TOC
Religious Counseling:
A Review of Published
Empirical Research
EVERETT L. WORTHINGTON, JR.
The empirical research on religious counseling from the last 10 years
is reviewed. Research is grouped broadly under three headings—reli-
gious counselors, religious clients, and religious counseling techniques.
Methodologically, most studies rely on questionnaires with Christian
samples. More analogue and experimental designs are appearing in
recent literature. Findings show that clergy do most of the religious
counseling. Clients are often concerned with challenges or potential
challenges to their values. There have been few examinations of religious
counseling techniques. Researchers are urged to continue to increase
the quality and variety of their religious research.
W
hether religious or secular, counselors encounter re-
ligious clients and often feel uncertain about the effects
of their counseling on their clients’ spiritual lives. Re-
ligious issues may arise in counseling or may influence clients
and counselors silently without being addressed. This is espe-
cially true since the recent revitalization of interest in religious
experience in the United States. Researchers have begun to in-
vestigate religious experience with increased intensity. For ex-
ample, the National Council on Family Relations recently formed
a special committee to study religion and the family, publishing
articles on research in the Journal of Marriage and the Family (Thomas
& Henry, 1985). In the last 5 years, several debates and discus-
sions concerning religious counseling have been published in
prominent journals (see Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psy-
chology, 1980, Vol. 48, Nos. 1 & 5; Psychotherapy: Theory, Research
and Practice, 1980, Vol. 17, No. 4; and Personnel and Guidance
Journal, 1980, Vol. 58, No. 9). More researchers have investigated
religious counseling as a consequence of its attention in the
journals, but the research has been scattered throughout psy-
chology, pastoral counseling, and religious journals. No review-
er has yet organized the topics of research and summarized the
findings. In this article I hope to promote more understanding
among counselors about religious counselors, religious clients,
and religious counseling techniques.
METHOD
Definitions of Religious and
Secular Counseling
Most psychologists and counselors find the terminology used
by religious publications and religious clients to be unfamiliar
and confusing. Whereas the secular counselor understands re-
ligious terminology in a general sense, religious clients and
professionals often draw fine distinctions. Some of the more
commonly used terms are defined below.
Strictly, religious is a generic term denoting reliance on the
assumptions on which a belief system is built, but in this article
religious will refer specifically to identification with organized
JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
Electronic Journal: To print this article select pages 5-15.
religion (or some personal variant of organized religion). Secular
refers to that which characterizes ‘general society. In recent years,
secular has come to be understood as nonreligious (not neces-
sarily anti-religious), pluralistic, and characteristic of contem-
porary society.
Based on these distinctions, religious counseling can be defined,
for the purpose of this review, as counseling that primarily
involves content associated with an organized religion or coun-
seling done in an explicitly religious context (e.g., by a pastor
at a church). Secular counseling is defined as counseling not in-
volving religious content or not set in an explicitly religious
context. Thus, a counselor conceivably could do secular coun-
seling with a client, except for an isolated session that involves
religious counseling. Also, counseling could be based on the
precepts of organized religion throughout counseling, except
for an isolated incident of secular counseling. Obviously, these
distinctions are not precise or mutually exclusive, and they can-
not be because of the ebb and flow of human discourse during
counseling. These definitions, however, should permit a cir-
cumscribed review of religious counseling.
Procedure of the Search
Empirical studies of explicitly religious counseling published
between 1974 and early 1984 were reviewed. A list of journals
that might publish research on religious counseling was com-
piled (see Table 1). These journals were subdivided into four
categories: secular psychology and counseling journals (n = 9),
pastoral counseling journals (n = 4), general religion and science
journals (n = 9), and psychological journals with a religious or
values orientation (n = 3). Of these, five were unavailable in the
libraries of Virginia Commonwealth University, the University
of Richmond, and Union Theological Seminary of Richmond.
Each available journal’s table of contents was examined, and
articles pertaining to religious counseling were photocopied.
Occasionally, an article would cite a reference not published in
the journals preselected for review. If available, that article was
included in the review.
Most religion has relied primarily on revelation for obtaining
truth. Theology, the study and systematization of religious be-
lief, uses (a) logical analysis of sacred writings and their impli-
cations, (b) research on the authenticity and style of writing of
sacred manuscripts, and (c) research on historical events told of
in sacred writings to apprehend revealed truth. As a conse-
quence, religious counselors, like other religious people, have
often deemphasized empiricism. An effort was made to examine
published research on religious counseling in all religions; how-
ever, most research used Christian counselors or clients. The
writings of religious counselors have traditionally consisted mostly
421
Worthington
Journals That Publish Reviews and Empirical Studies of Religious Counseling
Name
Secular Psychology and Counseling Journals
American Psychologist
Cognitive Therapy and Research
Counselor Education and Supervision
Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology
Journal of Counseling and Development
(formerly Personnel and Guidance
Journal )
Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice
Psychological Bulletin
Psychotherapy (formerly Psychotherapy:
Theory, Research and Practice)
TABLE 1
General Description Dates Reviewed
Theoretical articles and position papers of general interest to 1974-1984
psychologists
Research and some theoretical articles concerning cognitive therapy 1976-1984
Research and theoretical articles concerning training and 1975-1984
supervision of counselors and counselor educators
Mostly research on treating clinically disturbed clients; occasional 1974-1984
theoretical or review articles
Theoretical and some research articles on topics of interest to 1974-1984
counselors and other human service professionals
Research articles of interest to applied psychologists 1974-1984
Reviews of empirical research 1974-1984
Mostly theoretical articles with some research and reviews on 1974-1984
individual, group, couples, and family therapy

Pastoral Counseling Journals

Journal of Pastoral Care
Journal of Pastoral Counseling
Journal of Pastoral Practice
Pastoral Psychology
Research, review, and theoretical articles about pastoral counseling 1974-1984
Mostly theoretical and practical (case study or technique description) 1974-1984
articles about pastoral counseling; little research
Theoretical practical and scriptural review of issues related to 1974-1984
Christian (esp. nouthetic) counseling
unavailable

