Excellent discussion!

One additional idea... When dealing with issues where the client has strong religious, philosophical, or political views it may be more productive to work within the client's belief system rather than trying to change it. For example, if the client believes that it is important for a good Christian to see himself as unworthy (as a number of Christian denominations believe) I'd want to find out what they/he believe(s) is the appropriate way for one to deal with one's unworthiness. Many denominations believe that one should accept one's unworthiness, repent, rejoice in God's grace, and then go forth and try to live a good life. This boils down to "I'm unworthy but God loves me anyway so it's OK to accept myself with all my flaws. I need not be miserable about being a flawed human being."

Likewise, one can accept that we live in a world that presents many dangers and then choose whether to shelter our children, to try to equip them to make good choices and cope effectively with the demands of the real world, or to strike a developmentally appropriate balance between the two strategies. One can accept that we have a government that pursues some highly questionable policies and choose whether to respond with fear and vigilance, to endeavor to live a moral life despite the government's questionable activities, or to engage in some degree of political activism.

Both mindfulness-based interventions and Acceptance and Committment Therapy may be relevant.