β Scribed by DARRYL GRANT; LAWRENCE EPP
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Religion and spirituality can have serious negative or positiveeffects on the identity development of gay persons. The case of Robert illustrates how certain religious beliefs, stemming from literal and noncontextual interpretations of ancient cultural problems, may harm gay persons' development, and how a compassion-oriented spirituality, reflecting contemporary theological and scriptural scholarship, can provide spiritual support. Applications for counseling are discussed.
Emerging in a once exclusively secular discipline, religion and spirituality are being reconsidered as an important area of exploration in the counseling interview. This reconsideration derives from the counseling profession's increasing acknowledgment of the deep-seated spiritual needs of clients in the face of life's uncertainties and challenges-in finding a set of enduring values and in discovering meaning in catastrophic life events that defy rational explanation and cry out for significance. At a daily level, religion and spirituality are entwined with one's identity, including one's sexual orientation, fostering either self-esteem or self-negation, depending on how carefully one conforms to religious doctrine and the expectations of his or her community of believers.
The case of Robert (a real name used with permission) described below highlights how religion and spirituality can powerfully affect, for ill and good, the identity development of gay persons (Barret & Barzan, 1996).The authors carne to know Robert as result of an assignment in a graduate course on spirituality and religion, which required students to interview lay persons, clergy, and practicingcounselors on their views about the role of spirituality and religion in counseling. The story of Robert indicates how counselors must be ready to enter with sensitivityand understanding into the sometimes conflicting,sometimes congruent connection of religion and spirituality with the life development of gay and lesbian persons. By understanding the negative impacts of particular manifesta-Darryl Grant is a master's candidate in community counseling at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and chairperson of the Washington Area Gay-Lesbian Interfaith Alliance.
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
In this article, the author argues that the language used in counseling practice is largely a common sense language using mentalistic words. Basic mentalistic assumptions and challenges to those assumptions are outlined. The practical consequences of retaining or discarding mentalism in counseling a
βListen, my child,β said the prophet, βthere is one God, and he created everything, including you and the world. He made you by a miracle out of nothing at all. You must pray to him, worship him, and serve his every whim, or he will send you to hell.β βListen, my child,β said the guru, βthere is o