Predicting Students' Spiritual and Religious Competence Based on Supervisor Practices and Institutional Attendance

Abstract

Counseling students report a lack of competence in spiritual and religious integration (SRI). As such, counselor educators and supervisors (CES) and students want to understand how to develop SRI competence. Although past research highlights SRI dialogue in training, there exists no clear understanding about the role of faculty supervisor SRI on perceived student competence. The supervision models used to inform the study included (a) the integrated developmental model, (b) the discrimination model, and (c) the spirituality in supervision model (SACRED). The purpose of this study is to determine if master’s-level graduate counseling student perceptions of faculty supervisor SRI practices predicts student perceived spiritual competence when considering attendance in faith-based and non-faith-based institutions accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP). A review of existing literature supports the use of a quantitative, cross-sectional design. An online survey was distributed to students (n = 59) in master’s-level CACREP counseling programs, currently in field experience, to measure perceived SRI in supervision and perceived SRI competence. A multiple linear regression reveals a statistically significant predictive relationship between supervisor SRI and perceived student competence as measured by the Spiritual and Religious Competence Assessment and the Spiritual Issues in Supervision Scale. These results inform CES about the importance of SRI and student ability to work with the spiritual and religious beliefs of clients. On this basis, it is recommended that supervisors focus on SRI in supervision. Future research should focus on additional factors related to SRI competence during counselor training.