Professional counselors must consider the entirety of the human experience with clients, an experience that includes spirituality. Leaving spirituality out of the counseling process does a disservice to the client, say Tracey Robert and Virginia Kelly, licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and co-editors of Critical Incidents in I ntegrating Spirituality into
Tag: Spirituality and Religious Values
Spirituality and Religious Values
The Pew Research Center’s 2014 survey on the landscape of religion in the United States showed a drastic change in the way people relate to religion and spirituality. Those who identified with the categories of “unaffiliated” or “nothing in particular” reached 38.6 percent of the population, suggesting a crack in
I was raised with my mother telling me that the three things you were not supposed to discuss in polite company were religion, politics and money. Historically, counselors have also been hesitant to talk about religion or religious issues. This hesitancy is grounded in the profession’s belief in the separation of
Every January, right as the new year begins, we are saturated by commercials for diets, advertisements for exercise machines and stories of people whose lives were transformed upon attaining the elusive goals of slimness and fitness. This message is an undercurrent throughout the entire year, of course; it just becomes
After three sessions with “Alicia,” a 45-year-old African American woman who was the victim of acquaintance rape, the treatment goals centered on addressing her symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The perpetrator of the rape had been a member of Alicia’s church. Although Alicia had subsequently stopped attending worship, the
Exploring how a person’s lack of theological harmony might be perceived through different psychotherapy theories.
In the past decade, research on the efficacy of premarital counseling has proven difficult. The most notable obstacle is the reality of the self-selection bias, which recognizes that couples who are motivated to engage in premarital counseling already exhibit low risk of marital conflict. Seeking to stem divorce rates, many
Students in counselor education courses often ask what special training they need to counsel clients with spiritual issues. I ask these students to consider what course content, prior employment, life experience or other education might prepare them to address religious or spiritual themes. Some report they would rely on pastoral
Imagine a world filled with counselors who all shared the same beliefs, values and attitudes. For those counselors to effectively serve their clients, the clients should also share the same beliefs, values and attitudes as the counselors, right? Thank God I don’t live in that world. Counselors are as diverse
“The tipping point,” a concept presented by Malcolm Gladwell in a book by the same name in 2000, occurs when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire. I believe helping women process the grief they experience after an abortion choice is an idea