To determine if counselors integrate clinical behaviors for addressing religious/spiritual issues in counseling consistent with their ratings of the importance of such behaviors, the authors conducted a national survey of American Counseling Association (ACA) members. Seventy-eight ACA members rated the importance of and frequency with which they…

Spirituality and religion are integral parts of a person's belief system and support network. Although there are many avenues a person can take when seeking mental health care, conservative Protestant clients have a tendency to seek assistance through their church. There is a paucity of literature about conservative Protestant church members'…

The authors empirically evaluated a spiritually based 1-day child maltreatment training program. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up results indicated that participants' recognition of hypothetical maltreatment did not increase after training. Furthermore, although participants decreased their use of items known to dissuade decisions to report, they…

The authors investigated the relationship between religious and spiritual values and moral commitment in marriage to further inform marriage and family counselors about the nature of committed relationships. Using a qualitative research design, they examined individuals' perceptions of moral commitment in their marriage and how their religious and…

Forty-four school counselors and school counseling interns participated in a descriptive study that explored whether students include spirituality and religious issues when they see their school counselor and assessed school counselors' comfort and perceived competence in addressing these concerns. Findings indicated that most respondents (86%)…

This study explored the relationships between an individual's interpersonal functioning, perceived spirituality, and selected spiritual practices. Using Bowen's family systems theory, the authors proposed that an individual's level of spiritual development and level of differentiation are correlated and that certain spiritual practices are…

This study describes the development of the Spiritual Competency Scale, which was based on the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling's original Spiritual Competencies. Participants were 662 counseling students from religiously based and secular universities nationwide. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 22-item,…

This article draws from a phenomenological study on the experience of being a bereavement counselor. Ten bereavement counselors shared their experiences in bereavement counseling. Spiritual and emotional aspects of bereavement counseling with grieving and dying persons are discussed as well as the spiritual effects on and growth processes of the…

Spiritual genograms collect and organize family information of a religious or spiritual nature. The authors explored the use of the spiritual genogram in counselor education. Graduate counseling students were assigned to construct and present a spiritual genogram within a course titled "Counseling and Spirituality." An assessment of the quality of…

Although current research indicates that psychotherapeutic change both affects and is affected by spiritual concerns, relatively little is known about the degree to which spirituality is used as an intervention in counseling and how it is perceived by clients and mental health professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions…

The Buddhist practice of mindfulness is being used more often both to help clients and to facilitate counselor effectiveness. A growing body of research supports these uses of mindfulness. Most authors also emphasize that those who teach mindfulness must also apply it themselves. However, little is known about how counselors and counselor…

Through in-depth interviews with nine adult Jewish nonbelievers, this study explored the onset of their nonbelief and the degree of their spiritual well-being, and compares these results with nine Jewish believers. Findings indicate a need to revise current theories of religious development and also suggest the potential value of counseling…

This study used a flexible, data-driven research method to derive an inductive theory concerning the content and function of religious beliefs. Data from interviews with 28 undergraduates were content analyzed, yielding 7 distinct belief domains: higher power, creation, soul, life after death, spiritual connection with others, fate, and…

Presents evidence to support the validity of Genia's (1997) spiritual maturity typology. Participants (N=256) were categorized as spiritually growth-oriented, transitional, dogmatic, or undeveloped. Results indicate that those in the undeveloped and dogmatic groups were more emotionally distressed than those in the growth-oriented group. Also…

Spirituality is emerging as a significant area of inquiry for physical and mental health professionals (for a review see George, Larson, Koenig, & McCullough, 2000). Defined as the degree to which individuals endorse a relationship with God or a transcendent force that brings meaning and purpose to their existence, spirituality affects the ways in…