Addressing spirituality in counseling: Turkish mental health professionals’ views on a training program for professional competencies

The integration of spirituality into counseling has gained increased attention due to its significant impact on psychological well-being. However, mental health profes sionals often face challenges with incorporating spiritual dimensions into therapy, primarily due to inadequate training, conceptual ambiguity, and ethical concerns. This qualitative phenomenological study aims to explore mental health profession als’ perspectives on addressing spirituality in counseling and to assess the necessity of a specialized training program to enhance competencies in this area. We used cri terion sampling to select 11 experienced psychologists, counselors, and academics to, conduct semi-structured interviews, and analyze the data using descriptive analy sis to identify the key themes related to integrating spirituality into counseling. The findings reveal that the current training curricula does not adequately cover spir ituality, which has led to a lack of confidence among mental health professionals. The participants highlighted several barriers, including professional hesitancy, ethi cal concerns, clients’ misunderstandings, and the dominance of secular educational models. Additionally, the study identified the specific competencies needed for inte grating spirituality into counseling and categorized them into knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The professionals emphasized the need for a structured training program that includes conceptual knowledge about spirituality, evidence-based intervention techniques, ethical considerations, and culturally sensitive approaches. Furthermore, recommendations were made regarding the content, format, and evaluation methods for such a training module. The study underscores the urgent need for standardized training to equip mental health professionals with the skills required to address spir ituality in an ethical and culturally competent manner.