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.     

Integrating Spiritual Modeling Into Education: A College Course for Stress Management and Spiritual Growth

The article explores the relationship between mysticism and creativity from a psychoanalytic perspective. First, it first surveys prominent psychoanalytic perspectives on mysticism and creativity, situating British psychoanalyst Marion Milner among them. Milner suggests that the same psychological processes are involved in both creative expression and mystical experiences. A state of paradox, affirming both I and not-I, self and no-self, is at the core of mysticism. Similarly, for Milner the paradox of creativity is to break down the barrier of space between self and other while maintaining it. Second, the idea that mystics and artists share a common basic experience is investigated. In both mystical and creative states one finds elements of joy, union, ecstasy, absorption, loss of self-consciousness, and loss of sense of time. Milner's discussion in turn revolves around the I-not-I distinction. She posits that mysticism is one dimension of the creative process-in contrast to the pure oceanic feeling of the mystic, the creative process is constituted by the oceanic state in cyclic oscillation with the surface mind, actively used with the intent to produce something. Third, the relevance of mysticism and creativity for mental health is explored. For Milner, both creativity and mystical experiences are psychologically beneficial in that they undo the overfixed separation self and other caused by the tyranny of the conscious mind. Yet neither mysticism nor creative expression alone, in her view, can heal an underlying lack of sense of self.     

Infusing Professional Ethics Into Counselor Education Programs: A Multicultural/Social Justice Perspective

Multiculturalism and social justice counseling issues influence counselors' ethical thinking and behavior. Counselor educators are responsible for facilitating students' understanding of the relevance of multicultural/social justice counseling issues and ethical standards for professional practices. Added insights in these areas aid students to work within a culturally diverse society. This article focuses on the importance of addressing these complex issues by outlining strategies to infuse ethics into counselor education programs from a multicultural/social justice counseling perspective.     

Spiritual Needs and Practices of Counselor Education Students

This study examined the self‐reported value of spirituality, types of spiritual practices, and values of 69 counselor education students. It also examined counseling students’ ideas for how to increase their comfort with incorporating spirituality into counseling practice. Implications for implementing spirituality training in counselor education programs are addressed.     

Integrating Spirituality Into Counselor Preparation: A Developmental,Wellness Approach

Recent surveys of the general public and of counseling professionals suggest the pervasive importance of spirituality in the lives of all individuals. Yet, the infusion of spirituality in counselor preparation programs continues to be a concern. Incorporating spirituality within a wellness paradigm can help counselors and counselor educators value and address spirituality as an integral component of optimum human functioning. By distinguishing between religiosity and spirituality and operationally conceptualizing spirituality as a life span developmental phenomenon that is essential for achieving wellness, counselor educators can more readily incorporate spiritual issues within the philosophy of the counseling profession.     

Eco-Education: Integrating Nature into Counselor Education

ABSTRACT

This consensual qualitative research study investigated the experiences of 10 counselors-in-training after exposure to nature-based interventions during a semester-long human development class. Interview data revealed four central domains: interpersonal impact, intrapersonal impact, whole-group impact, and feedback on nature-based activities. These findings highlight the benefits of eco-education for counselor development.     

Some Challenges of Integrating Sexual Orientations Into Counselor Training and Research

The field of counseling currently lacks an integrative approach on issues of sexual orientations in training and research. Despite changes in social and political realities and calls within the field for attention to these areas, little response has been forthcoming. Some of the challenges and difficulties involved in integrating sexual orientations into counselor training curricula and research are discussed. Suggestions are presented to help professionals gain a better understanding of sexual orientation issues for research and practice.     

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.     

Ethics Education in CACREP‐Accredited Counselor Education Programs

The authors present the results of a survey investigating ethics education practices in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and counselor educators' beliefs regarding ethics education, Survey responses describe current curricular approaches to ethics education, content, and instructional methodologies used in counselor education. The survey also ascertained information regarding counselor educators' beliefs about ethics education and their abilities to teach ethics. Implications for counselor education, professional development and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Creating Creative Clinicians: Incorporating Creativity Into Counselor Education

Creativity plays a critical role in today’s society by aiding an individual’s response to the mounting complications of modern life and assisting in the maintenance of mental health. Though counselors seek to promote similar developments in their clients, they often do so without the benefit of any particular training in theories of creativity or creativity-enhancing techniques. This article examines literature in the fields of creativity, counseling, and education to highlight the essential nature of creative processes in counseling and psychotherapy, ultimately presenting a rationale for the incorporation of creativity in counselor education.     

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.     

In Search of Multicultural Competence Within Counselor Education Programs

The authors examine the current status of multicultural training in counselor education. Leading multicultural training programs are identified and described, and specific guidelines for improving multicultural training are provided.     

HIV/AIDS Training in CACREP-Approved Counselor Education Programs

This article presents the results of a survey mailed to 64 CACREP-approved counselor education graduate programs to explore the amount and the level of training provided on HIV/AIDS. The results show that 51% of the programs offered at least a colloquium on basic information about HIV/AIDS. The survey also explored course work that might be indirectly related to HIV/AIDS, as well as other courses directly related to the topic. Suggestions are made for ways to incorporate HIV/AIDS training into counselor education programs.     

A Model Faculty Peer Review Process for Counselor Education Programs

The authors describe a counselor education faculty peer review model that addresses the professional functioning of each member of the counselor education faculty regardless of her or his rank, salary, status, or administrative responsibilities.     

A National Survey of AIDS Training in Counselor Education Programs

A review of the literature suggests that counseling professionals may not be receiving substantive training related to AIDS. In this article, all U.S. counselor education programs were surveyed to determine the extent of such training. The responding programs (N = 243) identified AIDS as a high priority for inclusion in curricular programming, yet nearly 40% of the responding programs did not include any AIDS training in their curricula. Implications for counselor education and the counseling profession are discussed, and suggestions are made for including AIDS-related training in programs.     

A Survey of Consultation Training as a Part of Counselor Education Programs

A survey was devised to obtain feedback from counselor educators throughout the country regarding the teaching of consultation skills in their master's degree programs. This survey was mailed to 410 counselor education departments, with the request that the faculty member most closely associated with teaching consultation at the master's level respond. Usable survey forms were returned by 144 programs. A phone follow-up survey of selected nonrespondents substantiated the indicated findings. Reported survey results indicate the extent to which counselor education programs include training in consultation skills, the number of students involved, and the emphasis placed on various consultation skills.     

Counselor Understanding of Native American Spiritual Loss

Although the multicultural counseling literature includes numerous references to working with Native Americans, this population continues to be misunderstood and underserved. A series of interviews with Native Americans provided insight into the deep spiritual pain experienced as a result of the historical and current events that continue to affect their families and communities. J. W. Worden's (1991) “tasks of mourning” provided the framework for the interviews.