Integrating Religion And Spirituality Into Counseling
By: Todd Long
Submitted: 2010-05-20 13:01:47 | Word Count: 455
Most training practices currently espouse patient treatment or care focus that is holistic aiming at treating the patient completely regardless of the profession. Regardless of this, spiritual religious concerns classically receive short shrift in psychotherapeutic education and are frequently viewed as latent clinical quicksand, exposed to a lot of danger and explored no further than ankle deep. The 2 set of volumes, is watchful of this historical favoritism and cover it directly, to consist of the possible pratfalls of psychotherapists inflowing this ground in the traditional fifty minute hour.
The scope of these volumes is extremely helpful. The book not only cover the theoretical issues, but every chapter comprise a clinical vignette or 2 pertinent to the topic at hand, including activity sheets, assessment tools, bibliographies, homework assignments and clinical caveats. It is an indication that these volumes are the love labor of the editor meant for providing cheering section and a safety net for clinician who wants to involve their psychotherapy clients in a way that does not draw back from religious and spiritual concerns. The volumes in addition illustrates the effectiveness of counseling, for counseling to be very effective, counselors must address the body, spirit and mind need. Religious and spiritual counseling needs have not been addressed by counseling.
The contributors and editors in these volumes clearly illustrated that not all professional psychotherapist are individually called to this type of approach for the reason that belief stand and that others, regardless of being "believers," may be ill suited to involve the clients to follow their religious and spiritual matters. Before engaging in these specialization professional psychotherapy are cautioned to be spirituality nourished and well informed. Professional psychotherapy’ self –assessment and spiritual are addressed in various chapters in volume one. The verity that these volumes advocate changing psychiatric therapy into "spiritual direction" or pastoral counseling is not stated clearly.
In add
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ition the editors in these volumes demonstrated that Counseling assists clients to gain insight into the traditions, their core belief and the moral values are echoed in their behaviors. Sometimes clients found the importance of reexamining the moral values. Counselors should remain nonjudgmental and open, acknowledging that there are numerous paths ways toward satisfying the spiritual and religious needs. Pathway prescription is not the counselors ’responsibility. Resolving of clients problems can be achieved by Counselors making use of the religious and spiritual moral beliefs of their clients. To help them explore and resolve their problems. Counselors need to be very competent in working with spiritual and religious concerns to effectively address spiritual and religious concerns in treatment and assessment. Training programs in therapeutic process must integrate discussions on working together with spiritual and religious values .
