The purpose of this dissertation was to determine how therapists of different religious denominations handle the issue of their own values in the psychotherapeutic relationship when presented with hypothetical case vignettes. The major hypothesis of this study was whether therapists that scored high in religiosity on the Religious Attitude Scale would have more difficulty interpreting and handling cases than therapists who scored low. It also investigated whether those therapists that scored high in religiosity would have their values affect their interpretation of the hypothetical cases more than those low in religiosity. Another hypothesis predicted that women high in religiosity would report experiencing more difficulties interpreting and handling the hypothetical cases than men high in religiosity. The study was conducted using a "convenience sample" of sixty experienced psychotherapists from two mental health clinics. The participants received two instruments: eight hypothetical case vignettes describing cases with different problems and the Religious Attitude Scale. The study results did not support any of the hypotheses postulated. Degree of religiosity did not affect participant's interpretation and handling of the hypothetical case vignettes. These results can be explained in two ways: it seems that therapy training program have been successful in sensitizing their students in not allowing their religious values to interfere with their work. Another possible explanation could be that those programs do not train the students to use their religious values effectively in the therapeutic process.

The resurgence of prayer and glossolalia (speaking in tongues) within Protestant denominations in the United States of America has stimulated widespread psychological and theological debate. Previous research has indicated that religiosity has both a negative and positive effect on mental health functioning. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the relationships between specific religious practices and mental health. Therefore the purpose of the proposed study is to report on the growing number of religious persons who pray/glossolate and the conflicting messages in the literature regarding the relationship between religiosity and mental illness. A total of 10 Protestants (5 with and 5 without mental health treatment experience) from a large urban area in southeastern Michigan were interviewed. The key research questions were the participants' prayer life, coping skills, participation in mental health services, and perception of their mental health providers' comfort level. To identify themes, the participants' responses were classified, placed into clusters of meaning, reflected upon, and then described. Identified themes included using prayer/glossolalia to resolve interpersonal conflicts and a preference for Christian identified counselors when seeking mental health services. Findings from this research clarify a need for further study regarding mental health services that are delivered to glossolates and nonglossolates. This is an important contribution to the existing literature and enhances social change initiatives through advocating training for mental health providers in the positive impact of religious practices on mental health.

The Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVC) identifies 9 core competencies for integrating spirituality/religion into practice. Previous research indicates that some mental health professionals have experienced discomfort when considering the balance between religious ideology (RI) and scientific orientation (SO) in their practice. However, no research exists assessing this potential for cognitive dissonance among mental health professionals nor has there been a test of the relative influence of RI/SO on approval of ASERVC competency integration into counselor training. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was first to assess RI/SO cognitive dissonance and, second, to test RI/SO relative to ASERVC competency integration. The Religious Ideology, Scientific Orientation, Conflict Questionnaire and Core Competency Questionnaire was administered to a random sample of American Psychological Association and American Counseling Association professionals. The results from t tests revealed a significant difference in cognitive dissonance with higher scores on both RI/SO associated with greater dissonance. Multiple regression analysis revealed neither RI nor SO predict competency approval. Findings suggest an important social-change implication: Counselors may not perceive a conflict between RI and SO and, therefore, may be willing to accept the integration of the ASERVC competencies into their training. Implications also include changes in curricular requirements within academic programs that train counselors, social workers, and psychologists to integrate these competencies; considerations for ethical guidelines addressing religious and spiritual diversity; and the development of continuing education coursework pertaining to spiritual and religious diversity competencies.