Effects of an analogue counselor's religious or financial self-disclosure and observer characteristics on therapeutic processes

Abstract

At the end of this long and winding road, I feel the need to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions and support of the many people without whom I might still be detoured. Foremostly, I wish to thank my major professor and mentor, Dr. Norman Scott, for his unceasing support of my interest in the line of research which gave life to this dissertation. Even when recovering from heart surgery, Dr. Scott did not forget to encourage my efforts on the project. His wisdom and guidance are evident on each page of this document, and in all aspects of the psychologist am I to become. I must also praise the love and support I have received from so many of my dear family and friends. My parents have always fostered my love of learning and are very much responsible for this first-generation college student being able to claim the title "doctor". My dear friends ranging from those from elementary to those in my doctoral program also must be credited with helping provide support and suggestions which so enriched this project (and kept me alive while working on it!). I also wish to thank the faculty members who served on my dissertation committee and provided their expertise on this project. To Dr. Douglas Bonett, I owe much appreciation for the many statistical consultations which not only helped me "crunch the numbers", but also provided me invaluable leads and insight into how to frame my discussion of the results. Drs. Nathaniel Wade and Patrick Armstrong each contributed their vast knowledge of psychology and religion, and process research, respectively. Finally, I also wish to heartily thank Dr. Brad Shrader for bringing the novelty of his unique outside perspective to the project, and tempering that perspective with such kindness. vi As this dissertation builds on the video-stimuli created in my thesis, I must also recall the contributions provided by those five individuals who labored to help me create the clips. I thus acknowledge the fine acting provided by Laura Zishka, Ashley Buller, Ken Hiveley, and Matt Anthoney, whose efforts allowed the creation of the counseling simulation videos at the heart of this project. I also wish to thank Professor Sarah Zwick-Tapley, whose theatrical expertise on editing the scripts and providing directing suggestions increased the realism of my work many times over. Finally, though this project is a work of science, it seems fitting to acknowledge the faith(s) that drove it. Because religion is so important in the worldviews of so many people, I concur with those who argue that competency in religious issues must be an ethical mandate of counseling psychologists. I must, however, also acknowledge that my own personal faith (in God or whatever higher sense of connectedness binds humanity and creation together) no doubt was strongly involved in my journey through this project. While this dissertation journey is over, I pray that I, and all psychologists, continue to be guided toward a more empathic and culturally-sensitive understanding of the spiritual and religious lives of those w...

Therapeutic self-disclosure of religious affiliation: A critical analysis of theory, research, reality, and practice.

“…This finding was consistent with introductory points on conveying similarity, as well as the previously mentioned theorized benefits of religious TSDs. In addition, Young’s (2011) findings somewhat diverge from (though are not in complete contrast to) Chesner and Baumeister’s (1985) conclusions. Limitations of Young’s (2011) study included that most participant-observers identified as Christian and were Caucasian.…”

“…Each student-observer was asked to rate the impact of disclosure/nondisclosure on the therapeutic alliance. Students in Young's (2011) study tended to perceive that practitioners who disclosed similar religious affiliations displayed more accurate empathy, appropriate transparency, and developed stronger therapeutic alliances than practitioners' who disclosed dissimilar affiliations. This finding was consistent with introductory points on conveying similarity, as well as the previously mentioned theorized benefits of religious TSDs.…”

“…Young (2011) conducted an analogue study in which practitioner’s religious disclosures, financially related disclosures, and nondisclosures were video-taped and presented to 673 student research volunteers; 457 (or 66.8%) of whom were Catholic or Protestant, 336 of whom were female and 337 were male. Each student-observer was asked to rate the impact of disclosure/nondisclosure on the therapeutic alliance.…”

“…In addition, Young's (2011) findings somewhat diverge from (though are not in complete contrast to) Chesner and Baumeister's (1985) conclusions. Limitations of Young's (2011) study included that most participant-observers identified as Christian and were Caucasian. Thus, it is not clear whether Young's (2011) findings may or may not generalize to non-Christians or ethnically diverse populations.…”

Does Therapist–Rater Religious Match Predict Higher Therapist Ratings?

“…For example, Christian clients rate therapists who are clergy members as more expert therapists than Christian therapists who are not clergy members regardless of clients' religiosity level (Moore, ; Randall, ). In a counseling analogue study with mostly Christian participants, Young () found that counselors who engaged in religious disclosure congruent with client content had the highest scores on working alliance compared with various other contrast conditions. Another study with mostly Christian participants found that participants who were asked about religiosity in an analogue initial interview rated the interviewers as more empathetic, warm, understanding, experienced, and trustworthy compared with participants who were not asked about their religiosity (Terepka, ).…”