Integrating Religion and Spirituality Into Counselor Education: Barriers and Strategies

Abstract

Despite a professionally recognized need for training in religion/spirituality, literature indicates that religious and spirituality issues continue to be inconsistently addressed in counselor education. Ten experts were asked to identify potential barriers to integrating religion and spirituality into counselor education and indicate strategies for overcoming these obstacles. Barriers included a lack of information and a lack of personal interest or relevance, and strategies included continuing education, heightened awareness of self and others, and curriculum-specific recommendations. Implications for counselor training and recommendations for future research are discussed.

How and why Muslim counsellors integrate spiritual and religious elements implicitly into counselling practices in Malaysia: A qualitative exploration

“…Competent counsellors should be able to effectively apply integration in an implicit manner, apart from having the ability to use explicit integration in confidence. Nonetheless, the barriers faced by counsellors to integrate spiritual and religious approaches are mostly due to lack of information (specific training) and lack of interest among the counsellors (Adams, Puig, Baggs & Wolf, 2015).…”

Spirituality and Religion: The Ninth CACREP Core Curriculum Area

“…Counseling students in Henriksen et al's () study expressed interest in academic training that included supervision by faculty who were competently trained in working with religious and spiritual issues. Not providing this specific training is a disservice to clients, because by disregarding religious and spiritual issues, counselors are ignoring significant aspects of wellness and the human condition (C. M. Adams et al, ).…”

“…Studies have identified an array of barriers to the incorporation of spirituality and religion into counselor education. Barriers identified include a lack of competency or a lack of understanding regarding the importance of spirituality and religion in the therapeutic process (C. M. Adams et al, 2015;Hage, Hopson, Siegel, Payton, & DeFanti, 2006), concern regarding the separation of church and state or the taboo nature of such a sensitive aspect of human nature (Kelly, 1994;Kimbel & Schellenberg, 2013), and a lack of preparation (Hagedorn & Gutierrez, 2009;Henriksen et al, 2015;Kimbel & Schellenberg, 2013). Because of these barriers, the needs of the client may not be sufficiently served, and counselors are left to find additional training beyond their master's degrees to fully and adequately meet client needs (Cashwell & Young, 2004;Dobmeier & Reiner, 2012;Henriksen et al, 2015;Kimbel & Schellenberg, 2013;Reiner & Dobmeier, 2014).…”

Worldview Diagnostic Tree - Educational Instrument for Enhanced Pedagogy on Spirituality and Religion

“…The academic institutions have recognized the urgency of the task and are currently introducing innovative pedagogies on spirituality and religion into their curricula (Adams, Puig, Baggs & Wolf, 2015;Hunt, 2014;Zucker, 2014;Clarke, 2012;Mulder, 2014;Todd, 2012;Vokey, 2012;Stirling et al 2010;Moss, 2005). The development of the Worldview Diagnostic Tree is part of this effort.…”