Value clarification.

Abstract

Awareness of one's own values, beliefs, and attitudes is one of the most important components of multicultural competence for psychotherapists (Sue & Sue, 2003). Several authors of the chapters in this volume stress the need for psychotherapists to understand how their own values interact and influence their abilities to provide psychotherapeutic services to clients. Two types of value conflicts can occur in the course of psychotherapy that can be difficult to resolve. First, conflicts can occur when clients encounter a clash between their spiritual beliefs and their personal issues and decisions. Often clients seek services from psychotherapists to help resolve these issues, but because psychotherapy is not a value neutral process, it is quite possible that psychotherapists themselves will encounter a second type of conflict when their own beliefs and values are different than those of their clients. In particular, value conflicts often occur when a psychotherapist's spiritual or religious beliefs clash with a client's presenting issue or course of action. Because most mental health training programs do not train students in how to deal with these conflicts, it can be difficult for psychotherapists to know how to resolve these issues, especially when there are strong feelings and beliefs involved.The purpose of the present chapter is to describe the types of value conflicts that may occur for clients and psychotherapists and to discuss ways in You have to start knowing yourself so well that you begin to know other people. A piece of us is in every person we can ever meet.-John D. McDonald (1974)

Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics and the formation of mental health professionals.

“…A therapist’s transcultural competency also relates to a therapist’s ability to engage and treat religiously diverse clients (Vieten et al, 2013, p. 131; Zinnbauer & Barrett, 2009, p. 161). Further, a therapist who works with a client from the same religious tradition as the therapist must also be able to understand how such a client might relate to their shared tradition in a diverse way (Ali, Allmon, & Cornick, 2011, p. 58; Pargament, 2007, p. 20). Further, hermeneutic reflection can support therapists in the exercise of what Pargament (2009) referred to as “spiritually sensitive judgments” when considering the relationship between a client’s spirituality and that client’s treatment goals (p. 392; cf.…”

Hermeneutic Realism: Toward a Truly Meaningful Psychology

“…Although few professionals, including the hermeneutically attuned therapist, would desire to force their values onto anyone, the notion that values can be avoided is undoubtedly a myth. In fact, the falseness of this myth is the clear conclusion of over a halfcentury of research on values and therapy (Ali, Allmon, & Cornick, 2011;Tjeltveit, 1999). Therapists inevitably attempt to persuade their clients to adopt their values (Slife, Smith, & Burchfield, 2003).…”