Noting the importance of spirituality during the clinical intake.

Abstract

o a great extent, it is the therapist who determines how the concems and questions of religion and spirituality will be approached and examined, and indeed, whether they will be approached at all.-^J. T. ChirbanThe clinical intake can play a pivotal role in setting the course for theiapeutic exchange between therapists and clients, especially around issues related to client spirituality and spiritual experiences. However, there is little empirical and nonempirical guidance from the literature that informs readers of means to include spirituality during the intake portion of treatment, the primary purpose of this chapter. This chapter offers a glimpse into ideas and strategies for addressing spirituality and overcoming barriers to including spirituality during the clinical intake and interview, on the basis of the current literature available as well as our own clinical experiences. Specifically, we discuss how theiapists can integrate spirituality into the clinical intake through (a) facilitation of spiritual acceptance, (b) agency climate, (c) intake forms, (d) referral sources, and (e) the clinical interview. THE CLINICAL INTAKEThe clinical intake is usually the first exposure clients have to the counseling process, and this exposure often determines whether clients will return for additional sessions. In Sue, McKinney, and Allen's (1976) well-referenced 75

Administering a two-stage spiritual assessment in healthcare settings: a necessary component of ethical and effective care

“…In other words, it provides a mechanism to respond to patients' spiritual concerns and preferences (Leach et al . ).…”

God in the process: Is there a place for religion in conflict resolution?

“…At one level, as Richards and Bergin suggest, self-disclosure of the practitioner's values actually protects and empowers clients. This is an ongoing discussion about the need for self-awareness and client assessment (Gorsuch and Miller, 1999;Miller, 1999;Hathaway and Ripley, 2008;Wiggins, 2008;Leach, Aten, Wade, and Hernandez, 2008;Pargament and Krumrei, 2008). This conversation is also happening in our field: Goldberg's (2009) research raises the issue of whether a conflict resolver's self-disclosure is a viable alternative to traditionally conceived neutrality.…”

“…In psychology, self-disclosure can include the therapist's values regarding spirituality as it relates to therapy (Leach, Aten, Wade, and Hernandez, 2008). For example, in a sample intake form, the therapist may write: "I specialize in [type of cases] .…”

“…For instance, there are now diverse models of spiritual therapy from which we can gain insight into the development of our own models. They cover everything from ethics and selfawareness, as discussed previously, to details on how to handle spiritual concerns in intake assessment (Leach, Aten, Wade, and Hernandez, 2008) and case conceptualizations (Pargament and Krumrei, 2008;Park and Slattery, 2008), understanding its impact on the therapist--client alliance (Young, Dowdle, and Flowers, 2009), to implementing treatments (Schlosser and Safran, 2008). There are also several case studies applying spiritual or religious interventions from which we can learn, like Dwairy's (2009) case study of the effect of therapy with Arab-Muslim clients using culture analysis and metaphor psychotherapy.…”

Psychotherapy with Roman Catholics.

“…Understanding the role of personal spirituality and religious affiliation complements assessments in other areas of psychological functioning that are crucial to diagnosis and treatment (Leach, aten, Wade, & hernandez, 2009;Pargament & Krumrei, 2009;shafranske, 2013). In addition, spiritual resources often play a significant role in psychological coping and may be explicitly integrated into treatment (Pargament, 2007;Plante, 2009).…”