Transcript Incorporating Religion in Your Counselor Education Program

Incorporating Religion
in Your Counselor
Education Program
Jill D. Duba, Ph.D., LPCC, NCC, MFTA
Assistant Professor, Western Kentucky University
[email protected]
Office: 270.745.4799
Duba, 2007
Why Religion?
1. Religion is a part of diversity
 Diversity courses are a very important element
in counselor training program.
►There
is a tie between culture and religion.
►Diversity in culture “sprang from multiple religious
roots” (McFaul, 2006, p. 31).
 If students are learning about diversity in ethnic
groups, gender, age, socioeconomic status, why
should they not be introduced to variances in
religion?
Duba, 2007
Why Religion? cont.
2. Statistics suggest that most people are
affiliated with a particular religion and are
practicing their faith on a consistent basis.
 84% of Americans consider Religion important
in their lives (AP/Ipsos Poll, 2005)
 90% of Americans reported either being
Protestant or Catholic
Next . . .
Duba, 2007
Why Religion? cont.
► More
Statistics
 40% of Americans were reported to attend
religious services on a weekly basis
 75% of the world’s population is affiliated with a
particular religion (McFaul, 2006)
Duba, 2007
Statistics:
Adherents to the Major World Religions
Religion
United States**
World***
Kosmin et al., 2001
Adherents.com, 2005
159,980
2,100,000
Jewish
2,831
14,000
Muslim/Islamic
1,104
1,300,000
Buddhist
1,082
376,000
Unitarian/Universalist/
Humanist
668
800
Hindu
766
900,000
Native American
103
Christian
Taoist
40
2,700****
Sikh
57
23,000
29,481
1,100,000
No religion specified
Duba, 2007
Why Religion? cont.
► Based
on the Statistics
 Most persons coming to counseling will have
some sort of religious affiliation.
 Religion may offer couples help with their
marital conflict.
Duba, 2007
Why Religion? cont.
► Based
on the Statistics
 Many presenting problems will be linked in
some fashion to clients’ religious affiliation.
►Conservative
Christians or persons with strong
religious convictions may have increased anxieties
and anticipations about seeking counseling due to
their fear of members within the “secular world” (e.g.
counselors) trying to impose their worldly views (Keating
& Fretz, 1990; Levitt & Balkin, 2003).
Duba, 2007
Why Religion? cont.
3. Religious affiliations and practices of most
mental health professionals is markedly
lower than that of the average American
population.
4. Most mental health professionals in various
fields have limited training in the area of
religion and spirituality.
Duba, 2007
Religion’s Place in Mental Health
► Historical
Considerations
 Freud (1973): Religion as something harmful
which can be traced to infancy
 B. F. Skinner (1953): Religion was nothing more
than fiction held in place by negative
reinforcement and threats of punishment.
 Ellis (1980, p. 637): “Religiosity, therefore, is in
many ways equivalent to irrational thinking and
emotional disturbance . . . The less religious
they are, the more emotionally healthy they will
tend to be.”
Duba, 2007
Religious Movement in MH Field
► 30
CACREP programs associated with
religious colleges, universities and
seminaries
► The American Association of Christian
Counselors (AACC)
► Leaders in Christian Counseling movement
 James Dobson, Larry Crabb, Timothy Clinton,
Paul Meier, Frank Minnerth and Everett
Worthington
Duba, 2007
Religion in MH Training Programs
►A
study of fifty-two students taking classes
in six AAMFT accredited training programs
in the United States indicated that half of
the participants never had any training
regarding the incorporation of spirituality
and religion in clinical work (Prest et al., 1999).
Duba, 2007
Religion in Counseling Programs
► Religion
is suppressed in many training
programs as some counselors believe that
religious issues should be referred to
religious counselors (Kahle & Robbins, 2004).
► Many
students have reported feeling
unprepared in the area of addressing
religious concerns with clients (Prest et al., 1999; Young et
al., 2002).
Duba, 2007
Religion in Counselor Education
cont.
► 87
of 343 counselor education programs
had no course specifically addressing
spiritual or religious issues
 250 programs did not have religion or
spirituality as a part of any course (Kelly, 1994).
► Only
half of counselor educator programs
surveyed incorporated religious issues in
counseling within their curriculum (Kelly, 1997; Pate &
High, 1995)
Duba, 2007
Religion in Counselor Education
cont.
► Within
70% of the programs, religious and
spiritual related counseling factors are
attended to somewhere in the curriculum
(Young, 2002)
► Internet
search indicated 12/203 CACREPaccredited counselor education programs
have a specific course addressing spiritual
and religious issues (Onedera, 2008)
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training
► 2005
ACA Code of Ethics
 Counselors should “not condone or engage in
discrimination based on age, culture, disability,
ethnicity, race, religion/spirituality . . .” (Section C.5.,
Nondiscrimation)
 Counselors are required to “recognize the
effects of age, color, culture . . . religion,
spirituality . . .” (Section E.8., Multicultural Issues/Diversity in Assessment)
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training cont.
► ASERVIC
Competencies (1996) suggest that
counselors should be able to:
 Explain the relationship between religion and
spirituality
 Describe religious and spiritual beliefs and
practices in a cultural context
 Engage in self-exploration of his/her religious
and spiritual beliefs in order to increase
sensitivity, understanding and acceptance of
his/her belief system
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training cont.
► ASERVIC
Competencies (1996) suggest that
counselors should be able to (cont.):
 Describe one’s religious and/or spiritual belief
system and explain various models of
religious/spiritual development across the
lifespan
 Use a client’s spiritual beliefs in the pursuits of
the client’s therapeutic goals as befits the
client’s expressed preference
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training cont.