General Religion and Science Journals

Journal of the American Scientific Theoretical articles about science and Christianity; occasional article 1977-1984
Affiliation about psychology; little or no research
Journal of the Evangelical Theological unavailable
Society
Journal of Judaism and Psychology Papers involving clinical and philosophical issues relating Judaism unavailable
to psychology
Journal of Psychology and Theology Mostly research and theoretical articles about the integration of 1974-1984
Christianity and psychology
Journal of Religion and Health Mostly theoretical articles on religion 1982-1984
Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion Research on religion in general; few apply to counseling 1974-1984
Review of Religious Research Mostly research on religion in general and reviews; little concerning 1982-1984
religious counseling
Journal of Psychology and Christianity unavailable

Psychological Journals with Religious (or Values) Orientation

Counseling and Values Mostly theoretical articles about secular values; fewer research 1974-1984
articles; little on religious values (cf. one special issue on Christian
counseling)
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought Variety of articles dealing with various aspects of Mormonism 1983-1984
Journal of Religion and the Applied Articles about the New Age religion and behavioral sciences; no 1984
Behavioral Sciences research apparent yet

of position papers, logical analyses, theories (derived from other
psychological theories and scriptures), and expositions of scrip-
tures. The volume of such writings is enormous and would be
impossible (for me) to review. Thus, this review focuses on pub-
lished empirical studies of religious counseling (dissertations were
not included), which are clustered in three areas: religious coun-
selors, religious clients, and techniques of religious counseling. In
a final section, the findings are summarized.
RELIGIOUS COUNSELORS
Methodology of Research
About Religious Counselors
Nineteen empirical studies and two reviews of empirical re-
search concerning religious counselors were reviewed. All but
one of the empirical studies used questionnaires to gather data,
which is consistent with other religious research described by
Gorsuch (1984). Samples generally were of moderate size, from
50 to 150, and sampled Protestant clergy in the United States.
No studies sampled Roman Catholic or Jewish counselors or
counselors from other faiths (e.g., Buddhist, Moslem, Hindu).
This is in contrast to a few past studies that sampled from other
faiths and had large samples (see Arnold & Schick, 1979, for a
review of earlier studies). Much of the research on clerical coun-
selors is not published in journals and the research is often not
programmatic, consisting of many isolated studies (Arnold &
Schick, 1979; Goldsmith, 1983).
Who are Religious Counselors?
Religious counselors are often ordained clergy (ministers, pas-
tors, priests, rabbis). Pastoral counselors, certified by the Amer-

