Refining Dimensions of Spiritual Wellness: A Cross-Traditional Approach

There is an increased interest in the topic of spirituality in the fields of counselor education and professional counseling. Present research involves the constructs of spirituality, religiosity, spiritual well-being, and spiritual wellness. This article reports a study in which previously published dimensions of spiritual wellness were reviewed and refined by a cross-cultural panel of 12 people representing 11 different spiritual traditions. The initial 7 dimensions of spiritual wellness were revised and expanded to 10 dimensions that met with agreement across the traditions represented by the panel and provide a starting point for further inquiry.     

Incorporating Spirituality Into Core Counseling Courses: Ideas for Classroom Application

Recently, spirituality has received increased attention in the counseling field, and both spirituality and religion have been acknowledged as important aspects of multiculturalism. The role of spiritual and religious beliefs is mentioned throughout the Standards of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and guidelines for working with spiritual issues within various cultural paradigms are emerging. Nevertheless, many counselor educators seem unsure about how to infuse spiritual issues into courses. This article presents a rationale for inclusion of spiritual issues in counselor education curricula and provides activities to incorporate knowledge and skills for dealing with spiritual and religious diversity in CACREP core courses.     

Spiritual Wellness and Depression

With a growing appreciation for the holism of human functioning, interest in the spiritual dimension as it relates to depression has increased. In this article, I review medical wellness literature and counseling literature for insight into the nature of spirituality and propose 4 dimensions of spiritual wellness as a result of this review: a sense of meaning in life, a transcendent perspective, an intrinsic value system, and a sense of belonging to a spiritual community of shared values and support. These dimensions are examined as they relate to the clinical literature and empirical research on depression. Implications for research, counseling, and counselor education also are reviewed.     

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.     

Power Within the Counselor Identity Development of African American Women in Pastoral Counseling

This study explored experiences of power among 11 African American female pastoral counselors‐in‐training. Limited research exists within the field of pastoral counseling regarding the dynamics of power within the development of minority counselors‐in‐training. Experiences of power such as microaggressions and empowerment were evidenced in the art created by participants during their qualitative interviews. Use of a heuristic arts‐based research design resulted in 6 final essences (major themes): symbolic analysis of the journey of identity development, empowerment, powerlessness, ownership of power, integration, and pervasive spirituality. Practical implications for counselor educators and pastoral counseling programs are provided.     

Integrating the Spiritual Dimension Into Traditional Counselor Education Programs

The author explores the issues involved in integrating the spiritual dimension into traditional counselor education by creating a joint community and addictions counseling master's program based on a hybrid of the wounded healer and wellness models. Such a hybrid encompasses both the skills and knowledge approaches to counselor education advocated by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous's 12 steps. After a theoretical discussion of this hybrid model, an experimental master's program based on the model is described.     

Role conflict for school counselors: training versus job demands

Principals' expectations on six counselor role dimensions were compared with ideal counselor roles as seen by counselor educators. The relationship of principals' training and practice in counseling to appropriate counselor role perceptions was also studied. Disagreement was found between principals and counselor educators on the role of the counselor in situations involving clerical tasks, confidentiality, personal-emotional counseling, and non-related counseling functions. Principals with some counseling training or experience were more similar to counselor educators in expectations concerning discipline, confidentiality, and clerical activity than those principals without counseling training experience. Yet all principals differed markedly from the ideal role as viewed by counselor educators.     

Entering the Sacred: Using Motivational Interviewing to Address Spirituality in Counseling

Despite the salience of spirituality in the lives of many clients, counselors are often hesitant to explore spiritual issues in counseling, largely out of a valid concern of imposing values on the client. Motivational interviewing provides a framework within which a counselor can both assess spirituality and facilitate client exploration of spiritual issues without fear of imposing values.     

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.     

Promoting Wellness in Refugee Populations

Refugee populations experience risk factors that may influence their wellness. As the number of refugees continues to rise, it is important for professional counselors, counselor educators, and counselors‐in‐training to be aware of techniques for supporting wellness in this population. This article addresses risk factors to refugee wellness within the indivisible self model of wellness (Myers & Sweeney, 2004 ) and highlights current wellness trends and the importance of a prevention‐based treatment paradigm for helpers working with refugee populations.     

The Counselor Feedback Training Model: Teaching Counseling Students Feedback Skills

Giving and receiving feedback is an important counseling skill; therefore, it is crucial to focus on this skill within counselor training. This article presents the Counselor Feedback Training Model, a developmental approach designed to assist counselor educators in teaching counseling students how to give and receive feedback.     

