Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Marriage and Family Counseling

Abstract

In the fields of counseling and psychology, interest in religious and spiritual issues is expanding. The authors examined integrating religion and spirituality with marriage and family counseling. They explored potential obstacles and negative consequences for this integration, as well as clinical implications. The positive impact of incorporating a religious or spiritual perspective into clinical practice i s discussed. Ethical considerations, techniques, and strategies are presented.ccording to a 1991 Gallup poll, 94% of adult Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. In addition, 68% of adult Americans are A members of a church, synagogue, or place of worship, and 58% of the same population rate religion as being very important in their lives (Gallup, 1993). Richards and Bergin (1997) also noted a recent growth in interest in spiritual and religious issues in the United States, as evidenced by increased coverage of these topics in leading newspapers, magazines, books, and television specials. Likewise, in the fields of counseling and psychology, there has been a growing awareness about the importance of incorporating spirituality and religion into psychotherapy. For example, in the code of ethics, the American Psychological Association (APA; 1992) recognized religion as a component of human diversity. Furthermore, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual $Mental Disorders, fourth edition (APA, 1994) includes spiritual problems as a V-code, which is the code that designates relational problems. In addition, both the American Counseling Association (1995) and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (1998) identified religion as an element of human diversity. Finally, there have been several recent publications devoted to religious counseling (e.g., Richards & Bergin, 1997; Shafranske, 1996).However, despite this heightened awareness in the general counseling and psychology fields, we found relatively little literature regarding the integration of religion and spirituality in marriage and family counseling. Watson (1997) articulated this dearth in literature after examining journal articles, books, and book chapters from 1974 to 1996. According to his search, there were only 48 references relating to religion and spirituality in family Chelsea T. Wolf is a masterS degree student in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education, and Patricia Stevens is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education and director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program, both at the University of Colorado at Denver. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to

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