeclared stakes.

A8. Clearness committee (Circle of Trust variant, Palmer)

Purpose: personal discernment in Courage & Renewal retreats, framed around listening to the "inner teacher". [source: Palmer; couragerenewal.org]
Steps (paraphrased): focus person reflects beforehand on the problem, background and hunches, and may tell facilitators confidentially whom they do or do not want on the committee; the meeting opens in silence, broken by the focus person's brief presentation; members speak only through honest, open questions, close to the focus person's own words, about feelings as well as facts, one follow-up at most before others speak; pace is slow, silence welcome; members suppress reactions (no comforting of tears, no laughter at humour) to protect the space; optional verbatim notes are given to the focus person; at the scheduled point the focus person may accept mirroring; the clerk invites affirmation; the focus person chooses the closing. [source: Palmer; Courage & Renewal prep document]
Example language (illustrative): "What did you mean by the word 'trapped'?" Palmer's own contrast is between questions like "Did you ever feel like this before?" and leading ones such as "Didn't you feel angry?"
Watch for: "advice in disguise"; amateur psychoanalysis; a focus person who is very fragile (Palmer says the method is not suited to them).

A9. Honest, open questions and mirroring

Purpose: the core listening discipline of both versions. A good question is one the asker "could not possibly anticipate the answer" to (Palmer).
Steps: listen; wait; ask briefly in the person's own language; accept a pass; in mirroring, reflect words and body language without steering. [source: Palmer; BYM Clearness guidance]
Example language (illustrative): "You smiled when you mentioned the old job. Would you like to say anything about that?"
Watch for: questions that serve the asker's curiosity; mirroring that becomes interpretation.

Part B. The psychotherapist's work alongside

B1. Assessment with the CFI Spirituality, Religion and Moral Traditions module

Purpose: understand what worship, meeting membership and discernment mean in the client's life, and how they bear on the problem and on coping.
Steps: use the module (16 questions, adjunct to the core CFI or on its own) flexibly, substituting the client's own name for their tradition (for example "Friends" or "Quakers"); cover identity and affiliation, role in daily life and decisions, practices at home and in meeting, role in coping (including support from elders, overseers, texts, worship), and tradition-related stresses or conflicts; revisit later as rapport grows. Do not reproduce items to the client as a form; paraphrase in conversation. [source: APA CFI Supplementary Modules]
Example language (illustrative): "How does your meeting usually help someone facing a decision like this?"
Watch for: conflict with the meeting, or an experience of being eldered, as a stressor; multiple traditions (many Friends draw on more than one), each worth exploring, as the module advises.

B2. Client-led use of silence in session

Purpose: when the client asks, allow a short period of shared silence in the manner of their worship, for settling or discernment. [synthesis]
Steps [synthesis]: obtain explicit consent and agree who ends the silence and how; keep eyes-open and seating choices with the client; agree a signal to stop; afterwards ask what arose rather than interpreting it; record the agreement in notes. No source gives durations for therapeutic use; keep it brief and client-paced.
Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned you think best in silence, as in meeting. Would you like us to sit quietly for a bit before you decide? You can end it whenever you want."
Watch for: rising arousal, dissociation or flashbacks in silence (B6–B7); the therapist's silence being experienced as withholding or judgement. Working: the client reports settling and speaks from a clearer place.

B3. Clearness-style honest, open questions within therapy

Purpose: a non-directive questioning stance compatible with many therapies, borrowed with the client's knowledge. [synthesis, drawing on Palmer]
Steps: name the borrowing ("this is like the questions in a clearness meeting"); ask brief questions in the client's own words that you cannot predict the answer to; allow passes; avoid advice and interpretation in question form; offer mirroring only with permission. This is not a clearness meeting, which BYM says is a communal, worship-based process and not therapy. [synthesis; source: Palmer; BYM guidance]
Example language (illustrative): "Can I ask a few questions the way a clearness committee might, without me steering? You can pass on any of them."
Watch for: clinical situations needing directive work (risk, safeguarding, psychoeducation), where a questions-only stance is inappropriate [synthesis].

B4. Supporting a client before and after a clearness meeting

Purpose: help the client decide whether to seek one, prepare, and integrate what happened.
Steps: explore readiness, given Palmer's caution about fragile people and delicate problems; help the client write their own statement (problem, background, hunches; BYM suggests written notes as an aide-memoire) without the therapist drafting it; discuss whom they would or would not want present and how to tell the convener; afterwards, let the client lead on what stays private, remembering that participants hold confidentiality and may give them notes. [source: Palmer; BYM guidance; synthesis for the therapist's role]
Example language (illustrative): "What would you want the committee to understand before they start asking questions?"
Watch for: hopes that the committee will decide for the client; distress if clearness does not come; feeling exposed afterwards.

