There seem to be a couple of different viewpoints emerging on this one.
There seems to be general agreement that the client's belief system (I
prefer this phrase to spirituality) should be included in therapy. I
completely agree with this. My original comment that "therapists should
have no direct involvement with clients' religious beliefs" was
misleading and ill conceived. The question I'm interested in is the
relevance of the therapist's beliefs.
1. Almost all the replies are saying that to be truly client centred,
the client's belief system is relevant, but the therapist's beliefs
should not interfere. I agree with this standpoint.
2. Ron's reference to Rogers implied that it is acceptable to integrate
the therapist's beliefs into practice. I am not clear about how this can
be done without evoking a conflict with the client's belief system. If
my client is a sikh and I am an atheist, surely my own personal beliefs
should not be allowed to become apparent during the course of therapy.
It is clear to me that when we are working with clients, we have to be
conscious of the influence of our own belief system on our judgements
and actions in order to be able to correct this influence. Any influence
my belief system has on my therapeutic intervention is a prejudicial one
and should be avoided as far as possible. The client's belief system is
the only one that should be allowed an influence.
As for the use of the phrase "spirituality", at least it's more
inclusive than "religion", but it still pre-selects certain belief
systems over others. My own personal belief system is humanist and anti
spiritual, so I feel excluded by the category of "spirituality".
However, my beliefs as a humanist and a socialist have as much impact on
my life as those of a christian. Should we not be adopting broader, more
inclusive terms?
Mike
http://www.otdirect.co.uk
Ron Carson wrote:
> Hello Mike:
>
> Carl Roger's, the father of client-centered therapy, suggests a
> therapist have three qualities:
>
> 1. Congruence -- genuineness, honesty with the client.
>
> 2. Empathy -- the ability to feel what the client feels.
>
> 3. Respect -- acceptance, unconditional positive regard
> towards the client.
>
> Looking at these qualities quickly shows that the therapist must not
> only respect clients' values, they must also respect their own values.
> So, I see no issue with integrating personal beliefs (assuming they
are
> ethical) into the client-therapist relationship as long as the
therapist
> continues to respect the client.
>
> Ron
>
> p.s. difficult situation but very worthy of debate
>
> ----------
> On 3/30/2001, Mike Said:
> M> I've been having some interesting discussions recently with a group
of
> M> religious therapists who wanted me to include them in my site's
links
> M> page. I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions.
>
> M> They list one of their aims as "To encourage therapists to
integrate
> M> their personal beliefs with their professional practice." I have a
major
> M> problem with this. The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for
> M> Occupational Therapists (College of Occupational Therapists,
London,
> M> 2000) states: "Occupational Therapists have a prime duty to the
client
> M> and should not let this duty be influenced by commercial or other
> M> interest that conflicts with this duty..." I interpret "other
interests"
> M> to include ideological interests. If this is the case, then it is
> M> unethical for me to allow my Marxism to be "integrated" into my
> M> practice, and likewise christianity, islam or whatever.
>
> M> They argued that 'a person's belief system is part of who they are
as a
> M> human being and is therefore not something that is possible to
separate
> M> or "leave at home".' I believe we must make attempts to separate
the
> M> personal from the professional. Every day I work with clients who
are
> M> into islam, hinduism, christianity, new age nonsense, or whatever.
There
> M> are all kinds of anti humanist beliefs out there, but I cannot let
my
> M> beliefs affect my practice.
>
> M> Inasmuch as clients raise religious issues, I believe I have a duty
to
> M> attempt to address them in the same way as any other belief system
or
> M> cultural issue. This might mean investigating ways for the client
to
> M> access a mosque or whatever, but therapists should have no direct
> M> involvement with clients' religious beliefs.
>
> M> Overall, I just can't see the validity of integrating religion with
> M> practice, any more than I can see that I should integrate my
Marxism and
> M> atheism with practice. It would be idiotic to imagine that therapy
can
> M> be insulated from ideology -- the very notion that disabled people
> M> should have access to therapy services in the first place is an
> M> ideological one -- but it seems to me that to have a network of
> M> therapists of any particular religion seeking to "integrate
personal
> M> beliefs with professional practice" is seeking to influence therapy
with
> M> a particularist ideology when we ought to be embracing more
> M> universalist, inclusive ideologies.
>
> M> Any thoughts?
>
> M> Mike
> M> http://www.otdirect.co.uk
>
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