Christian Clients’ Preferences regarding Prayer as a Counseling Intervention
Spirituality has increasingly become a consideration for mental health practitioners. As a result, spiritual interventions, including prayer, are now more frequently used in counseling. However, no research has explored Christian clients’ expectations regarding prayer in counseling. This study surve...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publishing
2007
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| In: |
Journal of psychology and theology
Year: 2007, Volume: 35, Issue: 4, Pages: 328-341 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Spirituality has increasingly become a consideration for mental health practitioners. As a result, spiritual interventions, including prayer, are now more frequently used in counseling. However, no research has explored Christian clients’ expectations regarding prayer in counseling. This study surveyed first-visit Christian clients and their therapists to ascertain client expectations and therapist beliefs and practices. Analysis with two sample t-tests with unequal variances, one-way analysis of variance, simple linear regression, Pearson correlations, and Fisher's exact tests indicated that (a) 82% of clients desired audible prayer in counseling; (b) they preferred that therapists introduce the subject of prayer; (c) they had strong expectations that prayer would be included in counseling; (d) they wanted counselors to pray for them outside of session; (e) religious conservatives had higher expectations for prayer than did liberals; (f) clients with prior Christian counseling had higher expectations of prayer than did clients without. Research implications are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-1162 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of psychology and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/009164710703500405 |