Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Practice: Guidelines for Psychotherapists and Mental Health Professionals

by Cassandra Vieten, Shelley Scammell, Daniel J. Siegel (Foreword)

Spirituality lies at the heart of many clients' core values, and helps shape their perception of themselves and the world around them. In this book, two clinical psychologists provide a much-needed, research-based road map to help professionals appropriately address their clients’ spiritual or religious beliefs in treatment sessions. More and more, it has become essential for mental health professionals to understand and competently navigate clients' religious and spiritual beliefs in treatment. In Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Practice , you’ll find sixteen research-based guidelines and best practices to help you provide effective therapy while being conscious of your clients' unique spiritual or cultural background. With this professional resource as your guide, you will be prepared to: This book is a must-read for any mental health professional looking to develop spiritual, religious, and cultural competencies.

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

Reviews

[Juli · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors are clearly skilled clinicians, but there is an unnerving sense of lacking discernment throughout. Probably useful for an audience with no background in the subject, the clinical vignettes are the strong point, while the reflections of the authors and their exploration of the subject are lacking. Also, this is yet another book in which at least one of the authors is a psychologist, said psychologist speaks about the importance of knowing one's own scope-of-practice and limitations, and also casually mentions giving suspect-at-best nutritional advice to clients. In this, one of the psychologists reports telling a client to eat more protein in order to feel more grounded. I can read past a lot of the woo, but such facile nutritional advice from a seemingly-unqualified source is remarkably common in books by psychologists, and needlessly irritating.

The book does well, but not remarkably-so, at illustrating the importance of recognizing both the overlap and the distinctiveness of spiritual crises and psychological illness, and attending to each in turn. Reading the original text on spiritual emergencies by the Grofs would be a better idea.

[Clifton Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

This book is a great tool for any professional in the helping sciences. It carves out a space in practice to allow the clinician the chance to not only broaden their perspective of the client through the client's belief system, but also provides an opportunity for the clinician to learn/understand the client in a manner void of preconception.