Spiritual Discernment in Counseling

The process of spiritual discernment can be challenging at times for individuals. There are different approaches to spiritual discernment based on individual beliefs of whether or not God has a specific detailed plan for individuals. Values that have shown to be important to me when making major life decisions include common sense, desires and interests, and my strengths, abilities, talents. I do also take into consideration signs of confirmation, a sense of inner peace, recognizing and responding to the needs of others, and God’s general will.

Based on the values that I consider when making a decision I am most likely to follow the pragmatic wisdom approach.

The biggest factor that has influence this would be the factor that religion and having a relationship with God has not been a priority within my life. It was not something that my family engaged in while growing up. It has only been recently that I began exploring my own spirituality after an overwhelming sense of peace and feelings as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be in life that came from a major life decision. Learning about my specific approach that I use has led me to understand limits in my competency that make impact working with a client in regards to spiritual discernment. In order to be an ethical and competent counselor I have a responsibility to learn skills and techniques to expand my knowledge and approach client concerns without imposing my own personal and professional values.

The process of discernment can be confusing and overwhelming process. Many individuals are faced with several aspects to consider when making decisions about their future and what is God’s will for them. There have been a few approaches identified in regards to making decisions that align with God’s will. These approaches include the bulls-eye approach, wisdom approach, and the relationship-formation approach (Horton, 2009).

Personal Position

After taking the Decision-Making Factors survey at the end of the article by Horton (2009), I was able to identify several aspects that are important to me when it comes to making decisions in regards to my education, career, and other major life decisions. Of the twelve factors listed, I discovered common sense, considering personal desires and interests, and considering personal strengths, talents, gifts, and abilities to be very important to me when making major life decisions. I also identified looking for signs of confirmation and recognizing the needs and responding to the needs of others as being somewhat important. The two aspects of looking for confirmation and responding to the needs of others are two things that I have taken into consideration when making decisions in regards to my education and career choices.

Using common sense is important to me when make any decisions in my life. I prefer to make rational decisions based on what is right and within my ability to do. When making decisions I take into consideration how my choices will impact my future and how my decisions will affect my family. Before making a big decision, I like to have as much information as possible before making a final decision. One recent decision I made was to quit my job and begin graduate school to pursue a degree in professional counseling. I had to consider my family’s financial situation, my ability to complete graduate school, and my reasons and purpose for pursing such a degree. A lot of thought went into this decision rather than making a choice based on impulse.

My personal desires and interests play a role in the decisions I make in the path of my life. I am less likely to enjoy or do things that I do not have an interest in or desire to do. During high school and college, science and math classes were not my strong subjects. Both were difficult areas for me which lea to little interest in those areas. I did have more of an interest in social science classes which made studying for those classes easier. I remember having a fascination with how the mind works and the choices people make so I was more likely to take classes in psychology or criminal justice which lead to pursing an undergraduate degree in criminal justice.

After high school and while working on my bachelor’s degree, I held jobs at a local gas station and Wal-Mart. I chose these jobs based on the need for an income and work experience. These were not jobs that I had an interest or desire to do long term; however, I did them to the best of my ability because the jobs duties were what I was supposed to do. It was not until I began working at a private boarding school for at-risk teens that I developed an interest in my work and a desire to continue to working in a similar environment. I was able to see the role I played in helping others rebuild their life and I wanted to continue to be able to do that as I continued with my education.

Through working at the boarding school for at-risk teens I continued to see the strengths and abilities I had to be able to work in such a stressful environment and make a difference in other’s lives. I received positive feedback from my supervisors on my performance which help solidify my abilities and strengths. I continued to build a career working with at-risk teens as a residential treatment program for juvenile offenders.

I began learning about treatment approaches and basic use of counseling skills. I continued to receive positive feedback from supervisors and developed abilities to engage with others, communicate with compassion and understanding with others, and apply appropriate treatment approaches to help at-risk teens and their families make changes within their lives. I soon realized that my abilities were limited in how I can further help others without a having an educational background in mental health counseling. My feeling of being limited in knowledge of basic counseling theories and specific inventions led to my decision to purse a graduate degree in professional counseling.