422 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64


ican Association of Pastoral Counselors and the Association of
Mental Health Clergy, also counsel professionally. Pastoral
counselors are ordained clergy who may or may not consider
themselves to be religious counselors. For histories and reviews
of pastoral counseling, see Van Wagner (1983), Powell (1975),
Rader (1980), and Thornton (1970).
Recently, a new type of religious counseling has emerged.
Clinical and counseling psychologists, trained in secular PhD
programs or in PhD programs that are approved by the Amer-
ican Psychological Association and that provide the required
training in religious content, have attempted to integrate reli-
gious faith and clinical practice. Generally, these practitioners
have been conservative Christians in theology. Many writers
have attempted to integrate psychology and Christianity (e.g.,
Carter & Narramore, 1979; Collins, 1983; Crabb, 1981; Ellens,
1982; Guy, 1982). Differences in how to integrate counseling and
faith abound, even among practitioners with similar theologies
and similar counseling theories.
Lay counselors also do considerable religious counseling (Col-
lins & Tornquist, 1981). For example, Adams (1973), the origi-
nator of nouthetic counseling, has spawned training and cer-
tification of numerous “nouthetic counselors.” These lay people
receive coursework and supervised practice from clergy at cer-
tified nouthetic counseling centers. Nouthetic counseling is a
theologically fundamentalistic approach to counseling that is
supportive, confrontational, and behavioral in technique. Gen-
erally, nouthetic counselors are not remunerated for services
and operate with the approval of local churches. Clients may
be Christian or non-Christian, and they are informed in writing
that the focus of counseling will be explicitly based on the Bible.
The Caseloads of Clerics
Who Counsel
Clerics are not the only religious counselors; however, few
researchers have investigated (a) pastoral counselors;
(b) psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers
who explicitly label themselves as religious counselors; or
(c) paraprofessional counselors affiliated with religious organi-
zations. In the past, numerous studies focused on the perceived
importance of counseling to clerics and on the time they spend
counseling. In the past 10 years, however, only three studies
have addressed these topics (Abramczyk, 1981; Clark & Thomas,
1979; Tisdale, 1977). Recently, more attention has been focused
on why pastors choose to counsel or refer, how well they coun-
sel, and how they interact with other mental health profession-
als.
Generally, the best predictor of the caseloads of clerics is the
size of their congregation (Tisdale, 1977). Gilbert (1981b) sur-
veyed 64 Assembly of God pastors from west Texas and found
that 3 of 14 variables predicted pastors’ decisions to counsel
parishioners: training in counseling and psychology course-
work, acquaintance with mental health professionals, and per-
ceiving counseling as an important part of ministry.
Many clerics counsel only those in their congregations
(Abramczyk, 1981). Some restrict their counseling to “believ-
ers,” religious people of fundamentally the same beliefs as them-
selves, and believe that seeing nonbelievers is unwise and in-
effective. Some clerics, however, believe that they can also succor
“nonbelievers” and that, indeed, they have a mandate to do so.
This difference is probably due to theological differences among
Christian pastors. Theologically conservative pastors are gen-
erally concerned with the truth of their counsel (as they interpret
scripture) and the acceptance of that truth by their clients. Theo-
logically liberal pastors are less concerned that their clients be-
lieve as they do. This theological distinction between liberals
and conservatives has shown up repeatedly in differences in
the counseling styles of pastors. Clark and Thomas (1979) sur-
JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
Religious Counseling
veyed 130 clergy from the Midwest. Conservative clergy per-
ceived counseling to be more of a moral and religious activity
than did liberal clergy. Abramczyk (1981) surveyed 55 pastors
of the United Methodist Church (generally theologically liberal).
These pastors described their counseling style as largely Ro-
gerian. They used support, reflection of feeling, reflection of
content, clarification, attending behavior, and focusing, but they
seldom gave direct advice. On the contrary, Virkler (1979, 1980)
interviewed 54 theologically conservative pastors, who reported
giving direct advice in 89% of all cases and who showed a rel-
atively low level of facilitativeness.
Clergy counsel people with the full range of psychological
difficulties. In fact, after physicians, clergy are the second most
frequently consulted professionals (Lieberman & Mullan, 1978).
Marriage difficulty was rated as the first or second most frequent
presenting complaint in 10 of 11 studies reviewed by Arnold
and Schick (1979). Parent-child relationship problems were also
frequently encountered, as were depression, grief, illness, and
substance abuse. Problems that are concerned specifically with
spirituality, such as loss of faith, are encountered relatively in-
frequently by clergy, despite the lingering stereotype that clergy
deal mostly with spiritual issues. Rather, clergy deal with prac-
tical problems but believe that their counseling is unique relative
to other professional counselors because they bring a spiritual
perspective to the problems (Abramczyk, 1981). There is some
evidence that this perception is more important to clergy than
to some clients (Posavac & Hartung, 1977), who often simply
want relief from their psychological pain and suffering.
In addition to providing direct counseling, clerics also serve
as valuable referral sources for the rest of the mental health
community (Piedmont, 1968; Weiss, 1973). Theological positions
can predispose clergy to refer to or castigate other mental health
workers (Cole, Costanzo, & Cox, 1975). In a survey of 61 Lu-
theran pastors, Hong and Weihe (1975) found that 93% knew
pastoral counselors but only 41% referred clients to them. On
the other hand, 85% of the pastors knew a psychologist and
85% knew a social worker, and 52% referred clients to them.
Psychiatrists were known by 68% of the pastors and used by
36%. Most pastors preferred to know the religious orientation
of the therapist to whom they referred clients, but 37% said that
they had referred clients to therapists they knew were not Chris-
tian. Over half of the sample (53%) preferred to refer to thera-
pists they knew were Christian.
Gilbert (1981a) found that referral by pastors was most strong-
ly affected by their theological position; this finding was repli-
cated in six studies, mostly dissertations. Theologically conser-
vative clergy were largely isolated from mental health
professionals. Theologically liberal pastors referred more and
counseled less than did conservative pastors.
Rumberger and Rogers (1982) surveyed pastors of recent clients
at a Christian counseling service. Pastors with high counseling
activity, those who were highly educated, and those who reg-
ularly interacted with a variety of professional colleagues were
likely to refer clients to the agency. Theological orientation of
referring pastors was not related to their openness to the agency,
but this sample was composed of clients who had attended an
agency-many of whom might have been referred by the pas-
tors. Finally, Gilbert (1981a) reported that authoritarianism and
poor self-concept were predictive of failure of clergy to refer to
other mental health professionals. Pastors of small churches
were also less likely to refer than were pastors of churches with
500 or more members.
Religious Characteristics of Professional
Counselors Other than Clerics
Religious counseling may be performed when any professional
counselor addresses a religious issue with a client. What are the