B5. Referral and collaboration with elders, overseers and pastoral care

Purpose: discernment and spiritual nurture belong to the meeting; in Britain elders and overseers (and in some meetings a Ministry and Counsel or pastoral care committee) hold this role. [source: QF&P 12.24, 2.71; Hill House essay]
Steps [synthesis]: ask whether the client wants contact; obtain written consent specifying what may be shared; keep clinical information to the minimum needed; clarify roles (the meeting discerns; you treat); never ask the meeting to convene a clearness meeting on the client's behalf.
Example language (illustrative): "Would it help if I spoke with the Friend who convenes clearness meetings, or would you rather keep that separate?"
Watch for: confusion of confidentiality norms between meeting and clinic.

B6. Screening for and responding to adverse experiences in silent worship

Purpose: silent, inward practices can be associated with challenging experiences. The Varieties of Contemplative Experience study (Lindahl et al. 2017, PLOS ONE; Buddhist meditators, not Quakers) mapped 59 kinds of experience across cognitive, perceptual, affective, somatic, conative, sense-of-self and social domains, lasting from days to over a decade in some cases, and influenced by practitioner, practice, relationship and health factors. A systematic review (Farias et al. 2020, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica) found adverse events reported in 65% of 83 studies, pooled prevalence 8.3%, most often anxiety, depression and cognitive anomalies, including in people without prior mental health history. Evidence specific to Quaker worship: none found in the sources consulted. [source: Brown University news on Lindahl et al.; PubMed record of Farias et al.]
Steps [synthesis]: ask routinely what happens for the client in silence; screen for trauma history, psychosis, mania and dissociation before encouraging longer retreats or intensive silent programmes; if difficulties arise, discuss reducing time in silence, keeping eyes open, sitting near an exit, grounding through ordinary sensory contact and activity, and attending more structured or shorter gatherings; with consent, involve elders; for specialist meditation-related difficulties, Cheetah House offers information, peer support and consultations. [source: Cheetah House resources]
Example language (illustrative): "Some people find long silences stir up difficult things. Has anything like that happened for you in meeting?"
Watch for: panic, depersonalisation, perceptual changes, insomnia, changes in sense of self. Working: distress decreases as dose is adjusted.

B7. Trauma-sensitive adaptation

Purpose: Treleaven (2018) argues that mindfulness practised without trauma awareness can worsen symptoms, and organises adaptations around five principles: attention, arousal, relationship, dissociation and social context. [source: Treleaven 2018, publisher listing] Cross-refer Domain IV.
Steps [synthesis applying Treleaven's principles to worship]: support choice of where to rest attention (outer sounds, the room, other people), since QF&P itself treats outer sounds as part of worship; track arousal and agree a way to step out; attend to relationships in the meeting room (seating, who is present); notice dissociation and re-orient; consider social context, for example a client harmed in a religious setting.
Example language (illustrative): "It's fine to keep your eyes open and look at the room. Your worship doesn't depend on closing them."
Watch for: freezing, numbing, losing time; shame at leaving early.

B8. Scrupulosity around leadings, ministry and integrity

Purpose: practices of discerning whether one is "led", whether to speak, and Friends' emphasis on integrity can become the content of scrupulous doubt. [synthesis]
Steps [synthesis; IOCDF guidance not verified]: assess for OCD (repetitive checking, reassurance-seeking from elders or Friends, distress disproportionate to the tradition's own norms); explain that exposure and response prevention can be adapted to religious content in consultation with a religious authority the client trusts; use the tradition's own teaching (for instance QF&P's counsel not to be disheartened by distressing thoughts, 2.48) as agreed with that authority, not as reassurance on demand.
Example language (illustrative): "Your elders might say uncertainty about being led is ordinary. OCD tends to demand certainty. Shall we look at which is driving this?"
Watch for: the therapist being recruited as a reassurance source.

B9. Telling spiritual experience apart from illness

Purpose: Friends speak of the Light, leadings and gathered meetings; such experiences should be neither pathologised nor used to miss psychosis, mania, depression or dissociation. [synthesis]
Steps [synthesis]: ask whether the experience fits the client's community's understanding and whether their meeting recognises it; assess functioning, sleep, conviction, distress and safety; where the problem is primarily religious or spiritual, note that DSM-5-TR lists Religious or Spiritual Problem among conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention (code Z65.8); refer for psychiatric assessment if there are psychotic or manic features.
Example language (illustrative): "How do Friends in your meeting understand an experience like this?"
Watch for: grandiosity, sleeplessness, or isolation from the meeting.