Receiving signs of confirmation and recognizing and responding to the needs of others are not as strict of a consideration when it comes to making decisions, I do take both into account. Recently my husband and I made a huge decision to move to the east coast from the Midwest for his career. I struggled with this decision at first because I did not know if it would work out and I questioned how we would be able to make it financially. It was not until after the fact that, I believe, I received those signs of confirmation that we made the right decision and we are where we are supposed to be.

In the process of making the decision, I do not feel as if I specifically look for signs of confirmation other than feeling a sense of peace and positivity about the decision. I rely on signs of confirmation after a decision is made as reassurance that I did make the right decision. Personal needs and desires played a huge role in my educational and career choices when it was only me involved; however, now I do not make decisions solely for myself. I have to consider the needs of my family and how my decisions will affect them. I am more likely to put my needs aside and make decisions based on what we need as a whole.

Based upon the descriptions of the different approaches to spiritual discernment I am most likely to follow the pragmatic wisdom approach. The pragmatic wisdom approach is a variation of the wisdom approach that views the bible as one of the secondary factors (Horton, 2009). Individuals following this approach primarily rely on the use of wise counsel, common sense, and their strengths, talents, and abilities rather relying more on Scripture to aid in making their decisions. Most individuals believe that God does not have a specific detailed plan for them and instead make decisions based on their understanding of God’s general will (Horton, 2009).

Religion was not a part of my life growing up so considering God’s teachings in the Bible has not been something I have considered when making major decisions in my life for my education and career path. The process of decision making, for me, has been based on what is the right thing to do, rational decision making, my desires and interest, and my strengthens and abilities. Exploring my own spirituality is something that I have recently began to do so I cannot say for sure whether or not I believe God has a specific detailed plan for me. I do believe in God’s will to treat others as how I would like to be treated.

Past and Present Influences

I think the biggest influence into my approach to spiritual discernment come from how I was raised and more from a secular perspective. Growing up I felt as if I had a good understanding of what is right and wrong. As I gained my independence during my teenage years, I learned to make decisions with taking how it would impact my future into consideration. Because religion was not a part of my family growing up, I relied more on my rational thinking, interests, and abilities to lead my decision making.

Religion was not a huge influence within my family. It was not because of a disbelief in God. It was that my parents did not make it a priority. I grew up learning to make decisions based on a general sense of right and wrong rather than what God specifically revealed in the Bible.

I recently began to consider the idea that God has influence over our lives. I acknowledge that I am more likely to make safe decisions rather than take risks. I struggled with the idea of moving my family to the east coast in fear that we would struggle to be able to make things work financially. After taking the risk and making the decisions to move I feel as if I received confirmation that it was the right decision to make. I felt at peace with the decision because of how easily things fell into place. The entire process was not as stressful as I had originally thought and things had worked out well for us. Because of a sense of peace that I felt, it made me feel as if this is where I am supposed to be in life.

As for my current approach to making decisions I continue to use common sense with consideration of my interests and abilities when deciding to make major changes within my life. Since exploring my own spirituality, I do also rely on personal feelings and I consider what decision will lead to a sense of peace.

I have also come to realize that meaning and purpose play a role in decisions that I make. Leaving my previous employer was something that I struggled with because I felt as if I was leaving something very meaningful to me. I had found my place within my chosen career and I strongly felt as if I had a sense of purpose in working with at-risk youth and their families to help them make changes in their lives. As I considered how I wanted to further my career I knew I wanted to continue to work to make a difference in others lives. I did not want just another job to do to be able to have an income. I wanted to continue with something that had meaning.

Practical Application

When considering a client who has a different decision style than I do I have to be able to recognize how my personal opinions, values, and beliefs may influence how I address the client’s concerns. The ACA Code of Ethics states that counselors must avoid imposing their own values and must only practice within the boundaries in which they are competent (Kocet & Herlihy, 2014). While working with a client who feels as if her decision is not God’s will, I must acknowledge my lack of competence in spiritual issues.

My personal experiences contribute to my lack of knowledge in how to address spiritual concerns. For counselors to be responsible, it is their responsibility to learn and gain the skills necessary to work with a diverse client population (Kocet & Herlihy, 2014). To be able to assist the client with her concerns from a neutral position, I will have to continue to explore my own spiritually and expand my knowledge of God’s will.

