Religious and spiritual issues in group counseling: Clients' beliefs and preferences
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Abstract
Research on addressing religious and spiritual concerns in counseling is still in its infancy. This is especially the case in terms of addressing religious and spiritual concerns in group counseling. A study by Rose, Westefeld, and Ansley (2001) suggests that the majority of clients attending individual therapy sessions not only believe that it is appropriate to discuss religious concerns with their individual therapist, but the majority also have the preference to do so. The purpose of the present study was to expand this finding by examining client beliefs and preferences regarding the discussion of religious and spiritual issues in group counseling sessions. In the present study, the majority of clients reported that religious concerns are an appropriate topic for discussion in group counseling. However, the majority also reported that they prefer not to discuss religious and spiritual concerns with their group members. Furthermore, participants also tended to endorse spiritual interventions as more appropriate as compared to religious interventions. Finally, spirituality was identified as a potent predictor of clients' preference to discuss both religious and spiritual issues.