School Counseling Programs as Spiritual and Religious Safe Zones

The authors present a model for creating spiritual and religious safe zones in school counseling programs that implements the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling's (ASERVIC; 2009) Competencies for Addressing Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling in a school setting. The authors frame the model within the context of issues related to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and posit that students' ability to discuss and explore spiritual and religious issues promotes their personal and social‐emotional development.     

Spirituality in the Counselor Education Curriculum: A National Survey of Student Perceptions

Interns (N= 335) from 36 programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs completed a survey about their preparation to integrate the 9 Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Issues in Counseling (ASERVIC) Spiritual Competencies into their counseling practice. Most respondents felt prepared to integrate all but 1 of ASERVIC's competencies. Spiritual topics of wellness, meaning, hope, and faith were addressed most frequently in course work and were associated with feeling prepared to integrate 8 of the competencies. Classroom discussion, experiential activities, and reading were the modalities most useful for learning about spirituality.     

Integration Versus Segregation: Applications of the Spiritual Competencies in Counselor Education Programs

This article explores how educators can integrate the 9 Spiritual Competencies developed by the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling (M. T. Burke, 1998; G. Miller, 1999) into the counselor education curriculum. Rather than relegating this content to courses in which one might expect discussions of spirituality, the authors advocate for an infused approach. Input was sought from counselor educators and supervisors from around the nation with expertise in spirituality in counseling. These experts provided useful exercises, activities, and assignments that they have successfully used to integrate religious and/or spiritual discussions into the curriculum.     

Developing Spiritual Competencies in Counseling: A Guide for Supervisors

The recently established competencies for addressing spiritual and religious issues in counseling (Association of Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, 2009 ) provide guidelines for counselors to implement in conjunction with evidence‐based counseling practices. These spiritual competencies complement the ethics code established by the American Counseling Association ( 2014 ) in promoting increased cross‐cultural sensitivity and proficiency in counseling. Supervisory tools that promote the ethical and spiritual development of counseling trainees are identified and described.     

Counselor Preparation and the Association for Spiritual,Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling Competencies: An Exploratory Study

A national study of American Counseling Association members (N = 230) examined perceptions of the importance of the 14 Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) Spiritual Competencies and perceived ability to practice those competencies. Learning pathways to achieve knowledge of the ASERVIC Competencies were explored. Participants viewed the competencies as important but felt less able to consistently practice them. Prior exposure to the content of the competencies through spiritual topics covered in graduate school was positively correlated to perceived ability to practice the competencies. Recommendations were made for strengthening teaching of spirituality in counselor education.     

Promoting Self‐Advocacy Among Minority Students in School Counseling

This article presents self‐advocacy competencies developed to promote the academic, career, and personal/social success of minority students. The authors discuss challenges faced by minority students in today's educational environment and review principles of self‐advocacy. Competencies for developing self‐advocacy awareness, knowledge, and skills are discussed along with school counseling strategies for promoting self‐advocacy among minority students.     

Help‐Seeking and Counseling Within a Traditional Male Gender Role: An Examination From a Multicultural Perspective

A traditional male gender role reflects an affirmation of masculine identity associated with such qualities as success and self‐reliance. This gender role is examined from a diversity perspective in counseling, because it may affect many men's help‐seeking attitudes and behaviors. Suggestions from the literature are reviewed from the standpoint of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies (P. Arredondo et al., 1996). The counseling profession would benefit from greater sensitivity in aiding men endorsing this role.     

Spiritual Evolution of Bereavement Counselors: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

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 bereavement counselors. Participants also describe their self‐care strategies pertaining to their bereavement counseling work.     

The New ASERVIC Competencies for Addressing Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling

In 2009, leaders in the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) developed new competencies for addressing spiritual and religious issues in counseling. This article briefly addresses the need for new ASERVIC competencies, provides an overview of the process whereby the new competencies emerged, and concludes with a listing of the new ASERVIC‐endorsed competencies.     

Spirituality as a Cultural Asset for Culturally Diverse Youth in Urban Schools

Spiritual issues are culturally important for many youth in urban schools. In this article, the authors describe how spirituality is associated with cultural values, mental health, coping strategies, and adjustment among culturally diverse youth. Using the case of a 17‐year‐old Samoan high school student, the authors demonstrate how spiritual issues related to faith, meaning making, and cultural identity can be addressed in a school counseling context.     

Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competency Research: Opportunities for Innovation

The development of the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2015) provides a framework to reflect upon previous scholarship and explore further approaches for methodological innovation in counseling. The author presents available counseling and interdisciplinary scholarship related to multicultural and social justice competency, identifies gaps and future research directions of that research, and proposes innovative strategies and methods for conducting rigorous multicultural and social justice research. Implications for preparing future counseling scholars are also included.     

Spiritual Disclosure and Ego Resiliency: Validating Spiritual Competencies

Counselor spiritual and religious competency depends primarily on the ability to facilitate client spiritual disclosure. Little is known, however, about the empirical qualities of spiritual disclosure. In a sample of 318 adults (mean age = 44 years), spiritual disclosure independently predicted ego resiliency, a critical quality for stress‐related growth. Spiritual disclosure predicted ego resiliency over the partial mediators of the 5 factors of personality, general global disclosure, and congregational support. Implications for professional counseling ethics are discussed.     

Dennis Engels: A Humanitarian and Ethical Scholar

Dr. Dennis Engels retired in 2011 after a 35‐year career as a counselor educator, during which he contributed over 30 years of service to the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling. In this profile article, the author reviews the highlights of Dr. Engels's distinguished career and presents an interview in which Dr. Engels discusses (a) his journey as a counselor educator, (b) ethical standards and credentialing, and (c) the future of counseling.     

Introduction to the Special Issue

The authors introduce the special issue of the Journal of Counseling & Development on “Integrating the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies Into Practice, Research, and Advocacy.” They first discuss the rationale and importance of the special issue, as well as the transformative opportunities that the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2015) have to influence counseling and the broader helping professions. Then they provide an overview the special issue articles and their respective contributions. They conclude by explicating the challenges and opportunities in integrating and implementing the MSJCC into counseling practice, research, and advocacy.     

Operationalization of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies

For the past 20 years, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) has provided leadership for the American counseling profession in major sociocultural and sociopolitical domains. Through our vision of the centrality of culture and multiculturalism to the counseling profession, we have created new directions and paradigms for change. One of our major contributions has been the development of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992).     

Assessment of the Use of Spiritual Genograms in Counselor Education

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 the students' learning experiences was conducted. Narrative responses were gathered from 32 advanced and postgraduate students enrolled in 1 of 4 classes over a 2‐year period. The results verified the benefits of this constructivist and experiential learning process. Implications for counselor development and further research are discussed.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Female Spiritual Development

Religiously involved lay women (N = 266), 31% of whom had been sexually abused in childhood, filled out the revised Spiritual Experience Index (SEI-R). Results showed higher SEI-R scores for the sexually abused group, with a more accepting attitude compared with those with a striving attitude. A subscale of the SEI-R revealed that the sexually abused may turn to their faith and spirituality for support. Those with the highest educational achievements, Catholics, and those who experienced emotional abuse scored high on the Spiritual Openness subscale. Implications for spiritual development and counseling are discussed.     

The Development of the Spiritual Focus in Counseling and Counselor Education

This article summarizes the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling's (ASERVIC's) history with the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Summit on Spirituality. It includes comments on the importance of spirituality in counseling and the rewarding aspects of infusing spirituality into counseling from the perspectives of Mary Thomas Burke, Eugene Kelly, and Judy Miranti. The article concludes by exploring issues related to fusing spirituality with counseling and presents recommendations.     

Effects of Spirituality on Health‐Related Quality of Life in Men With HIV/AIDS: Implications for Counseling

This study examined the association of spirituality and health‐related quality of life among 226 HIV‐positive men. Two measures of spirituality were used: the Spiritual Growth subscale from the Health‐Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (S. N. Walker, K. R. Sechrist, & N. J. Pender, 1987) and the Spirituality subscale of the HIV Coping Instrument (L. Moneyham, A. Demi, Y. Mizuno, R. Sowell, & J. Guillory, 1998). Health‐related quality of life was measured with the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (R. D. Hays et al., 1998). Spiritual coping (i.e., relying on religion‐based coping techniques) was not associated with health‐related quality of life at baseline or 12‐month follow‐up. Spiritual growth (i.e., existential feelings of connection with a force greater than oneself) improved some aspects of mental and emotional well‐being but did not affect physical functioning or pain management.     

The Past Guides the Future: Implementing the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies

The authors describe the ways in which the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2015) can be viewed from a human rights framework and as the latest iteration in the long history of the multicultural and social justice counseling competency movement. MSJCC implementation and integration are explored, and recommendations for innovating the MSJCC are described.