Beliefs of Professional Counselors and Clergy About Depressive Religious Ideation

Depressed clients sometimes express the belief that God wants them to suffer and even, through suicide, to die. To assess counselor and clergy beliefs about depressive religious ideation a questionnaire was developed and distributed. Respondents agreed that such ideation is a misinterpretation of Judeo-Christian principles, and respondents also tended to believe in the benefit, right, and ability to challenge such ideation. Expectation of client resistance to having such ideation challenged was more varied. Differences among the five issues appeared to be related to only some of the predictor variables. Limitations of the study and implications for further research are discussed.