Spiritually competent orientation in supervision: application of the cultural third

ABSTRACT

Mental health professionals generally lack competency for addressing religion and spirituality in counseling settings. The spiritual competencies of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) serve as a guide to improve religious and spiritual competence. More broadly, currently there is a paradigm shift underway from mental health competence, or ways of doing, to orientation, or ways of being. A spiritually competent orientation (SCO) in clinical supervision could improve the competency of clinicians, but there is currently no model for applying SCO. The Cultural Third approach can be applied to the development of SCO for supervisors and supervisees.

KEYWORDS:

• Clinical supervision
• spirituality in supervision
• spiritual competence
• spiritual orientation
• cultural third

Disclosure statement

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel Gutierrez

Daniel Gutierrez is the Vera W. Barkley Associate Professor of Education (Counselor Education) and Co-Director of the Thrive Research and Intervention Center at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Substance abuse counselor, and qualified supervisor in North Carolina and Virginia.

Kenson Hiatt

Kenson Hiatt is a 2nd Year Doctoral Student at the College of William & Mary (Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision) and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia, as well as a National Certified Counselor. Kenson earned his bachelor’s in Business Management from Southern Virginia University and completed his master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy at Liberty University.

Aiesha Lee

Aiesha Lee is a 2nd Year Doctoral Student at the College of William & Mary (Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision). She is a licensed associate counselor in New Jersey and a National Certified Counselor. Aiesha earned her bachelor’s in Psychology from Montclair State University and completed her master’s in Counseling, with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy, at The College of New Jersey.