423
Worthington
religious values of professional counselors? Cross and Khan
(1983) and Khan and Cross (1984) surveyed psychologists,
social workers, and psychiatrists in Queensland, Australia.
The survey contained four sections: demographics, value
rankings (Rokeach’s [1967] Value Survey), religious beliefs
and attitudes, and Rosenthal’s (1955) Moral Values Question-
naire. They found that in comparison to other groups,
(a) psychologists placed more emphasis on individual devel-
opment (ambitious, independent), (b) social workers placed
more emphasis on the values of a good life (equality, cheer-
fulness), and (c) psychiatrists placed more emphasis on values
supporting conventional society (obedience, national securi-
ty). All three groups of professionals ranked salvation the
lowest of Rokeach’s 18 terminal values.
None of the groups could be considered very religious com-
pared to the national norms in Australia. Social workers, how-
ever, were found to be more religious, to pray more frequent-
ly, and to have had an experience with God in more cases
than did psychologists or psychiatrists, who were similar to
each other in their ratings of religiosity. These results are
similar to previous findings in the United States (Henry, Sims,
& Spray, 1971).
Training and Effectiveness
of Religious Counselors
How well prepared are pastors to counsel? Arnold and Schick
(1979), in a comprehensive review of 20 years of research, re-
ported that pastors usually feel underprepared for their coun-
seling responsibilities. Many seek additional training and many
simply do not counsel. Linebaugh and Devivo (1981) surveyed
55 of 76 accredited Protestant seminaries in the United States.
Only about half required at least one course in counseling or
pastoral care. Many students took courses in counseling, even
when they were not required. Some supplemented classwork
in counseling (if available) with a 10- to 12-week unit (or units)
in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). This intensive, full-time
chaplaincy experience usually involves contact with patients,
spouses or relatives of patients, and staff members. The trainee
may receive individual supervision and will usually receive group
supervision that is often highly confrontive.
Most of the research on training in religious counseling fo-
cuses on CPE training. In general, CPE might produce some
changes in trainees, but the permanence of the change is suspect
(Geary, 1977; Grant, 1975; Thomas, Stein, & Klein, 1982). Fur-
thermore, there is no empirical evidence that CPE training pro-
duces changes in counseling competence. Seaton-Johnson and
Everett (1980) and Everett and Seaton-Johnson (1983) surveyed
the 900 individuals designated as supervisors of the Association
for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and the diplomats and
fellows of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors
(AAPC). Most supervision involved verbatims (i.e., transcribed
excerpts from counseling), which indicates that pastors who
receive CPE training at least receive supervised counseling. Most
supervisors were heavily engaged in CPE training.
Some evidence suggests that pastors not only do not feel they
are competent counselors but also that they do not behave as
competent counselors. The few courses in counseling required
for most pastors are usually cognitively oriented around com-
mon problems (Virkler, 1979, 1980) or are expositions on Ro-
gerian basic helping skills. These courses might not help pastors
act facilitatively. Virkler (1980) found that seminary training per
se was unrelated to level of facilitativeness; however, training
in counseling was related to facilitativeness. Theologically con-
servative pastors were less facilitative than were theologically
liberal pastors, even when differences in educational level were
controlled statistically. Virkler argued for more practice in coun-
seling to supplement teaching about how to conceptualize prob-
424 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
lems from a theological perspective. One question raised by
Virkler’s research is whether facilitative conditions are valued
by pastors and, more important, by their clients or parishioners.
In a rather old but comprehensive study, Gurin, Veroff, and
Feld (1960) studied people‘s responses to various mental health
workers. Most clients who attended counseling with a member
of the clergy reported that counseling helped extensively (65%)
or partially (13%); only 18% reported not being helped. These
data are comparable with success rates reported by Strupp, Had-
ley, and Gomez-Schwartz (1977) for therapy in general. Gurin
et al. asked people how counselors helped them. Clients of
pastors most frequently mentioned advice (34%) and encour-
agement to endure (23%) as being helpful. Patients of psychi-
atrists stated that they were helped less frequently by advice
(15%) and encouragement to endure (7%).
Pastors generally see their own parishioners (Abramczyk, 1981).
Presumably, they already have a personal relationship with many
or most of them and can help them more rapidly and more
directly than can a professional who sees a stranger for only
one hour per week and who must develop a therapeutic alliance
before giving much substantive direction. In Virkler’s study, the
client was described as a 30-year-old parishioner (for 6 years)
who was seeking help with marital problems. The client sup-
posedly taught Sunday school and supported the church in
other ways. Pastors may have offered few facilitative responses
and many direct suggestions because they perceived themselves
as already knowing the client. They may have hypothesized
that the researcher was not interested in their listening skills
but in what they would say to the client. On the other hand,
one would hope that facilitativeness would be part of any help-
er’s behavior repertoire, regardless of how well two people know
each other. One conclusion, then, is that pastors may lack con-
fidence in their counseling skills and may not always be facili-
tative, but their parishioners seem to be as satisfied as are clients
of other professional counselors.
Summary of Research on
Religious Counselors
Studies of religious counselors need to go beyond questionnaires
and study the behavior of religious counselors, perhaps in an-
alogue situations (e.g., Virkler, 1979, 1980), field studies (e.g.,
selection of the sample in Rumberger & Rogers, 1982), or ob-
servation and analysis of counseling sessions.
Almost all researchers have investigated Protestant pastors.
Nothing is known about the religious counseling of profession-
als who are not pastors. How does the clinical or counseling
psychologist, social worker, or psychiatrist who sees religious
clients counsel? How does that counseling differ from secular
counseling? How do differences (if any) depend on character-
istics of religious counselors, religious clients, or the interaction
between them? Are there counseling process differences be-
tween religious counseling and counseling that is not explicitly
religious? Are there differences in religious counselors that de-
pend on the type of religion—Protestant (liberal, conservative),
Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist, or other? These and other
important questions remain unanswered.
On the other hand, some things have been well established
about religious counselors. Theological beliefs, at least those of
Protestant clerics, play a large role in (a) counseling style,
(b) counseling content, (c) decisions to refer or counsel, and
(d) acceptable referral sources. Pastors do much of the mental
health work in the United States (probably more than psychol-
ogists, psychiatrists, and social workers combined). Many pas-
tors are ill equipped for counseling and may function at low
levels of helpfulness (Virkler, 1980), but parishioners generally
seem satisfied with the counseling they receive. The religious
values of most nonreligious mental health professionals differ

