Client Perceptions on Therapeutic Quality of Care When Disclosing Spiritual and Religious Beliefs or Experiences : A Mixed Methods Study (MASTER'S THESIS) (original) (raw)
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Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2007
This qualitative study explores the process of help-seeking and therapy among clients with religious or spiritual beliefs. Ten clients who were currently in, or had recently finished, therapy were interviewed. Participants reported using their religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with their psychological problems before and during therapy. Prior to therapy, they worried that secular-based help might weaken their faith. However, the experience of having psychological distress and the process of receiving therapy were both perceived as strengthening to faith and ultimately part of a spiritual journey. Contrary to expectations, a match between the spirituality or religious affiliation of the therapist and client was not considered important. This implies that the 'spirituality gap' between secular therapists and clients with religious/spiritual beliefs is bridgeable.
Spiritual/Religious Issues in Therapy at a Community Mental Health Clinic
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the growing area of spirituality and religion in counseling. The American public values religion; and the American Psychological Association (APA) acknowledges religion/spirituality as a vital area of diversity. With APA calling for specialized training in religious diversity, it is important to consider what religious/spiritual issues arise in a community counseling setting. This study was designed to determine whether clients or therapists raise religious issues, and whether clients who self-identify as religiously affiliated spend more time discussing religious/spiritual topics in session. In addition, researchers hoped to learn about what religious content was brought into therapy, and when in the course of short-term therapy spiritual issues arise. Data were gathered from archived session tapes from a community mental health clinic, located at a university that is know in the community to have a strong religious identity. The participants (N = 15) had a mean age of 48.9 years, 60% of them were female and 93.3% self-identified as White; half of them requested faith integrated into their therapy (N = 8). Two session tapes per client were reviewed to look for religious content.
Religion, spirituality and therapeutic practice
2011
Increasing attention has been paid to how therapists might respond respectfully and usefully to clients’ religious and spiritual beliefs and commitments. Although recommendations overlap with principles of good clinical practice, some specific themes have emerged in the literature. Three of these are briefly examined in this article: the assessment process; responding to problematic religious and spiritual material; and training and supervision. Contextual constraints within public sector service provision are also noted. Mindful of these, therapists are encouraged to engage constructively with clients’ religious and spiritual material to enrich therapeutic experience and effectiveness.
Spiritual Interventions In Psychotherapy: Evaluations by Highly Religious Clients
Journal of clinical …, 2007
Spiritual and religious interventions in psychotherapy have increasingly received research attention, particularly with highly religious clients. This study examined client opinions about and experiences with religious interventions in psychotherapy. A sample of 152 clients at a counseling center of a university sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) completed a survey with ratings of specific religious interventions with regards to appropriateness, helpfulness, and prevalence. Out-of-session religious interventions were considered more appropriate by clients than in-session religious interventions, but in-session interventions were rated as more helpful. Specific interventions considered both appropriate and helpful by the LDS participants included referencing scriptural passages, teaching spiritual concepts, encouraging forgiveness, involving religious community resources, and conducting assessments of client spirituality. Some religious interventions were perceived as inappropriate or not helpful, and clients provided explanations for why religious interventions can be either effective or ineffective in psychotherapy.
Berkeley Undergraduate Journal, 2024
Currently, mental health clinicians lack training in spiritual and religious competence, while counseling psychology research does not give adequate attention to the spiritual and religious concerns of clients seeking mental health counseling. In order to improve the quality of mental healthcare, I argue for more research and training to better understand clients’ spiritual and religious needs. I review existing approaches to mental healthcare that integrate spirituality and religion, then outline my own survey- and interview-based research. My study assesses clients’ levels of religiosity and spirituality, discovers the role of spirituality and religion in their mental health, and finds out their experiences working with mental health clinicians. My data indicates that spiritual and religious interest often intersects with defining life events, such as traumatic experiences and existential crises, and that mental health clinicians should be better prepared to understand the role of spirituality and religion to support clients’ psychological and spiritual health.
Religions
Faith experiences constitute important sources of meaning but also a risk of religious struggles. However, studies exploring the faith experiences of clients in relation to psychological functioning in psychotherapy are needed, especially in secularized countries. This study investigated how clients described faith experiences when addressed in psychotherapy, how they experienced faith in relation to coping, and how the experiences were integrated into the psychotherapy. Written records of 33 clients from a psychological clinic with outpatient care in Denmark were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The most prevalent diagnoses among the clients were stress, depression, anxiety, and life crises. The clients reported that spiritual and religious beliefs functioned as sources of meaning and constituted either a strength, a challenge, or a combination of both. The psychosocial life and coping strategies of the clients were interwoven with faith experiences. A psych...
Next steps for clinicians in religious and spiritual therapy: an endpiece
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2009
In Session, the authors identify several next steps for clinicians interested in religious and spiritual therapy. They call for more clinically useful definitions of religion and spirituality and suggest that new methods of clinical practice that employ both Western and Eastern religion and spirituality need to be developed and tested. The need for more clinically focused religious and spiritual assessments is highlighted. They recommend greater clergy-psychotherapist collaboration and propose that clinicians lead and collaborate with researchers to further meaningful research on religion and spirituality. Finally, the authors identify areas of graduate training that require strengthening and provide corresponding guidelines.