This article draws from a phenomenological study on the experience of being a bereavement counselor. Ten bereavement counselors shared their experiences in bereavement counseling. Spiritual and emotional aspects of bereavement counseling with grieving and dying persons are discussed as well as the spiritual effects on and growth processes of the…

Used multidimensional scaling to investigate how theistic or atheistic values of an analogue counselor influenced trust of the counselor by 49 religious psychotherapy clients and 51 religious leaders. All 100 subjects were Mormons. Results suggest that subjects would be more likely to trust counselors more who self-disclosed a belief in God. (NB)

Ethical guidelines of the 4 major professional associations representing counselors and psychotherapists are reviewed. To help clarify thinking about writing up clinical cases, 3 kinds of cases are described. The author concludes that the current guidelines for clinician authors in writing about clients for publication or presentation are…

Replicating a study done 15 years ago, a survey was mailed to psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and marriage and family counselors who were listed in the San Antonio Yellow Pages to get information about their perceptions of unethical practice. Results show a shift in perceived unethical practice over the 15-year time frame. (Author)

Examined agreement among psychotherapists about nature of healthy psychological functioning. Administered Mental Health Values Questionnaire to national samples of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and psychoanalysts. Found relatively high degree of consensus among four professional disciplines. Individual differences were associated…

Phenomenological qualitative methods were used to identify and describe moral elements in therapeutic relationships. Using the relational philosophy of E. Levinas (1961/1969, 1979/1987) as a base, data in which therapists and clients identified and described morally responsive experiences in therapy sessions were analyzed. These moments were often…

Considers various ways that values enter into counseling or psychotherapy, with particular attention to goals of the process and methods or procedures by which counselor or therapist implements process. Suggests approach to counseling and psychotherapy that recognizes and incorporates values basic to democratic philosophy and the goal of…

Reviews survey data and published literature to support the thesis that the emergence of the political right, the revival of fundamental religiosity, and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome have had both subtle and gross negative effects on the attitudes of counselors toward homosexual clients. (Author/NB)

Examined agreement between patient and therapist about mental health values to determine whether such agreement influences psychotherapy outcome. Results from 100 chemically dependent inpatients found positive treatment effects associated with pretreatment agreement between counselor and patient about some mental health values, but with…