substantially from the values of the general population and those
of religious clients (Bergin, 1980).
RELIGIOUS CLIENTS
Methodology of Research
About Religious Clients
Between 1974 and 1984, 23 empirical articles and 3 reviews of
empirical research (Beutler, 1979, 1981; Galanter, 1982) were
reviewed. The methodology of the empirical studies was di-
verse. Of the 23 empirical studies, 5 were clinical studies, 5 used
experimental manipulations, 6 were counseling analogues, and
3 were structured interviews. All involved Christians, Jews, or
clients of unspecified religion. Programmatic research was rare;
however, Beutler and his colleagues have systematically inves-
tigated changes in religious values and other values in psycho-
therapy since 1971. Two replications were found (Dougherty &
Worthington, 1982; Margolis & Elifson, 1979, 1983; Worthington
& Gascoyne, 1985).
Who Are Religious Clients?
Religious clients are religious people who have human problems
so bothersome that they seek help from a professional. When
they seek help from clergy, they sometimes seek advice more
than psychotherapy, but there is no evidence to indicate that
those who seek help from a member of the clergy rather than
a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or any professional
counselor are either more or less severely disturbed than are
other clients (Arnold & Schick, 1979).
To understand religious clients, one must understand reli-
gious people, especially as their lives relate to psychological
problems. As with other individual variables, however, people
simply cannot be treated uniformly based on religious values.
People who counsel religious clients must (a) distinguish among
value patterns of different groups to provide a general frame-
work for understanding the value structure of the individual,
and (b) understand the variations of the individual from that
group. It is especially important for counselors of religious clients
to assess the religious commitment of the individual, because
this commitment is an important mediating variable in under-
standing how similar a client’s behavior might be to behavior
unearthed through scientific investigation of religious clients.
Generally, research on religious clients has addressed two major
areas: (a) concerns of religious clients (especially Christians) over
attending counseling and (b) perceptions of potential clients.
Concerns of Clients About
Religious Counseling
King (1978) surveyed parishioners and pastors from, theolog-
ically conservative congregations throughout San Diego County.
He found that 10% of the pastors and 27% of the lay people
had had psychological problems within the last 10 years. Most
(59%) had sought help from family and friends; about half
went to a pastor for counseling. Many of King’s participants
criticized available counseling sources, especially nonpastors.
For example, 89% of those who were dissatisfied with avail-
able counseling sources expressed concern that their Christian
faith would be misunderstood, unappreciated, or perhaps even
ridiculed or eroded by an agnostic or atheistic counselor. King
also found that the more Christians agreed with the doctrines
of the church, the less likely they were to seek professional
counseling.
Concern about attending secular counseling is a prevalent
theme among conservative Christians (see Gilbert, 1981a; Ko-
teskey, 1974). Worthington and Scott (1983) identified at least
six fears of conservative Christian clients relative to secular coun-
seling. Conservative Christians fear that a secular counselor will
(a) ignore spiritual concerns, (b) treat spiritual beliefs and ex-
periences as pathological or merely psychological, (c) fail to com-
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Religious Counseling
prehend spiritual language and concepts, (d) assume that reli-
gious clients share nonreligious cultural norms (e.g., premarital
cohabitation, premarital intercourse, divorce), (e) recommend
“therapeutic” behaviors that clients consider immoral (e.g., ex-
perimentation with homosexuality), or (f) make assumptions,
interpretations, and recommendations that discredit revelation
as a valid epistemology. Conservative Christians prefer like-
minded counselors and distrust secular counselors. They gen-
erally fear having their values changed and misunderstood or
being misdiagnosed because of their beliefs. These two fears
have been investigated thoroughly. It is unclear whether other
Christians or clients with other religious orientations share the
fears of conservative Christians.
Fear of having values changed. Are the concerns of Christians
unfounded? Might their religious beliefs be undermined through
counseling? There is some evidence that when counseling is
effective, clients change their values. During effective counsel-
ing, the client’s values move in the direction of his or her coun-
selor’s values (Beutler, Pollack, & Jobe, 1979; Parloff, Iflund, &
Goldstein, 1960; Rosenthal, 1955; Welkowitz, Cohen, & Ort-
meyer, 1967). Early studies, however, did not uncover many of
the complexities of value influence. Through a series of clinical
studies, Beutler and his colleagues refined the understanding
of how secular counselors affect the values of secular clients (for
reviews, see Beutler, 1979, 1981).
Not all client values are equally affected. Beutler, Jobe, and
Elkins (1974) studied 34 group therapy patients and their ther-
apists. All were measured on seven values. Three values were
defined by Beutler et al. to be of high centrality to the patients
and their therapists (need for approval, the threatening nature
of the world, and belief in God); two were defined as being of
medium centrality (reactions to Karl Marx and to Jesus Christ;
and two were defined as being of low centrality (premarital sex
and the need for laws). Patients who initially agreed with their
therapist’s high centrality values did not change those attitudes
or improve in therapy more than those who initially disagreed
with their therapist’s high centrality values. Patients who ini-
tially disagreed with their therapist’s medium centrality values
(Jesus and Marx) changed their values to be more like their
therapist’s values, rated themselves as more improved, and were
more satisfied than were patients who initially agreed with their
therapist’s medium centrality values. Patients who initially agreed
with their therapist’s low centrality values (sex and laws) changed
their attitudes less but did not improve less than did patients
who initially rejected their therapist’s low centrality values. Beu-
tler et al. (1974) concluded that “psychotherapy may have its
greatest effect on attitudes of a philosophical nature dealing with
ethics and religion” (p. 552).
In addition, differences in initial values between clients and
their counselors affect different aspects of counseling. Beutler
et al. (1978) investigated 13 psychotherapy dyads. They found
that clients’ liking of their therapists depended on (a) the clients
initially disagreeing with their therapists about the therapist’s
belief in God but changing their beliefs throughout therapy to
be more like the therapists’ beliefs, and (b) the therapists initially
rejecting their clients’ opinions both of Christianity and of ap-
proval. Beutler et al. (1978) also found that when therapists
agreed with their clients’ initial values, clients reported more
personal growth than when therapists did not. When clients
agreed with the initial values of their therapists, they were more
attracted to their therapists and were more trusting of them than
were clients who did not.
In summary, religious value similarity between counselors
and clients certainly affects counseling, but the relationship is
not simple. Numerous aspects of counseling are affected, in-
cluding outcome of counseling (clients report more improve-
ment when they change values to be more like their counselor’s,
425
Worthington
but counselors do not rate those clients as any more improved
than clients who do not change values).
Worthington and Scott (1983) hypothesized that counselors
influence clients’ beliefs by the goals they lead clients to select
in counseling. They surveyed 81 counselors and counseling stu-
dents in explicitly Christian settings (pastoral counseling centers
or seminaries) or in secular settings (counseling centers, private
practice, and universities). Professionals in different settings
defined the problems differently and set different goals for the
client, depending on the client’s stated perceptions. Profession-
als in religious settings paid high attention to religious issues;
professionals in secular settings paid less attention to religious
issues. Students were more extreme than were professionals in
their adherence to goals appropriate to their setting. Of course,
goals are not selected unilaterally by the counselor but are ne-
gotiated between client and counselor; however, these data in-
dicate that counselors might guide clients subtly toward or away
from religious considerations through their problem definition
and selection of goals for counseling.
Religious clients who undergo counseling with counselors
who have similar values are likely to experience little challenge
to their values, and in about one-third of the cases they report
that their faith is strengthened (King, 1978). Clients who enter
counseling with secular professionals may adopt their counse-
lors’ values. That therapists generally are less religious than are
their clients suggests an erosion of clients’ religious beliefs (Ber-
gin, 1980; Cross & Khan, 1983).
Fear of being misunderstood. Highly religious people often de-
velop behaviors and language patterns that sound strange to
people outside their social circle. A Pentecostal (theologically
conservative), Protestant Christian may speak normally of
“hearing God’s voice, ” “speaking in tongues,” “fasting and
praying for God’s miraculous answer to prayer,” or miraculous
“healings.” A secular professional or even a theologically liberal
counselor may misunderstand the normal vocabulary of Pen-
tecostals and may misdiagnose them as pathological. At least,
such is the fear of the highly religious person.
Three studies have focused on the diagnosis of religious clients.
Wadsworth and Checketts (1980) had 60 psychologists, either
Mormon or of another religion, respond to four written, ficti-
tious case reports of clients who were described as being of
either Mormon or of another religion. The psychologists who
were Mormon did not differ in their diagnoses from psychol-
ogists of another (or no) religion. Client religion was not a factor,
nor was there a counselor-client interaction.
Margolis and Elifson (1983) had expert and nonexpert raters
distinguish among genuine religious experiences, fabricated
religious experiences, and psychotic experiences. Expert ra-
ters distinguished among the experiences better than did non-
expert raters; however, nonexpert raters who were trained
briefly did as well as the experts. Psychotic experiences were
more easily identified than were genuine and fabricated ex-
periences.
Worthington and Scott (1983) had professional counselors dif-
ferentiate between religion used responsibly and religion used
pathologically (some psychotic and some neurotic behaviors).
Religious and secular counselors were equally facile at making
the distinction. Worthington and Scott speculated that gross
differentiation, such as between clearly pathological behaviors
and clearly responsible behaviors, might be easier to identify
than more unfamiliar behaviors, such as if a client spoke of
glossolalia (speaking in tongues), supernatural healing, mira-
cles, the direct leading of God, or the power of prayer to create
objective changes in the physical world. If this is true, the coun-
selor has the responsibility to understand the client’s idiosyn-
