Spiritual and religious considerations of Michigan Counseling Association members

This study investigated Michigan Counseling Association members' perceptions of spirituality and religion in the therapeutic process. Specifically, this study sought to find out if spirituality and religion were important in the lives of counselors; how they define these concepts; if they have received training in working with these issues in counseling; and if they perceive clients as coming to counseling with spiritual or religious issues. This study confirmed that overall, Michigan counselors consider themselves religious and/or spiritual. Counselors generally did not perceive their clients as coming to counseling with spiritual or religious issues. The majority of counselors reported they did not receive training in these areas. Keywords: spirituality, religion, counselors, counseling
As counselors, avenues for explicitly exploring the role of spirituality in our own lives and in the lives of our clients have been wrought with uncertainty, mired by potential threats [...]