Spirituality can be defined as “a concern with a person’s awareness of the existence and experience of inner feelings and beliefs, that give purpose, meaning, and value to life (Dunlap, 2018, p. 66). While my understanding of God’s will may be limited, I can use my basic understanding and desire to have meaning and purpose in life to assist a client in finding her own meaning and purpose to her life.

Spirituality in an individual experience that occurs within a larger community (Dunlap, 2018). I consider this to mean that our spirituality is based on our own interpretations of the experiences we encounter. Based on my personal experiences and how outside influences play a role in my decision making, I can use this understanding to explore the client’s spirituality and gain a better understanding of how outside influences play a role in her decision making. This will allow me to see her values and what is important to her from her perspective rather than making assumptions based on my own. Possible questions that could be asked to get a better understanding are what interests her, what bothers her, and what drives her (Dunlap, 2018).

Counselors are not expected to be value free and understandably bring their own personal and professional values into their counselor practice. Counselors find a way to integrate their values into counseling in a way that does not impose their personal beliefs onto their clients (Kocet & Herlihy, 2014). Based on my personal understanding of how I make decisions, the aspects I consider, and the knowledge of the other approaches to spiritual discernment, I would be inclined to explore what other factors play a role in the client’s decision other than God’s will. Because I also believe in treating others in a manner in which I would like to be treated, I would respect the fact that her beliefs and decision-making style is different from mine. Therefore, I would want to approach addressing this specific client’s concerns in a manner that is free of judgement and bias.

In order to do this without imposing my values and beliefs onto the client, the strategy of ethical bracketing would be helpful. Ethical bracketing is the process of intentional separating of personal and professional values and setting them aside to be able to provide ethical counseling to clients. Doing so helps empower the client to work towards their treatment goals in a manner that does not involve imposing personal or professional values of the counselor onto the client. The process of ethical bracketing includes self-reflection in regards to the specific value conflict, an understanding of best practices in accordance with ethical standards, supervision and consultation, and personal counseling to assist in identifying personal barriers or other biases that may continue to be an issue (Kocet & Herlihy, 2014).

Another strategy that may be helping in career counseling is the process of motivational interviewing. Motivational interviewing is a person-centered counseling approach focused on promoting client autonomy in decision making. Many individuals who engage in career counseling often experience ambivalence in which motivational interviewing and other techniques can help resolve (Klonek, Wunderlich, Spurk, & Kauffeld, 2016). By using the communication style consistent with motivational interviewing, I would be able to assist the client in exploring her decision-making style further, other considerations that play a role in her decision making, and what contributes to her belief that her decision is not God’s will. By using motivational interviewing and promoting client autonomy, it will allow for the client to lead the conversation and focus on her values and beliefs rather than my own.

Vocational discernment is an important part of making decisions in regards to education and career. Spirituality also significantly impacts a person’s decision making as it relates to what is their calling (Dunlap, 2018. Identifying the values I take into consideration when making decisions has helped me understand the approach to spiritual discernment I am more likely to use and the role spirituality plays in my decision making approach.

Being able to understand the approach I use has made me aware of where my limitations are when it comes to assisting others in the process of spiritual discernment. It is my responsibility as a competent and ethical counselor to continue to expand my Christian worldview, my understand of God’s will and teachings, and continue to learn skills to approach client concerns in a manner that does not impose my value onto them should they have different beliefs and approach to spiritual discernment than I do.

References

1. Dunlap, G. T. (2018). 'what should I be when I grow up?' vocational discernment and spiritual well-being. Journal of College and Character, 19(1), 65-78. doi:10.1080/2194587X.2017.1411275
2. Horton, D. J. (2009). Discerning Spiritual Discernment: Assessing Current Approaches for Understanding God’s Will. The Journal of Youth Ministry, 7(2), 7–31.
3. Klonek, F. E., Wunderlich, E., Spurk, D., & Kauffeld, S. (2016). Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor–client interactions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 94, 28–38. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2016.01.008
4. Kocet, M. M., & Herlihy, B. J. (2014). Addressing Value-Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision-Making Model. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92(2), 180–186. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00146.x

Did you like this example?

324

14