B10. Secular and clinical cousins

Purpose: for clients who value silence and discernment but not Quaker theology. Courage & Renewal Circles of Trust use the clearness committee in retreats for a broad public. Silence-based clinical programmes are in Domain II (MBSR, MBCT, MSC, CFT); spiritually integrated psychotherapy is in Domain VII. [source: couragerenewal.org; synthesis for cross-reference]
Steps: name the origin; do not present a secular version as Quaker worship.
Example language (illustrative): "There's a version of this used outside Quaker meetings, if that suits you better."
Watch for: cultural appropriation concerns raised by the client.

B11. Roles, boundaries and self-disclosure

Purpose: the psychotherapist is not an elder, overseer, minister or clearness participant for the client. [synthesis]
Steps [synthesis]: if you attend the same meeting, discuss the dual relationship at the outset and decline invitations to sit on the client's clearness committee; consider whether to disclose your own religious commitments when relevant, guided by the client's welfare; follow your profession's ethics code on multiple relationships; seek consultation where Quaker practice is unfamiliar (Vieten et al. 2013 competencies).
Example language (illustrative): "I'm also a Friend, and I want to be clear I'm here as your therapist, not as part of your meeting's care."
Watch for: pull to give spiritual direction.

5. Handling problems

Guidance below is [synthesis] unless a source is named.

"Nothing happens in meeting" / dryness. Friends' own texts expect dry periods and encourage continued attendance (QF&P 2.31, 2.44–2.45). Respond by normalising within the tradition and separately screening mood. Example (illustrative): "Your tradition expects dry times. I also want to make sure we're not missing depression."
Stuck in a decision; hoping a clearness meeting will decide. BYM and Palmer both say the committee does not decide and need not reach clearness in one meeting; further meetings are possible (BYM guidance). Help the client hold the question; explore what deciding would cost.
Resistance to questions-only style in therapy. Some clients want advice. Ask openly which they want today; a clearness style is an option, not a rule in therapy.
Overwhelm or dissociation in silence (in session or meeting). Stop or shorten silence; open eyes; orient to the room; agree a way to leave meeting without shame; involve elders only with consent (Treleaven's arousal and dissociation principles; Cheetah House for specialist support). If symptoms persist after stopping, assess for trauma, anxiety or psychosis and refer as needed.
Non-attendance or avoidance of meeting. Explore without pushing: social anxiety, conflict in the meeting, harm experienced there, or changing belief. Return is the client's choice.
Distress after ministry or after being eldered. Explore the meaning; distinguish ordinary community feedback from shaming; support the client in raising it through the meeting's own processes if they choose.
A clearness meeting that drifted into advice, judgement or pressure. The BYM guidance makes preventing this the facilitator's job and says clearness cannot be imposed. Help the client name what happened, decide whether to raise it with the convener or elders, and repair any self-blame.
Breach of confidentiality in the meeting. Both versions make confidentiality central (BYM guidance; Palmer). Explore the impact and options for raising it within the meeting; consider the client's safety and reputation.
Scrupulosity about being "led". See B8; avoid becoming a reassurance source; consult the client's trusted religious authority if the client consents.
Unusual experiences: Light, voices, certainty of a leading. See B9; hold both possibilities; refer for psychiatric review if there are red flags (sleep loss, grandiosity, impaired functioning, risk).
Conflict in the meeting, power and leaving. Friends have no clergy, but elders, overseers and committees hold real influence. Listen for coercive pressure (isolation, control of decisions, punishment of dissent), which is not described in the Quaker sources consulted and should not be assumed. If the client leaves, attend to grief and to any religious trauma. Independent findings of misconduct: none found in the sources consulted.
Children. QF&P describes children in meeting and as ministers (2.74–2.76). Clearness meetings are not described for minors in the sources consulted; follow standard safeguarding and consent/assent procedures if a young person is involved [uncertain: not verified].
Rupture over the therapist's own religion or non-religion. Name it; invite the client's correction; consider consultation (Vieten et al. 2013).
Health claims. No Quaker source consulted presents worship or clearness as a treatment for physical disease; do not present them so.

Sources

Web sources:

Publications cited:

Britain Yearly Meeting. Quaker faith & practice (5th edition, online).
Lindahl, J. R., et al. (2017). The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists. PLOS ONE.
Farias, M., et al. (2020). Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 142(5), 374–393.
Vieten, C., Scammell, S., Pilato, R., Ammondson, I., Pargament, K. I., & Lukoff, D. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(3), 129–144.
Treleaven, D. A. (2018). Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing. W. W. Norton.
Palmer, P. J. A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, chapter 8 (cited in Palmer's article and the Courage & Renewal page).
ICD-10-CM Z65.8, Other specified problems related to psychosocial circumstances (includes 'Religious or spiritual problem'), https://www.unboundmedicine.com/icd/view/ICD-10-CM/945432/all/Z65_8___Other_specified_problems_related_to_psychosocial_circumstances

Also referred to [uncertain: not verified]: the DSM-5-TR Religious or Spiritual Problem category; IOCDF guidance on scrupulosity.

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