Janeé R Avent MS LPCA NCC The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again Joseph Campbell Presentation Overview ID: 602161
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Slide1
Religion & Spirituality in Counseling
Janeé R. Avent, MS, LPCA, NCC The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Slide2
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.”
Joseph Campbell Slide3
Presentation Overview
Counselor self-awareness Spirituality & religion Effects on physical & mental health AssessmentReligious Coping Slide4
Counselor Self-Awareness
Self-reflection, self-awareness, introspection Questions for reflection: “Who am I? Where am I going? What does life mean?” (Helminak, 2001, p. 163)
Exploration through coursework, supervision, consultation
Exploring one’s own value system
(
Cashwell
& Young, 2005) Slide5
Thinking about your spiritual journey…Slide6Slide7
Spirituality vs. Religion Slide8
Spirituality vs. Religion
Spirituality “a sense of relationship with a belief in a higher power or entity greater than oneself that involves a search for wholeness and harmony”
(Belcher & Benda, 2005, p. 63)
Spiritualis
– one possesses the Holy Spirit, usually a minister
More difficult to define because of individualist nature
Religion
Can be both public and private in practice and rituals
(Koenig, 2009;
Molock
,
Puri
,
Matlin
, & Barksdale, 2006)
Implies a mandate of obedience, creedal beliefs, and in some religions belief in a supreme being
Defined by constructs of church attendance, religiosity, denomination affiliation, religious coping, and spirituality
(Powell,
Shahabi
, &
Thoresen
, 2003) Slide9
Discussion…Pair & Share!
Think about your population of interest…How might religion/spirituality apply to that population? How might religion and spirituality come up in counseling sessions? Slide10
Effects on Mental Health
Psychological benefits to psychological health: increased self esteem, joy, compassion, hope, happiness, increased social support, respect, purpose, meaning, and overall life satisfaction (Oman &
Thoresen
, 2005; Taylor, Chatters, & Levin, 2004; Kelly, 1995; Matthews et al., 1998;
Diener
,
Tay
, & Myers, 2011)
Providing clarity for difficult life situations/transitions
(Kelly, 1995; Matthews et al., 1998)
Decreasing depression and anxiety symptomatology
On the other hand…exasperating symptoms of anxiety
(
Koenihg
, 209; Wing & Scott, 2005) Slide11
Effects on Physical Health
Spirituality/Religion correlates with positive physical health outcomes (Matthews et al., 1998)Positive effects: decrease in blood pressure, relief of pain in patients suffering from cancer, decrease in heart disease, 30% decrease in mortality
(Matthews et al., 1998;
Oman &
Thoresen
, 2005;
Powell et al., 2003)
Again, on the other hand…there are conflicting reports! Slide12
In Assessment…
ASERVIC Competency 10: During the intake and assessment processes, the professional counselor strives to understand a client’s spiritual and/or religious perspective by gathering information from the client and/or other sources.
Can provide context for presenting concerns
Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model Slide13
Qualitative Assessment
Flexible and exploratory Use of client’s language Allows for client self-reflection and processing Behavior observations
Interviews
Sentence completion
Spiritual autobiographies
Spiritual genogram
(
Cashwell
& Young, 2005) Slide14
Quantitative Assessment
Structured, time efficient Can assess values, beliefs, experiencesSpiritual Health InventorySpiritual Well-Being ScaleThe Index of Core Spiritual Experiences
(
Cashwell
& Young, 2005) Slide15
Discussion Questions
What might be difficult about spiritual assessments?How do you see yourself incorporating these assessments into your particular settings? Others? Slide16
Activity!
Divide into groups of 3-4 Review Case StudiesBrainstorm questions to assess for spirituality
How might you integrate into traditional intake sessions?
What questions do you still have? Slide17
Ethical Considerations
Mindful of professional competence Malfeasance – Beneficence Slide18
A Counselor’s Responsibility
Respond appropriately to spiritual and religious issues that arise in counseling process (CACREP, 2009; Robertson & Young, 2011)When clients profess no spiritual or religious affiliation Assess and integrate into the helping relationship
Recognizing personal limitations
Refer when necessary
(
Cashwell
& Young, 2005) Slide19
Religious Coping
Relatively available & Relatively compelling (
Pargament
, 1997)
Purpose(s): spiritual, self-development, resolve, sharing, restraint
Utilizing specific rituals and spiritual practices
Redefining stressful life incidents
Often enacted when people feel fearful or threatened that some psychological, biological, social, or spiritual goal will not be met
(
Folkman
&
Moskowitz
, 2004)
Used when faced with existential concerns
(Pieper, 2004)
Not limited to “religious” individuals
Can be indicative of one’s religious affiliation or spiritual beliefs
(
Bhui
et al., 2008)Slide20
2 Sides to the Story
Categorized as adaptive and maladaptive Can be both at the same time “Faith can be a source of strength and a source of contention.” (Burke et al., 2011, p. 291)Active participation vs. deferring responsibility (
Wachboltz
et al., 2007) Slide21
Adaptive Religious Coping
Seeking spiritual support, religious forgiveness, collaborative coping, spiritual connection, religious purification, benevolent religious appraisal, religious focus (Pargament, 1998)
Positive results (i.e. psychological well-being, decreased anxiety symptomatology) from adaptive religious coping (Pieper, 2004)Slide22
Maladaptive Religious Coping
Spiritual discontent, punishing God’s reappraisals, interpersonal religious discontent, demonic appraisal, and reappraisal of God’s power (Pargament
et al., 1998)
Effects can include: depression, decreased emotional sensitivity to others, lower levels of quality of life
(
Bjorck
& Thurman, 2007;
Pargament
et al., 1998)Slide23
Spiritual Bypass
Maladaptive religious coping style Premature (or false) transcendence Manifestations: spiritual narcissism, spiritual addiction, spiritual materialism, blindly following a leader, abandoning personal responsibility (Booth, 1991;
Cashwell
, Myers, &
Shurts
, 2004; Ellis, 2000; Rosenthal, 1987;
Welwood
, 1984, 2000; West, 2000)
Symptoms of spiritual bypass (avoidant coping): increased frequency in overeating and smoking, correlated with symptoms of depression and anxiety
(Billings, 1981;Cashwell,
Glosoff
, & Hammond, 2010)
Assessment Slide24
View of God
View of God > life circumstance in influencing type of religious coping. Religious coping styles seems to not be situation specific Self directing style correlates with viewing God as benevolent,
omni
, guiding and stable
Viewing God as benevolent, stable, and powerful was positively correlated with religious and spiritual importance and religious attendance
(Maynard et al., 2001) Slide25
Discussion
Thoughts/reactions about adaptive and maladaptive coping? How might you talk with client about adaptive and maladaptive coping?How could you assess if someone were in spiritual bypass?How might you incorporate spiritual bypass into conceptualization and treatment recommendations? Slide26
Closing Activity!
Spiritual Timeline Slide27
Activities with Clients
If life were a movie…Spiritual timelineSpiritual Genogram Music chronology Others? Slide28
Questions/Comments/Reflections
For more information contact: jravent@uncg.edu Slide29
Resources
Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling http://www.aservic.org/
Cashwell
, C., & Young, J. (Eds.) (2005).
Integrating spirituality and religion into counseling.
Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association