Psychology
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2270
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Item The Experiences of Religious/Spiritual Jewish Therapists Working with Religious/Spiritual Jewish Clients(2020) Gerstenblith, Judith Ann; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)We used Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill, 2012) to investigate the experiences of eleven religious/spiritual (R/S) Jewish therapists working with R/S Jewish clients in psychotherapy. R/S concerns involved struggles with Jewish identity, relationships, and the Jewish community. Therapists used R/S and non-R/S interventions to help with R/S concerns, although therapists explicitly discussed Jewish laws, beliefs, and practices more in successful than in unsuccessful cases. Therapists in both cases experienced R/S countertransference, but therapists in unsuccessful cases more often expressed uncertainty and regret regarding their clinical decisions. Therapists perceived that effective therapeutic interventions led to client improvement. Factors associated with success included therapists’ effective use of a shared R/S identity, ability to overcome tensions raised by R/S differences, and countertransference management; and clients’ openness, stability, and motivation. Implications include therapists developing an approach that is sensitive to R/S identity and researchers investigating therapeutic dyads with cultural and value-based similarities and differences.Item A SURVEY OF UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER THERAPISTS: WORKING WITH CLIENTS WHO HAVE RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL ISSUES(2005-08-04) Kellems, Ian Stuart; Hill, Clara E.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)University counseling center therapists (n = 220) completed an internet survey about one of their recent therapy cases in which the clients' issues involved religion/spirituality (RS). Responses were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Common RS issues for clients involved questioning one's childhood religion, exploring RS beliefs, and using client's RS as a source of strength. The similarity of therapist and client RS values is not related to the strength of the therapeutic relationship. A therapist's religious commitment is related to both the goals that therapist considers important when working with RS issues and to how frequently the therapist uses religiously/spiritually-oriented interventions. Regarding training, therapist self-efficacy in working with RS issues is positively related to the amount of training the therapist has engaged in about how to work with RS issues. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed.