This colloquium features the thesis findings of Maia Nikitovich, Lauren Raymond and Jennifer Callaghan, all on the topic of spirituality and social work. The event will be held Thursday, July 30th from 7:30pm-9:00pm in Seelye 106 and will be moderated by Professor Chris O'Rourke.
The following theses will be discussed with time for questions and answers at the end.
Lauren Raymond's "What's Faith Got to Do with It?: Clinicians' Experiences of Addressing Issues of Religion and Spirituality in Therapy," explored if and how clinicians have addressed issues of religion and spirituality in their own therapy and/or in their work with clients and whether either their personal faith affiliation or non-affiliation, as well as their personal experiences with their own therapists, has an effect on these conversations.
Jennifer Callaghan's "If You Talk to God, You Are Praying; If God Talks to You, You Have Schizophrenia: Distinctions Between Psychosis and Spiritual Experiences Among Christians" explored Christians' interpretations of ambiguous psychotic-like spiritual experiences and the relationship between these interpretations and religious/spiritual beliefs in divine communication.
Maia Nikitovich's thesis "Client Perceptions on Therapeutic Quality of Care When Disclosing Spiritual and Religious Beliefs or Experiences: A Mixed Methods Study," explored whether spiritual/religious clients disclose their beliefs and/or experiences to their therapists, and what factors affect such disclosure. It also explored client satisfaction of therapeutic response upon disclosure and what might have affected their levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. It concludes with recommendations for improving care offered to spiritual/religious clients in therapy.