When defining Christian Spirituality as Dr. Garzon explains we look at the
continued debate of religion, theology, with that of mental health professionals.
There is also an understanding of ethical and empirical support regarding the
inclusion of spirituality in counseling. "Early historical counselors would adopt a
“don't ask, don't tell" policy in previous decades regarding a client's faith.
Ethical support for spirituality in counseling lead to a different approach for
accepting a counselee having a spiritual culture in their lives. "“Accordingly, the
ethics codes of all professional mental-health organizations now include religion
and spirituality as important components of culturally sensitive treatment.”
(Garzon) Numerous studies indicate spirituality can positively impact a person's
physical and mental health (Koenig, 2004). (Garzon) "There is evidence to prove
that participation in church services is beneficial in treating some diseases or
conditions. "However, if people use spirituality more extrinsically (for self focused
reasons, such as inclusion in the right social circles, etc.) are more vulnerable to
mental health issues. "Some clients that are more committed to their faith are
more likely to seek counseling from counselors who incorporate prayer,
scripture, faith resources in their therapy. " "A secular counselor wouldn’t fully
understand the importance of of devotional materials, prayer or scripture being
incorporated into therapy for a Christian counselee. "They may try to incorporate
religious materials to better meet the needs of their client, but they will still fall
short because of the lack of study of the scriptures and they themselves having a
relationship with God that they can glean from."
