Book excerpt: Building the Therapeutic Sanctuary presents a guide for both the beginning and advanced therapist interested in creating the best healing environment for their patients. Divided into three parts, the book describes how to create a place of refuge that encourages a safe, comfortable and healing relationship and presents a highly useful theory of the stages of change in the therapeutic process--an important contribution to contemporary thinking about spirituality, psychology and family systems theory. The book shows how psychotherapy based on sound theological principles advances the healing potential in the relationship between therapist and patient.