Infusing spiritual and religious competencies into traditional counselor education programs
Date
2008
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Abstract
This narrative study of counselor educators' lives and pedagogical orientations offers an integrated approach to incorporating spiritual and religious issues into traditional, civically-funded counselor education programs. Biographical interviews were completed with twelve counselor educators in CACREP-accredited programs who are teaching a course, have taught a course, or are otherwise infusing content related to spirituality and counseling into their training programs. Based on study findings, suggested qualifications to teach about this topic include: at minimum an interest, and at best, a passion for understanding spiritual and religious issues; personal exploration of varieties of religious and spiritual experiences; peak or transpersonal experiences; self work including the understanding of one's self in relation to models of faith development; Dark Night of the Soul experiences; embodiment of the Sage archetype; and exceptional group processing skills. Courses and student learning about this topic were related as being sites of extraordinary student transformation. Based on course outcomes, an integrated counselor training curriculum is recommended as a way to re-author traditional, civically-funded programs. This curriculum would include: creating a cultural canon focused on community building; increased opportunities for instructors to explore issues (including those of a religious and spiritual nature) most relevant to student lives; a stronger focus on experiential, critical, multicultural and feminist pedagogies; greater attention to creating physical and emotionally inviting learning environments; and allowing enough time for student integration of profound transformations so that they are competent to address issues of significance with clients. Recommendations for further research include: larger, interdisciplinary studies on this topic, such as a cross-disciplinary examination of how spiritual, religious, ethical issues in counseling and psychotherapy are being imparted in other mental health training programs; ethnographic exploration of in-class experiences for students in programs where spiritual and religious issues are being addressed; and further examination of the content and application of the Spiritual Competencies in training and clinical work.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
competencies
counseling
counselor education
narrative
pedagogy
religious
spirituality
school counseling
spirituality
religious education