Spiritual Diversity in Couple and Family Therapy Training: Student Perspectives

Abstract

The current study assessed couple and family therapy (CFT) students' levels of self-reported competence working with clients from non-Christian spiritual traditions, levels of content that students reported receiving related to preparing them to work with Christian and non-Christian clients, and perceptions of the training students received on working with clients of diverse spiritual faith traditions. Participants were CFT students from accredited Master's and doctoral programs of the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). Results indicated that there were significant differences in the content students reported receiving regarding working with clients of Christian faith traditions compared to clients of non-Christian faith traditions. Students received more content on Christian faith traditions than non-Christian faith traditions; however, both mean scores were low. Qualitative analyses revealed several themes regarding the specific content that students were taught about working with clients of non-Christian faith traditions. Recommendations for clinical training are provided.