Abstract
Three hundred members of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists (AMCAP) were randomly selected and asked about their use of spiritual interventions in their professional work. Two hundred and fifteen (72%) AMCAP members responded to the survey and indicated that they use a wide variety of spiritual interventions. Praying silently for clients, teaching spiritual concepts, encouraging forgiveness, using the religious community as a support, and encouraging clients to pray were used much more frequently than were priesthood blessing by therapists, praying with clients, and asking clients to memorize scriptures. Critical incident case examples provided by the therapists revealed that a wide variety of spiritual interventions were perceived as potentially therapeutic. Clinical guidelines regarding the use of spiritual interventions were offered by the therapists and ethical concerns were raised. Implications for AMCAP members are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Richards, P. Scott and Potts, Richard W.
(1995)
"Spiritual Interventions in Psychotherapy: A Survey of the Practices and Beliefs of AMCAP Members,"
Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy: Vol. 21:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/irp/vol21/iss1/4