cratic language before making a damaging diagnosis. Despite
these speculations about how secular and religious counselors
426 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
may differ, evidence to date suggests that secular and religious
counselors do not differ in their abilities to classify religious
experiences as authentic, fabricated, or resulting from psycho-
pathology.
Clients’ Perceptions of
Religious Counselors
Religious and nonreligious clients attend counseling with reli-
gious and nonreligious counselors. How do they perceive these
counselors? Pecnik and Epperson (1985) divided college stu-
dents into those high in conservative Christian beliefs and those
low in such beliefs. They described a counselor to the students.
Half were told the counselor was a Christian. All other parts of
the description were identical. Pecnik and Epperson found that
students higher on conservative Christian beliefs rated the coun-
selor higher than did those lower on conservative Christian
beliefs. When described as a Christian, however, the counselor
was rated lower than when that phrase was omitted from the
description. Surprisingly, no interaction was found.
On the other hand, three studies have employed methods
similar to each other to investigate the effects of initial perception
and perception after some experience with the counselor. Seif
(1981) investigated the responses of 180 9th- and 12th-grade boys
at a large, urban, Catholic high school to videotapes of coun-
seling. Long (1978) had Catholic and non-Catholic young adults
(ages 16-21) undergo a structured interview with a female in-
terviewer. Haugen and Edwards (1976) had 71 undergraduate
students from a small, private, Christian evangelical college lis-
ten to a brief audiotape of a counselor. In each of these studies,
participants were given information about the counselor. The
counselor was described as either similar to or different from
the participants in religious denomination or approach to reli-
gion. Students then interacted with or observed the counselor.
Finally, they rated the counselor on various dimensions, such
as facilitativeness, persuasibility, and their attraction to the
counselor. Results in the three studies were similar. The ex-
perience of the participants with the counselor overshadowed
any precounseling verbal descriptions of what the counselor was
like. Students responded similarly to the counselor regardless
of what they were told, which suggests that religious values
may be more important in religious clients’ selection of a coun-
selor than in their continuing with a counselor once counseling
begins.
In a different type of study, Dougherty and Worthington (1983)
surveyed 45 conservative and moderate Christians. They had
participants read four 1,200-word treatment plans for a fictitious
client, respond to each plan, and compare plans directly.
Dougherty and Worthington found that, especially among the
more conservative Christians, there was a reluctance to seek
secular counseling and a preference for treatment plans that
were perceived as being congruent with their beliefs. Even though
all treatment plans clearly reflected the Christian beliefs of the
counselors, who were overtly Christian, participants made fine
distinctions along theological lines—apparently using theolog-
ical similarity as the most important selection criterion.
Worthington and Gascoyne (1985) replicated and extended
the study of Dougherty and Worthington (1982). They had 255
college students (some were Christian and some were not) give
their responses to the treatment plans of the five overtly Chris-
tian counselors. Among the Christian students, they found the
same pattern as had Dougherty and Worthington (1982): People
preferred treatment plans that reflected an approach to religion
that was similar to their own. Worthington and Gascoyne found
that the non-Christians were generally satisfied with the ap-
proach that the Christian counselors outlined. Non-Christian
participants were willing to refer Christian friends to all Chris-
tian counselors but were willing to refer non-Christian friends
 Religious Counseling
only to the least fundamentalistic Christian counselors. Appar- use techniques different from those of a Jewish or Christian
ently, the categories that non-Christians used to evaluate the counselor. Critics of this position might argue that the use of
appropriateness of a counselor were more undifferentiated (fun- formal religious practices is religious but is not counseling; rath-
damentalistic versus not fundamentalistic) than were the cate- er, it is spiritual guidance. Proponents of the position might
gories used by Christians to evaluate the appropriateness of the counter that whatever counselor interventions promote mental
counselors. health in clients are appropriate for counseling and that psy-
chotherapy is not an exact science defined by a closed set of
Summary of Research on specific techniques.
Religious Clients Obviously, there are gray areas around these extremes. Coun-
Research on religious clients has been diverse in methodology, selors can be so secular that they stop doing religious counseling
even though the primary methodological tool is the survey. or so religious that they stop doing religious counseling. In prac-
More studies are needed that examine clients during counseling. tice, counselors have proposed both types of interventions as
In addition, more analogue experiments could help define cru- religious techniques.
cial variables in understanding religious clients during coun- A third view defines a religious counseling technique as a
seling. Most studies have involved Christians. counseling technique that originates in secular theories but has
Many researchers have investigated the fear and concerns of religious content and is used to strengthen clients’ faith as well
religious clients about attending counseling with a counselor as alleviate their distress. Critics find this approach either too
who has different values. Clients prefer counselors who have religious or not religious enough, depending on their position.
values similar to their own. Yet, extant research indicates that Proponents of this position believe that they are truly counseling
once counseling is begun, clients are apparently less able to while being religious.
discriminate counselors with similar values and counselors with
dissimilar values. Research is needed to test this implication Examples of Religious
directly. There is also evidence that once counseling is begun, Counseling Techniques
the client’s religious values are likely to become more like the Lovinger (1979, 1984), who writes from a psychoanalytically
counselor’s. Thus, some of the client’s fears are substantiated informed position and a Jewish perspective, is a proponent of
by research. The client should select a counselor whose religious the first approach to religious counseling techniques, although
values are admired. Other fears (e.g., that the client will be he will address religious content (especially when the client uses
misunderstood or undiagnosed) have not been supported. it as a way to resist progress in counseling). He outlined several
Much of the research on religious clients has focused on re- therapeutic techniques to handle resistances by religious clients.
ligious values, which have been consistently important in un- The therapist can “join the resistance.” If a client is beset with
derstanding clients’ preferences, attitudes, and beliefs; how- doubts, the therapist can show the client some benefits of doubt.
ever, no studies have convincingly linked client values with The therapist can find alternative translations or connotations
client (or counselor) behavior during counseling. One possible in the text of sacred writing, which obviously requires extensive
exception is the research program of Beutler. Beutler, however, knowledge of the writings the client subscribes to. The therapist
used clients who were not highly religious. He did not show can pit one imperative against another (see Coyle & Endberg,
convincing links between client values and behavior. Appar- 1969, for several examples). When Biblical directives are inferred
ently, client values are important in how religious clients sub- indirectly by the client from selected scriptures, the therapist
jectively perceive counseling. Client values may or may not be might provide a different overall interpretation and suggest that
important in affecting actual client behavior. the client read in a particular area. Finally, the therapist might
Religious people evaluate their counseling experiences along explore other things that were going on in the person’s life when
more differentiated religious dimensions than do nonreligious a particular attitude developed. Lovinger cautioned therapists
people. Theological variables are often more important to reli- that many religious clients will directly question the therapist’s
gious clients than are other variables in counseling. If the reli- personal religious beliefs. He suggested that “candid but concise
gious client is to be understood, research and theorizing is nec- answers with an exploration of what the answers mean to the
essary to map the cognitive structures of the religious individual patient and what it is that is important to the patient have
and to design counseling theories, methods, and techniques that generally been most productive [for him]” (Lovinger, 1979, p. 426).
directly address those cognitive structures. Griffith (1983a, 1983b) described the practice of religious coun-
RELIGIOUS COUNSELING TECHNIQUES seling in a Christian-based, holistic clinic in Jamaica. The treat-
ments involved medical, psychological, and spiritual care, and
What are Religious the clinic was staffed by medical practitioners, psychological
Counseling Techniques? counselors, and lay counselors. In that setting, the first two
There are three primary competing views about what religious definitions of religious counseling were employed by different
counseling techniques are. From one perspective, a religious counselors. Most lay counselors relied on techniques such as
counseling technique is any counseling technique, regardless of prayer, testimony, singing, and, in general, an expectation of
theory or theology of origin, that is used in (religious) coun- God’s divine intervention in healing. Most psychological coun-
seling. Proponents of this perspective might argue that a coun- selors, however, usually described themselves as operating within
selor can use completely secular counseling techniques and still a Christian framework, although their practice consisted largely
be profoundly religious in promoting a client’s religious view of secularly derived techniques.
of the world. People who adopt this point of view often favor McGuire (1980) offered a Buddhist approach to counseling,
counseling that is not technique oriented, and therefore they an example of the second definition of religious counseling tech-
may not believe that religious counseling, or any counseling, niques. Buddhist counseling is based on gnosis (knowledge), the
can be defined in terms of techniques. Critics argue that if secular transcendence of self and unity with the cosmos (Ehrlich, 1976;
techniques and secular content are used in counseling, then the Stark, 1981). Techniques for promoting such knowledge include
counseling is secular, not religious. having the counselor act like a Buddhist master, “making a point
A second view defines a religious counseling technique as any and timing it in an attempt to shock the disciple [client] out of
practice used in counseling that originated within the practice the patterns of thought and rationality that hold the individual
of formal religion. In this definition, a Buddhist counselor might in bondage” (McGuire, 1980, p. 583). This is likened to the aso-

JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64 427

Worthington
cial counselor response (Beier, 1966). Although knowledge is
desirable, rationality is not. The counselor might also recom-
mend (a) meditation, of which there are at least four types in
Buddhism (see Hendlin, 1979) and other types based on Hin-
duism (e.g., Transcendental Meditation), and (b) use of a koan,
a paradox not understandable through rational thought. The
desire is to reorganize consciousness to integrate the person
with the totality of existence. Although many people use med-
itation techniques without reference to Buddhism or Hinduism,
meditation is nonetheless derived from a religious practice and
fits one definition of a religious counseling technique.
Strong (1980) also represents the second definition of religious
counseling techniques. For example, he claims that counselor-
client contact is facilitated by agape (selfless, giving love) and
empathy. He also recommends prayer as “a key process” (p. 592),
along with having the counselor induce the client to confess
self-justification, to repent (turn away from sin), and to forgive
others. The counselor listens to the confession, motivates the
client to behave more positively in the future, and pronounces
Gods absolution. Other Christians have recommended this ap-
proach (e.g., Nelson & Wilson, 1984; Wilson, 1974).
The third approach, in which secular theories are adapted to
be compatible with religious assumptions, has been used fre-
quently, especially by Christians. For example, Crabb (1977) has
recast cognitive therapy into a biblical mold. Vitz (1977) has done
the same with psychoanalysis, Adams (1973) with behavioral
therapy, Malony (1980) and Lawrence (1983) with transactional
analysis, Lawrence and Huber (1983) with rational-emotive ther-
apy, Worthington (1982) with cognitive behavior modification,
and Morris (1974) with reality therapy. Also, many others have
used this approach (see Collins, 1980).
Empirical Research on Religious
Counseling Techniques
Despite the various proposals about what constitutes religious
counseling techniques, little research has been done. No re-
searchers have investigated the secular-based counseling that is
thought to be religious because the counselor considers himself
or herself religious. Proponents of this approach rarely define
religiosity as being related to technique or formal religious prac-
tice.
Some researchers have investigated the use in counseling of
techniques derived from religious practices. For instance, Wil-
son (1974) reported the use of commitment, rededication,
confession, forgiveness, and change of place of worship as sup-
plements to psychotherapy with 18 patients in his private prac-
tice. Previous therapy had been unsuccessful for 14 of the 18
patients. Symptomatic relief was found in 16 of the 18 patients.
The results are impressive, although the lack of experimental
control and poor specification of the psychotherapy techniques
that were used prevent definitive interpretation of the cause of
the beneficial effects.
Additional research, much more carefully executed, has fo-
cused on the effects of meditation in counseling. Although med-
itation originated in Eastern religion, most applications within
counseling have not presented it as a religious technique. Gen-
erally, meditation has been found to help clients relax, but most
of the enthusiastic early claims about its benefits have been
mitigated (e.g., Goldman, Domitor, & Murray, 1979; Parker,
Gilbert, & Thoreson, 1978; Smith, 1975, 1976; Zuroff & Schwartz,
1978).
Two well-controlled counseling analogue studies have tested
the third definition of religious counseling techniques (secular-
based techniques with religious content). Propst (1980) adapted
systematic desensitization procedures to include Christian im-
agery to help mildly depressed undergraduates who scored
moderately high on a religiosity scale. Therapy sessions were
428 JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
held twice a week for 4 weeks. There were two therapists, one
a first-year graduate student and one a second-year graduate
student; both were nonreligious but reported no feelings of dis-
comfort in describing the religious imagery. Use of religious
imagery resulted in lower MMPI-D scores, fewer depressed clients
(using the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]), and lower behav-
ioral indications of depression on three measures than a self-
monitoring only group. Use of nonreligious imagery did not
produce any differences from the self-monitoring group. In a
direct comparison, use of religious imagery did not produce any
differences from use of nonreligious imagery.
Pecheur and Edwards (1984) compared secular cognitive be-
havior modification, religious cognitive behavior modification,
and a waiting list control group in treating mild depression in
undergraduate students at a Christian college. Their treatments
involved rational cognitive restructuring. Treatment consisted
of eight l-hour sessions that were held twice a week. The ther-
apist was a fifth-year graduate student who was a Christian.
Both treatments were superior to the waiting list in reducing
rating of depression on five inventories. The religious and non-
religious treatments did not differ from each other.
Despite the methodological differences in these two studies
(e.g., differences in content of treatment and experience and
religious orientation of the therapists), the moderately religious
and mildly depressed clients did not respond significantly better
to religious interventions than to nonreligious ones. Both in-
terventions were effective. Two other questions need to be in-
vestigated. Would strongly religious clients, especially those
who are theologically conservative, respond better to religious
treatments than to secular treatments? Also, would nonreligious
or mildly religious clients resist religious treatments?
Regardless of one’s perspective on the definition of religious
counseling techniques, research is scant. Techniques are ill-spec-
ified and ill-researched. The research that does exist indicates
that in treating religious clients, religious counseling techniques
are either marginally better or no better than secular techniques.
More and better research is desperately needed.
SUMMARY AND EVALUATION OF RESEARCH
ON RELIGIOUS COUNSELING
Methodology
As Gorsuch (1984) suggested, the questionnaire is the most often
used research tool, although in recent years several studies have
been published that have used videotapes, audiotapes, and an
occasional behavioral rating. Participants are usually Christians,
especially conservative Christians, and research on religious
counseling with people of other faiths is rare. Outcome research
on clinical treatments with clinical populations is almost non-
existent and is certainly not reflective of the state of the art of
outcome research. Kazdin (1982) proposed that outcome re-
search in psychotherapy use the full range of techniques avail-
able, including the carefully controlled, single-case design, the
analogue experiment for study of critical aspects of counseling
that cannot be conveniently investigated in the clinic, and clin-
ical trials. Research in religious counseling is less varied, has
fewer programmatic efforts, and has less replication than seems
optimal.
Findings
Throughout this article, I have identified themes involved in
religious counseling. Many of these themes indicate the need
for modifications in current research or practice.
Religious Counselors:
1. Clergy do most religious counseling. Some evidence indi-
cates that they are not very good counselors and that they do

