Examining Spirituality and Sense of Calling in Counseling Students

Abstract

This study explored the link between counseling students' spiritual well-being and sense of calling to the profession. A final sample of 415 counseling students demonstrated significant spiritual well-being (religious and existential) and a strong sense of calling to the counseling profession. Results also indicated that spiritual well-being was predictive of students' sense of calling to the profession. Implications for counselor training are discussed.

Prevalence and Demographic Differences in Work as a Calling in the United States: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample

“…A study on a mostly Christian sample of employees found perceiving and seeking a calling to be associated with higher levels of religious/spiritual importance (Ponton et al, 2014). Calling has also been linked to spirituality among counselors and social workers (Hall et al, 2014;Hirsbrunner et al, 2012). Thus, we hypothesized that there would be higher rates of presence of, search for, and living a calling among (1) religiously affiliated individuals (irrespective of tradition) compared to individuals with no religious affiliation and (2) those who place greater relative importance on God or spirituality.…”

Independently Licensed Counselors' Work Values

“…They reported that participants' basic individual values emphasized benevolence, selfdirection, and achievement, whereas the measured work values emphasized lifestyle, supervision, and achievement. Additionally, Hall et al (2014) used an assessment with counselor education trainees that measured calling to a profession through the concepts of intrinsic motivation and meaning. Their results suggested that counselor education trainees are drawn to an occupation that offers them a strong sense of purpose and meaning.…”

Spirituality and Religion: The Ninth CACREP Core Curriculum Area

“…In addition, the literature is replete with findings indicating the importance of providing planned, consistent, and effective training to counseling students on issues of spirituality (Cashwell & Young, ; Henriksen, Polonyi, Bornsheuer‐Boswell, Greger, & Watts, ; Kimbel & Schellenberg, ; Myers & Williard, ; Pate & High, ; Reiner & Dobmeier, ). Given that the cornerstone of counseling is client wellness and that client wellness is profoundly affected by spiritual and religious belief systems, it is an ethical and culturally sensitive stance to ensure that counselor education and practices explore these natural areas of human development, contemporarily named the “fifth force” (Sandhu as cited in Stanard et al, , p. 204) in counseling (ACA, ; ASERVIC, ; Hall, Burkholder, & Sterner, ; Kimbel & Schellenberg, ; Myers & Sweeney, ).…”

“…Although the counseling literature and the profession have endorsed addressing spiritual and religious issues in counseling, the integration of these issues in counselor education programs is inconsistent. In addition, through a Spirituality and Religion core curriculum area, the correlation between spirituality and wellness counseling can be solidified (Anandarajah & Hight, ; Hall et al, ; Hirsbrunner, Loeffler, & Rompf, ; van Asselt & Senstock, ).…”