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Article Excerpt
The concept of spirituality is not new to the counseling profession. Current researchers have suggested that spirituality has reintroduced itself as a primary interest (Frame, 2000; Polanski, 2003). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) lists "Religious or Spiritual Problem" under additional conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention. The standards of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2009) require that students have experience and training in multicultural trends, including spiritual issues. Myers and Williard (2003) noted the increase in articles focusing on the need to train counselors to address the spiritual needs of their clients. Finally, Stanard, Sandhu, and Painter (2000) called for increased attention to spirituality as a part of human development.
Spirituality has been defined as the capacity and tendency present in human beings to find and construct meaning about life and existence (Myers & Williard, 2003, p. 149). Spirituality is the choice to move toward personal growth, responsibility, and relationship with others (Myers & Williar & 2003). Religion has been defined as institutional beliefs and behaviors that are a part of the broader concept of spirituality (Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000, p. 252). Young, Wiggins-Frame, and Cashwell (2007) presented the results from a national survey of American Counseling Association (ACA) members. Of the 505 respondents, 82% agreed or strongly agreed when responding to the statement "I consider myself to be a spiritual person," and 48% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "I consider myself to be a religious person."
With the increasing awareness of spirituality and the role it plays in mental health and wellness, there is a need for counselors to be prepared to address a variety of issues in their therapy sessions. Authors have explored the theoretical potential for harming clients by not addressing spiritual needs (MacDonald, 2004; Souza, 2002). Intense spiritual experiences may be more difficult for clients to express if they perceive that the counselor would judge them as being too religious or perhaps pathological (Anandarajah & Hight, 2001).
Current researchers have mainly presented surveys that gathered opinions on the topic of spirituality (Young et al., 2007) and have offered thought pieces such as suggestions for ways to incorporate counselor training for spirituality (e.g., Briggs & Rayle, 2005; Cashwell & Young, 2004; Curtis & Glass, 2002). Research has also shown the positive outcomes connected with spirituality (Andrews & Marotta, 2005; Robert, Young, & Kelly, 2006), but there is a dearth of empirical research designed to answer questions about the impact of counselors' personal spiritual beliefs and experiences on their therapy focus or treatment themes. Counselors have been taught an array of competencies (Myers & Williard, 2003) to assist them in their work with clients, yet it is not known if such training has an influence on counselors' acknowledgement that clients may have spiritual concerns. To be explicit, it is not known which counselor variables (i.e., spiritual beliefs, experiences, or training) explain differences in their therapy focus and treatment theme or which variables explain differences in their perceived competence when counseling a client with spiritual concerns. The purpose of this study was to examine a sample of current practitioners in mental health to determine their professional judgments concerning clients who presented spiritual issues.
Method
Participants
The participants for this study were selected from the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA); the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC); and a CACREP-accredited university sample of graduate students. The rationale for this selection was based on the determination that the study would have greater generalizability if participants had actual experience as counselors. We determined that one way to do this was to invite practitioners from AMHCA to participate because they were likely to be current therapists. We also recognized the need for a selection of participants who had a high probability of personal identity with spirituality. If the study did not include enough participants who could be assumed to have a spiritual identity (e.g., members of ASERVIC), there was concern that the research might not provide useful results. We chose to include counseling and clinical psychology students because of our access to this population and their appropriateness to the study as counselors. The survey-based research design was distributed in identical format for all via the e-mail addresses provided by AMHCA; ASERVIC; and a midsized, nonreligious-affiliated, western university. A total of 2,000 AMHCA members, 999 ASERVIC members, and 237 counseling and psychology students were invited to participate. Of all attempted e-mails, 493 were returned as undeliverable.
The final total of participants for this study was 572 counselors. Approximately 50% (n = 290; 50.7%) were from AMHCA; 242 (42.3%) were from ASERVIC; and 40 (7.0%) were from a midsized, nonreligious-affiliated, western university. Fifty-two participants did not complete the survey, leaving a total of 520 surveys. There were 166 men (31.9%), 353 women (67.9%), and 1 (1.9%) selection for the category other. Nearly half (46.9%, n = 244) were Christian/Protestant, 17.5% were Catholic (n = 91), 4.6% were Jewish (n = 24), 1.7% were Buddhist (n = 9), 17.3% had no religion (n = 90), and 11.9% (n = 62) claimed other.
Regarding their professional spirituality training, 9.8% of participants reported they had taught an entire course (n = 51), 42.1% indicated they had taken an entire class (n = 219), and 48.5% indicated they had studied content within a university course (n = 252). Regarding professional conferences, 18.0% indicated they had taught an educational session (n = 94), 6.4% had led a poster session (n = 33), 53.9% had attended an educational session (n = 280), and 22.3% had visited a poster session (n = 116). Concerning professional literature, 10% had published an article (n = 52), and 79% had read an article regarding spirituality (n = 410). Seventy-three percent of participants had read a counseling book about spirituality (n = 378). (These percentages are based on the total responses...
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