► ASERVIC
Competencies (1996) suggest that
counselors should be able to (cont.):
 Demonstrate sensitivity to and acceptance of a
variety of religious and/or spiritual expressions
in the client’s communication
 Identify the limits of one’s understanding of a
client’s spiritual expression, and demonstrate
appropriate referral skills and general possible
referral sources
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training cont.
►
ASERVIC Competencies (1996) suggest
that counselors should be able to (cont.):


Assess the relevance of the spiritual domains
in the client’s therapeutic issues
Be sensitive to and respectful of the spiritual
themes in the counseling process as befits
each client’s expressed preference
Duba, 2007
Support for Religious Training cont.
►
CACREP 2001 Standards
 Require curriculum experiences and
demonstrated knowledge and skills related to
“the role of racial, ethnic . . . religious and
spiritual beliefs . . .”
Duba, 2007
The Consequences of Limited
Training
►
Reluctance on the part of the counselor to even attend to
their client’s religious experiences and values (Weinstein et al., 2002)
►
Struggles to achieve rapport and demonstration of
empathy (Burke & Miranti, 1995)
►
Limited exploration into client’s worldview and cultural
background (Bishop, 1995)
►
Inability to manage conflicts between the counselor’s
beliefs and values and that of the client’s (Myers & Williard, 2003)
►
Failure to meet the standards of the ACA Code of Ethics
Duba, 2007
The Religion and Spiritual
Issues in Counseling Course
► Course
should be based in:
 Meeting the ASERVIC Spiritual Competencies
 Consideration of AMCD Competencies
 Delivering course activities and learning
activities in such a way that the course adheres
to the related CACREP Standard (2001)
►providing
students with an “understanding of the
cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in
a multicultural diverse society related to such factors
as . . . religious and spiritual values” (Section 11. K. 2)
Duba, 2007
Course Objective #1:
Student Beliefs and Attitudes
► Increase
student awareness and exploration
of the following:
 Their own spiritual and religious development
 How religion structured and continues to
structure their family dynamics
 How their religious beliefs and attitudes play out
in their lives and how this might affect the
counseling process
 Religious diversity in order to increase tolerance
of other religious worldviews
Duba, 2007
Exploring Beliefs and Attitudes:
Course Activities
►
►
►
Attendance of a religious or spiritual activity different from
familiar
Chronological timeline or a genogram
Paper (Fukuyama & Sevig, 1997)
 earliest childhood memories of religion, of God, or of the sacred
 religious background of self and of family
 impact of religious beliefs and spiritual experiences on movement
through life cycle stages
 turning points and present place on religious or spiritual journey
 confusing or frightening moments related to religion/spirituality
 recollection of a particular religious or spiritual experience
Duba, 2007
Course Objective #2:
Knowledge Base
► Belief
systems or cultural bases of varying
spiritual systems and world religions
► Faith development models
► Possible religious and spiritual expressions
during the counseling process
► Related ethical considerations
Duba, 2007
Course Objective #2: Knowledge Base cont.
► Importance
of religion and spirituality to
mental health
► Importance of religion and spirituality in the
lives of families
► Appropriate intake, assessment, and
diagnosis processes and instruments used
to address a client’s religious beliefs and
values (Cashwell & Young, 2004; Fukuyama & Sevig, 1997; Ingersoll,
1997; Pate & Hall, 2005)
Duba, 2007
Building Knowledge: Course
Activities
►
►
►
Contact/consult with a religious helper in the community
Develop working relationships with such persons for future
consult on client cases
Interview with a family unrelated to the student’s family
 Structured around how religion plays out into this family’s
behaviors, belief systems, and values
►
In Classroom
 Lectures, role-plays, readings, guest lecturers, and video-tapes
 Individual and group presentations and papers on topics related to
religious issues in counseling (Ingersoll, 1997).
Duba, 2007
Course Objective #3:
Intervention Skills & Competency
►
►
►
►
Ability to address religious and spiritual related matters
with individuals and families through the use of basic
counseling skills
Ability to address religious and spiritual related matters in
the context of specific theories
Competence in using specific religious or spiritual related
techniques in session
Ability to handle countertransference reactions
Duba, 2007
Building Skills and Competencies:
Course Activities
► Observation
of experts in the field working
with such issues (i.e. video tapes, instructor
role-plays)
► Collaboration with religious helpers so as to
practice talking within and about a religious
context in a formal setting
Duba, 2007
Building Skills and Competencies:
Course Activities cont.
► Participation
in classroom role-plays, and
examination of case studies
 Gathering religious identity, heritage, and
traditions passed on throughout the family
 Helping clients explore where God fits into the
“client’s” family system and in the “divine
triangle”
Duba, 2007
Incorporating Religious Issues
into Specific Counseling Courses
► Appraisal
Course
 Survey of client’s religious values during the
intake process and through various assessment
instruments
 Use of self-exploration assessment tools to gain
better personal insight and awareness about
their own religious and spiritual development
Duba, 2007
Specific Counseling Courses
► Research
and Program Evaluation Course
 Reading research articles
 Doctoral Students: Encouragement for
exploration
and research related to topic
"
► Practicum
and Internship Course
Duba, 2007
Specific Counseling Courses cont.
► Diversity
Course
 Objectives may be similar to those found in a
specific religious and spirituality issues course
 Specific objectives might include the following
►Increased
confidence in talking about religious and
spiritual issues during the counseling process
►Increased ability to integrate counseling techniques
and language that match the spiritual and religious
needs of clients
Duba, 2007