Spiritual Counseling Program For Children with Anxiety Disorders: A multi-city experiment

This article reports on a multi-city two-year long experiment on the effect of a spiritual counseling program (SCP) on children diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The two-year customized SCP was conducted with 1238 children from 20 private schools in five cities across five countries, with an equal n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pastoral care & counseling
Main Author: Pandya, Samta P. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publishing 2018
In: Journal of pastoral care & counseling
Year: 2018, Volume: 72, Issue: 1, Pages: 45-57
Further subjects:B anxiety disorders
B spiritual counseling program
B Children
B Spiritual counseling
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:This article reports on a multi-city two-year long experiment on the effect of a spiritual counseling program (SCP) on children diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The two-year customized SCP was conducted with 1238 children from 20 private schools in five cities across five countries, with an equal number in a control group. Results showed that post-treatment self-reported and counselor-tested anxiety outcome measure scores were lower for the treatment group. Girls, children from more affluent cities, middle-class children, and those who had one stay-at-home parent and no siblings showed reduced anxiety disorders post-treatment. Children who voluntarily attended more SCP rounds than those prescribed and those who regularly self-practiced also showed lower anxiety symptoms post-treatment. Child-focused spiritual counseling intervention comprising components of connection with God within, recognizing and annihilating fear through introspection and breath control, stilling, centering, and consciousness seemed effective. Socio-cultural factors, parental involvement, and child’s own engagement with the treatment were significant determinants of effectiveness.
ISSN:2167-776X
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of pastoral care & counseling
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/1542305018761631