The journal article that I have selected to review is calledIntegrating
Spirituality in Marriage and Family Therapy Training,written by Suzanne
M. Cole.
This article examines the role of religion/spirituality in training marriage
and family therapists in a clinical practice setting. There is an increasing
interest in how to implement integration into marriage and family therapy
(Cole, 2017). The research in this article is built on the feedback from
thirty students from the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis,
Indiana. These students were selected to join the American Association for
Marriage and Family Therapy Core Competencies Beta Test group (Cole,
2017). The purpose of the study was to improve the effectiveness of
teaching and improve the quality of services delivered by marriage and
family therapists (Cole, 2017, p. 145). The article highlights the
experience of graduate students as they experience spiritual training
through foundational religion courses, supervision, and various projects
(Cole, 2017).
The purpose of the research was to gather feedback from students about
whether spirituality is considered to be important in clinical practice, and
if there is a need for increased training focused on integrative
religion/spirituality in marriage and family therapy (Cole, 2017). There
were differing perspectives on these questions, however, the majority of
students indicated that spirituality was an important component to include
in training programs, however, students also indicated that they had
never received this kind of training (Cole, 2017).
Over the course of the study, feedback was collected from faculty,
supervisors, students, and graduates to evaluate the effectiveness of the
program (Cole, 2017). It was determined that more points of intersection
were needed to integrate spirituality into marriage and family therapy
(Coles, 2017, p.145). The study supports that content regarding
spirituality is equally as important as other diversity matters such as race,
class, and gender (Coles, 2017, p. 146). In order to support integrating
spirituality into clinical practice, trainees should identify and consult with
spiritually/theologically trained individuals (Coles, 2017). Another
consideration to facilitate integration involves utilizing resources to
network and connect with other family therapists with training in spiritual
and theological disciplines (Coles, 2017).
It was enlightening to view spiritual integration through the experience of
graduate students. The article states that a well-trained family therapist is
both spiritually sensitive and spiritually literate (Coles, 2017, p. 147). This
places responsibility on the students, who are potential therapists, to
practice self-evaluation and introspection. Before committing to work with
religious/spiritual clients it’s important to be aware of our religious
position and our religious dilemmas (Coles, 2017, p. 145).
I believe that the recommendations in this article support the Allies model,
in that Christians can benefit from insights of secular individuals, there are
practices suggested that are applicable and beneficial to both Christians
and non-Christians (Entwistle, 2015, p. 194). This article shines a positive
light on the concept of spiritual integration into marriage and family
therapy which is ideal as family and marriage are important facets of our
lives.
Reference
Coyle, S. M. (2017, March 22).Integrating spirituality in marriage and
family therapy training. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved September 25,
2021, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anzf.1195/full.
Entwistle, D. (2015).Integrative Approaches to Psychology and
Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical
Foundations and Models of Integration. 3rd#edition.#Cascade Books.
