Spiritual or religious conflicts in couples can challenge the forward progress of couples counseling. The statistics on the number of clients and therapists who believe in God and of clients who would like to address spiritual issues in both secular and religious counseling must persuade all counselors to become familiar with the ways to address such issues. This article adds to the literature that educates family counselors on strategies for approaching spiritual differences and conflicts in families. A case is offered as an illustration.
American Counseling Association. (2005). Code of ethics and standards of practice. Alexandria, VA: Author.
2.
Anderson, D. A., & Worthen, D. (1997). Exploring a fourth dimension: Spirituality as a resource for the couple therapist. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 23, 3-12.
3.
Bergin, A. E., & Jensen, J. P. (1990). Religiosity of psychotherapists: A national survey. Psychotherapy, 27(1), 3-7.
4.
Black, S. D. (2002). Can two walk together?Chicago: Moody Press.
5.
Butler, M. H., & Harper, J. M. (1994). The divine triangle: God in the marital system of religious couples. Family Process, 33, 277-286.
6.
Carlson, T. D., Kirkpatrick, D., Hecker, L., & Killmer, M. (2002). Religion, spirituality, and marriage and family therapy: A study of family therapists' beliefs about the appropriateness of addressing religious and spiritual issues in therapy [Electronic version]. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 30, 157-171.
7.
Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2001). CACREP accreditation standards and procedures manual. Alexandria, VA: Author.
8.
Eriksen, K. P., Marston, G., & Korte, T. (2002). Working with God: Managing conservative Christian beliefs that threaten counseling. Counseling and Values, 47, 49-68.
9.
Fowler, J. W. (1991). Stages in faith consciousness. New Directions for Child Development, 52, 27-45.
10.
Fowler, J. W. (2004). Stages of faith and identity: Birth to teens. Child and Adolescent Clinics of North America, 13, 17-33.
11.
Gallup Organization. (2004). American public opinion about religion. Retrieved May 14, 2004, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/focus/sr040302.asp
12.
Genia, V. (1994). Secular psychotherapists and religious clients: Professional considerations and recommendations. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72, 395-398.
13.
Goldenberg, I., & Goldenberg, H. (2000). Family therapy: An overview (5th ed.). Belmont: CA: Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning.
14.
Griffith, J. L. (1986). Employing the God-family relationship in therapy with religious families. Family Process, 25, 609-618.
15.
Haley, J. (1963). Strategies of psychotherapy. New York: Grune & Stratton.
16.
Horvath, A. O., & Symonds, B. D. (1991). Relation between working alliance and outcome in psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 139-149.
17.
Kegan, R. (1982). The evolving self.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
19.
Kim, B. S. K., Ng, G. F., & Ahn, A. J. (2005). Effects of client expectation for counseling success, client-counselor worldview match, and client adherence to Asian and European American cultural values on counseling process with Asian Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(1), 67-76.
20.
Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
21.
Kosmin, B. A., Mayer, E., & Keysar, A. (2001). American religious identification survey, 2001. New York: The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
22.
Loevinger, J. (1976). Ego development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
23.
Lovinger, R. J. (1996). Considering the religious dimension in assessment and treatment. In E. P. Shafranske (Ed.), Religion and the clinical practice of psychology (pp. 327-363). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
24.
McAuliffe, G. J., & Eriksen, K. P. (1999). Toward a constructivist and developmental identity for the counseling profession: The context-phase-stage-style model. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 267-280.
25.
Miranti, J., & Burke, M. T. (1995). Spirituality: An integral component of the counseling process. In J. Miranti & M. T. Burke (Eds.), Counseling: The spiritual dimension (pp. 5-18). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
26.
Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
27.
Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child.New York: Basic Books.
28.
Prest, L. A., & Keller, J. F. (1993). Spirituality and family therapy: Spiritual beliefs, myths, and metaphors. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 19, 132-148.
29.
Prochaska, J. O. (1995). An eclectic and integrative approach: Transtheoretical therapy. In A. S. Gurman & S. B. Messer (Eds.), Essential psychotherapies: Theories and practice(pp. 403-440). New York: Guilford.
30.
Ripley, J. S., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Berry, J. W. (2001). The effects of religiosity on preferences and expectations for marital therapy among married Christians. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 29, 39-58.
31.
Rizzuto, A. M. (1979). The birth of the living God. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
32.
Rizzuto, A. M. (2004). Roman Catholic background and psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 21, 436-441.
33.
Rose, E. M., Westefeld, J. S., & Ansley, T. N. (2001). Spiritual issues in counseling: Clients' beliefs and preferences. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48(1), 61-71.
34.
Shafranske, E., & Malony, H. (1990). Clinical psychologists' religious and spiritual orientations and their practice of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 27, 72-78.
35.
Standler, V., Piercy, F. P., Mackinnon, D., & Helmeke, K. (1994). Spirituality, religion and family therapy: Competing or complementary worlds?The American Journal of Family Therapy, 22, 27-41.
36.
Strauser, D. R., Lustig, D. C., & Donnell, C. (2004). The relationship between working alliance and therapeutic outcome for individuals with mild mental retardation. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 47, 215-223.
37.
Tan, S. (1996). Religion in clinical practice: Implicit and explicit integration. In E. P. Shafranske (Ed.), Religion and the clinical practice of psychology (pp. 365-387). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
38.
Wade, N. G., & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2003). Religious and spiritual interventions in therapy: An effectiveness study of Christian counseling. Unpublished manuscript, Iowa State University and Virginia Commonwealth University.
39.
Wolf, C. T., & Stevens, P. (2001). Integrating religion and spirituality in marriage and family counseling. Counseling and Values, 46, 66-75.