not receive good training in counseling. Other evidence indi-
cates that parishioners are largely satisfied. Research into actual
counseling, rather than self-reports, is needed.
2. Most research concerning religious counselors has focused
on pastors or pastoral counselors. No studies have been con-
ducted on professionals who identify themselves openly to clients
as Christians doing Christian counseling, Jews doing Jewish
counseling, or people from other religions doing counseling
with clients who are explicitly religious.
3. Investigations of the process and outcome of lay counseling
are desirable to define the competencies and limitations of trained
lay counselors.
4. There are too few studies concerning female counselors.
Furthermore, research and formal theorizing by women is in-
frequent.
5. More research and theory are needed on marriage and
family counseling with religious people. Most clients seen by
clergy have marriage and family problems, yet empirical re-
search on this counseling is almost nonexistent.
Religious Clients and Their Values:
1. Religious clients, especially those who are highly religious
and who hold conservative beliefs, often differ from other clients.
2. Research on religious values is frequent, but most studies
do not consider the values of clients who are strongly committed
to their religious beliefs. No research matches highly committed
clients and highly committed religious counselors according to
similarity or dissimilarity of beliefs or practices.
3. Religious clients often fear that their values will be under-
mined by secular counseling.
4. Generally, religious clients prefer counselors who share
their values. This is true before or just after counseling begins.
Usually by the end of one session, clients do not distinguish
between religious and secular counseling unless some issue aris-
es that dramatizes religious values, beliefs, or practices.
5. Evidence indicates that religious and nonreligious coun-
selors may systematically set different goals for counseling and
that clients change some of their beliefs to moreclosely resemble
those of their counselor.
6. Religious clients will usually be diagnosed as accurately as
possible, without systemmatic bias.
7. Researchers and practitioners need to consider the dif-
ferences within groups of religious clients and not treat reli-
gious clients uniformly. For example, differentiation must be
made by (a) religion (e.g., Christians should be differentiated
from Jews and Mormons); (b) denominational affiliation (e.g.,
Catholics differ from Baptists and Methodists and Orthodox
Jews differ from Reformed or Conservative Jews);
(c) commitment (e.g., religious people differ according to
commitment to devotional practices [prayer], theological be-
liefs, dogma of the church, religious behavior [church attend-
ance], and the degree to which religion is included in daily
life); and (d) individual values, especially attitudes toward
human authority, authority of sacred writings, and tolerance
of different opinions.
Outcome and Process of Religious Counseling:
1. No support has been found that religious counseling has
any more beneficial effects than does secular counseling in
working with religious clients. In fact, little is known about
what really makes religious counseling distinct from secular
counseling, although theory abounds. Anecdotal accounts,
theoretical writings, uncontrolled studies, and studies of pref-
erences of religious clients suggest that religious clients may
benefit from religious counseling, but no outcome research
JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT / MARCH 1986 / VOL. 64
Religious Counseling
demonstrates this conclusively. The only good outcome stud-
ies show secular and religious counseling to be equally effec-
tive with religious clients.
2. Techniques of religious counseling have not been well
researched. This is a crucial need in the field of religious coun-
seling.
Throughout this article, I have been critical of much of the
research investigating religious counseling. Although there
have been some good studies, for the most part the research
quality lags behind many of the subdisciplines of psychology.
Research on religious counseling is a risky undertaking, only
occasionally acceptable to some of the major counseling jour-
nals. Yet, if knowledge is to be advanced in the area, more
researchers must accept the risks and venture into the main-
stream of the methodology of counseling research.
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Everett L. Worthington, Jr., is an associate professor in the Department of
Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. The author would
like to thank Stanley R. Strong, James S. Goalder, and Cynthia A. Clark for
their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript and Rodney Good-
year for supplying many references and for encouraging me to persevere.

TOC Electronic Journal: To print "Guidelines" select page 15.

Guidelines for Authors

The Journal of Counseling and Development invites manuscripts directed to the common interest of counselors and personnel workers
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