There has been little Australian research on the religious and spiritual values
of counsellors � one study only, published by Cross and Khan in 1983. However, this
issue is an important one, as counsellors' values may influence their clients and the
need of clients may require the attention of the counsellor to religious and spiritual
issues. This study consisted of two surveys in which the religious and spiritual beliefs
and values of Australian counsellors were examined.
The first study addressed some root questions concerning the relevance of
religion and spirituality to psychologists and therapists in the counselling situation. The
queries concerned (a) the recognition and acceptance by counselling practitioners of the
religious/spiritual dimension of a person, (b) whether religious issues, values and
beliefs were seen as an integral part of psychotherapy and (c) the degree to which these
practitioners saw themselves as religious or spiritual.
To answer some of these root questions, the initial objective of the field
study was to survey psychologists and therapists in Canberra using the Batson and
Ventis (1982) Religious Life Inventory, because this was a framework for identifying
the ways in which a person was religious. Added to this were some demographic
questions and questions regarding the relevance of religion to work. A poor response
rate led to the surveys being sent also to Sydney and Melbourne.
Results from this first survey were limited. The term "religion" was found
to be far more complex than at first realised, and hence objectives were modified for a
second survey.
The second survey focussed on perceptions of spirituality of Canberra
counsellors. The survey questions were based on the studies by Shafranske and Gorsuch
(1984) and Shafranske and Malony (1990). Added to these questions were demographic
questions and open questions dealing with personal insights, experiences with symbols,
rituals and myths. Ideas for questions were also taken from studies on religion in
Australia, including Bouma and Dixon (1986) and the Australian Values Study Survey
(1983).
The data was analysed first by tabling frequencies, then by cross-tabulating
selected variables and computing the chi-square statistic for each cross-tabulation to
determine whether the relationship was significant at the 0.05 level.
Results suggested that the majority of Canberra practitioners not only
perceived spirituality as important to their personal life and clinical work, but also
regarded themselves as spiritual people and believed in a transcendent Being and Life
Force. Most saw their spirituality as entirely personal and had little connection with
organised or traditional religions. Within the counselling relationship approximately
half of the counsellors were willing to discuss religious issues, and nearly 90% to
discuss their clients' spirituality. Female counsellors were much more likely than male
to discuss a client's religious beliefs with them; other differences between the sexes
were less marked.
The high response rate in this study together with the significant findings
indicate the value of further research in this area on a broader scale.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219218 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Moir-Bussy, Ann, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Ann Moir-Bussy |
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