The article written by Giordano, Prosek, and Hastings (2016) deals with counselors’ integration of spirituality and religion into their practice. The researchers explore the integration of spirituality and religion into substance abuse counseling. It has been acknowledged that spirituality and religion integration can be beneficial for substance abuse counseling, but counselors often lack skills and knowledge or sufficient commitment to integrate these aspects into their practice. Giordano et al. (2016) focused on college students as the population that is prone to substance abuse and, at the same time, the one forming their personal religious beliefs. The authors attempted to address the following research questions:
- Are there considerable differences between collegiate counselors’ importance and frequency ratings among certain religious and spiritual components?
- Is there a link between counselors’ commitment and importance and frequency ratings?
Overall, 77 surveys based on the Religious Commitment Inventory and Religious / Spiritual Clinical Elements Index were analyzed. The vast majority of participants were white females with a mean age of 44.19 years. It was found that collegiate counselors’ importance and commitment ratings were lower than similar indices in previous studies. The integration of spirituality and religion was also lower compared to the previous studies. The researchers claimed that counselors should evaluate their clients’ spirituality and religiousness and provide corresponding care. The authors added that counselors needed to obtain training on the matter. Giordano et al. (2016) mentioned that qualitative studies should be implemented to identify the reasons for the low integration of spirituality and religiousness in substance abuse counseling provided to college students. The limitations of the study include quite a low response rate of respondents, as out of more than 400 people 77 returned surveys. The participants should also include diverse groups in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, and other characteristics.
Reference
Giordano, A., Prosek, E., & Hastings, T. (2016). Examining college counselors’ integration of religion and spirituality into substance abuse counseling. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 37(2), 102-115. Web.