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Establishing the Validity of the Spirituality in Clinical Training Scale: Measuring the Level of Integration of Spirituality and Religion in Family Therapy Training

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Abstract

The existing literature suggests that family therapy training programs are not adequately preparing students to address spiritual and/or religious beliefs as a resource for change in therapy. Therefore, this study sought to validate the Spirituality in Clinical Training Scale (SCTS) as a measure of the level of integration of spirituality and/or religion in family therapy training. Additionally, this study examined the latent associations among the subscales of the SCTS and measures of personal importance of spirituality, spiritual clinical competence, and spiritual self-exploration. Finally, given that the type of educational institution (i.e., religious compared to non-religious schools) may influence the extent to which spirituality is addressed in training, this study examined whether attending a religious or non-religious institution moderated the associations among the SCTS and constructs used to assess validity. A sample of 341 master’s and doctoral family therapy students completed an on-line survey for this study. The results suggest that the SCTS is a reliable and valid measure for assessing integration of spirituality into family therapy training. The establishment of this measure is important given that no previous scale measuring the integration of spirituality into therapy training exists. The results also suggest that spiritual self-exploration is associated with increased use of interventions that integrate spirituality into therapy. Implications for clinical training are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Family Science Department, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA

    Thomas Stone Carlson & Christi R. McGeorge

  2. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Russell B. Toomey

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  1. Thomas Stone Carlson
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  2. Christi R. McGeorge
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  3. Russell B. Toomey
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Correspondence to Thomas Stone Carlson.

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Carlson, T.S., McGeorge, C.R. & Toomey, R.B. Establishing the Validity of the Spirituality in Clinical Training Scale: Measuring the Level of Integration of Spirituality and Religion in Family Therapy Training. Contemp Fam Ther 36, 310–325 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-013-9278-y

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