Assessment of Spirituality in Counseling

A growing body of evidence points to the important role of spirituality in treating medical and psychological conditions. The authors suggest that spirituality is a 5th force in counseling and psychology. Consequently, the assessment of spirituality is a new and growing area of interest for counselors. Assessment can assist both the counselor and client in obtaining a better understanding of the role of spirituality in the issues that bring the client to counseling and in designing treatment interventions appropriate for resolution of those issues. Selected instruments currently in use are described and their psychometric properties and potential uses are examined.     

Forgive and Forget? Forgiveness,Personality, and Wellness Among Counselors‐in‐Training

Forgiveness as a method of addressing “wounds” has been linked to enduring aspects of personality and improved physical and mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was to understand the effects of forgiveness on counseling students’ overall wellness. Counseling students (N= 115) from 5 universities completed self‐report measures of forgiveness, wellness, and personality. Results indicate that, when personality factors are controlled, forgiveness contributes a significant proportion (10%) of the variance in wellness for counseling students. Implications for counselor training and counseling are discussed.     

Defining the Nature of Spirituality in the Context of Maslow's and Rogers's Theories

This article discusses the presence and power of the spiritual content in the counseling process and in the attainment of optimum wellness. Spirituality and spiritual wellness are defined and the intrinsic nature of spirituality is discussed in the context of Rogers's and Maslow's self-actualization theories as well as the importance of optimum psychological wellness.     

Using Photography to Enhance Development of Self,Professional Identity,and Multicultural Awareness

Counseling can be a vulnerable process for clients and counselors alike. Counselors-in-training often find their early development to be an ambiguous and anxiety-provoking process. Both metaphors and experiential activities are effective methods in counselor training for addressing the ambiguity of counseling and the concerns experienced by counseling students. This article describes how counselor educators can use photography as a metaphor to support counselor development. We also outline four creative photography activities designed to foster self-reflection, professional identity development, and multicultural awareness among counselors-in-training.     

“Meeting Someone at the Edge”: Counselors’ Experiences of Interpersonal Stress

Using consensual qualitative research, the authors explored the factors that contribute to counselors’ experiences of interpersonal stress and how counselors respond to interpersonal stressors within therapeutic settings. Thirteen professional counselors representing a variety of counseling contexts and settings participated in semistructured interviews. Through consensus building, the authors identified 4 domains within the data: client characteristics, relationship dynamics, counselor response, and personal vs. professional self. The findings suggest that client characteristics and relationship dynamics are catalysts to counselor interpersonal stress responses, which shape their conscious awareness of the experience. Implications for clinical practice, clinical supervision, and counselor wellness are discussed.     

Using the Developmental Counseling and Therapy Model to Work With a Client in Spiritual Bypass: Some Preliminary Considerations

At a time when attention to spirituality within the counseling profession is unparalleled, 1 potential problem is that clients who engage in spiritual bypass will be supported in this dysfunctional pattern by their counselor. The purpose of this article is to define and describe spiritual bypass and to discuss the use of the developmental counseling and therapy model to assess and intervene with a client who is in spiritual bypass.     

Spirituality and Religion: Implications for Counselors

In recent years, the topics of spirituality and religion have become more evident in the counseling literature. It seems logical that these areas could be of great interest to those in the counseling profession. This article summarizes W. R. Miller and C. E. Thoresen's (2003) overview of the field of research dealing with spirituality, religion, and health. Possible roles for spirituality and religion in counselor education and school counseling are highlighted.     

Specialized Counseling—A New Trend?

The study, apparently the first of its kind, investigates the activities of the specialized school counselor in the elementary and secondary schools of Ohio. The specialized counselor was defined as a certified counselor who spent at least one-half of his professional time performing the activities related to a single area of guidance, such as educational or college guidance. Questionnaires were sent to three groups of educators—guidance directors, specialized school counselors, and counselor educators. Participants in the study were asked to provide information relative to the nature and needs of specialized counseling. The data seem to show indications of an increase of specialization in counseling. The functions of such specialists are reported.     

Spirituality in Counseling: What Do Counseling Students Think About It?

The author discusses students' reactions to 4 seminars. 1‐hour each, on the topic of spirituality in counseling. Students were enrolled in a master's‐level counseling program, Several issues emerged that have implications for the training of counselors on spiritual issues, including students' level of comfort with discussing spiritual issues, the difficulty of defining spirituality, client and counselor readiness to explore spirituality, and training issues in the area of spirituality.