Teach, but don't preach: practical guidelines for addressing spiritual concerns of students.

Guidelines based on the American School Counselor Association's ethical codes and various social studies teaching techniques are presented for school counselors to use as they address the spiritual concerns of students. The role of the First Amendment in "spiritual" counseling in public schools and various multicultural considerations are explored as well.

This article explores the practical challenges of counseling students with spiritual issues. To do so, I draw upon the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA, 1998) Ethical Standards for School Counselors and certain teaching suggestions from the social science and history disciplines. Even though I use the terms spirituality and religion throughout the article, they are not interchangeable concepts. In my view, spirituality in a general sense refers to "making sense of" and "giving meaning to the world," and how meaning is made; this process is different for each person. While spirituality might incorporate formal religious beliefs, it does not necessarily have to. When dealing with the spirituality of students, school counselors have to know the difference between teaching and preaching. As defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary (2003), teaching includes imparting knowledge and providing instruction. Preaching can be defined as follows: to urge the acceptance or advocate for an idea or a course of action.

SPIRITUAL, ETHICAL, AND LEGAL GUIDELINES

If spirituality is an integral part of human life, why then, do school counselors have to adhere to a standard where they cannot affirm their own spirituality? For public school educators, the answer starts with the First Amendment (Commager, 1958) of the United States Constitution, which in part states, "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (p. 146). In my view, what the First Amendment really means is that the government cannot officially sponsor any faith tradition as the state religion. Public schools, as a government agency, have taken this to mean that they cannot formally endorse any particular religion.

This point is relevant for school counselors to consider, because as we counsel students, invariably spirituality will come up, either directly or indirectly. When spiritual issues do present themselves in a counseling session, it is unethical for school counselors to advocate for their personal spiritual beliefs. This is not only a constitutional issue, but also a professional and ethical issue. For school counselors, ASCA's (1998) Ethical Standards for School Counselors (Standard A.1.c. Responsibilities to Students) states that the professional school counselor "Refrains from consciously encouraging the counselee's acceptance of values ... and beliefs that represent the counselor's personal orientation." This, however, does not mean that a school counselor and student are prohibited from discussing issues related to spirituality. Even with the separation of church and state, schools do not exist in a spiritual vacuum; most children and adults have some kind of loosely defined personal spiritual belief system. How do school counselors address spirituality within the confines of the First Amendment and professional ethical standards?

Some ideas for addressing spirituality are found down the hallway from the counseling office in the classrooms of the history and social science teachers. History teachers have long faced this problem because human history includes religion and spirituality. The National Council for the Social Studies (1998) wrote guidelines for objectively teaching about religions in the context of the history curriculum. There are two recommendations applicable to school counseling. First, teaching about religions should emphasize the necessity and importance of tolerance, respect, and mutual understanding in a world of diversity. Second, teaching about religions should be descriptive, non-confessional, and conducted in an environment free of advocacy.

The key then for teachers and for school counselors is to instruct and inform objectively and "neutrally." To use a metaphor from sports, to remain impartial, a basketball referee cannot also be a fan during the game. Referees have to know the rules of basketball to officiate effectively. Likewise, school counselors need to have a basic knowledge of the law, spirituality, and religion to counsel students competently and ethically.

MULTICULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

Since many school counselors work with diverse cultural and ethnic populations, they should learn more about their religions and expressions of spirituality. In fact, the first part of ASCA's (1998) Ethical Standard E.2 reads, "The professional school counselor understands the diverse cultural backgrounds of the counselees with whom he/she works." This standard is important because students' ethics, thinking, and perspectives are influenced by their own sense of spirituality. Typically, school counselors are not bothered when they are working with students with similar cultural and spiritual backgrounds. However, it can present a challenge when school counselors assist students from different cultures, ethnicities, and/or spiritualities.

For example, when I lived in Japan for almost five months, I had to learn about this culture, which is obviously different from America's majority culture. One very noticeable distinction is that Americans typically value individualism; whereas, in Japanese and other East Asian cultures, the group is more important than the individual. This is partially related to the Shintoist and Buddhist practices that most Japanese share (Allinson, 2003). In short, school counselors need to be sensitive to and knowledgeable of the differing paradigms of student spirituality.

COUNSELING THEORY

School counselors can integrate spirituality into their counseling theory and practice. For example, school counselors who use Glasser's (1998) Choice Theory and Reality Therapy can incorporate spirituality into heir interactions with students by helping them identify their core human needs (love and belonging, power, freedom, fun, and survival), focusing specially on their love and belonging needs. Abraham Maslow also underscored the importance of people meeting their needs, describing them as a hierarchy (Eggan & Kauchak, 2001). First, people must fulfill their deficiency needs (survival, safety, belonging, and self-esteem). Then, after the deficiency needs are met, people can begin to meet their growth needs (intellectual achievement, aesthetic appreciation, and self actualization). Finally, Carl Rogers' theory of Person-Centered Counseling includes the beliefs that people have worth and dignity, can make their own decisions, and select their own values (Thompson & Rudolph, 2003). These beliefs are relevant as counselors work with students' expressions of spirituality.

FALLIBILITY AND SPIRITUALITY

A core element of humanity and many religions is that we are all fallible. This fact has been written about since the dawn of ancient civilizations. For example, the Bible and Homer's stories the Iliad and the Odyssey are replete with very fallible characters. Achilles' heel is now synonymous with a person's fundamental weakness. The error prone nature of humans is also a common theme found in literature and music. The pop music songwriter Billy Joel (1985) penned:

   We're only human, we're supposed to make
      mistakes
   But I survived all those long lonely days,
   when it seemed I did not have a friend
   Cause all I needed was a little faith
   So I could catch my breath and face the
      world again.

Given the above, it stands to reason that counselors can "use" students' mistakes as an avenue to understand their spirituality and further their personal development. However, Jacobs (1994) tightly cautions counselors to avoid associating a client's personal worth with her or his successes and failures.

COUNSELING GUIDELINES

In addition to learning about different cultures, spiritualities, and religions, counselors periodically need to conduct a self-inventory of their own spirituality. This is related to the last part of ASCA's (1998) Ethical Standard, E.2 (Multicultural Skills): "Learning how the school counselor's own cultural and spiritual identity impacts her or his values and beliefs about the counseling process." Why is this important? What if a female 17-year-old student came into your office, told you that she is pregnant, and wanted to discuss all of her options? How would your personal beliefs about pregnancy, abortion, and adoption influence the conversation? In a scenario like this, it is very difficult to remain a neutral "sounding board" and not influence a student's decision-making process with your own personal beliefs. As mentioned earlier, school counselors must avoid any coercive behavior and imposing their values on students (ASCA; Stone, 2002).

To prepare for assisting students with issues that may have spiritual ramifications, counselors should ask several self-assessment questions, including: (a) What am I comfortable discussing with my students? (b) How does my personal spirituality affect my professional mad personal life? (c) What should the limits be for discussing spirituality in a counseling session?

In terms of establishing appropriate boundaries when discussing spiritual issues with students, certain topics would be better explored outside the school counselor's office. A religious leader, a knowledgeable person, or a "pastoral" counselor that is not affiliated with the school is often more equipped to address these concerns. For example, an appropriate referral is the best course of action when a student desires to convert to a different faith tradition or is thinking about entering the ministry as a career. While referring the student to a local religious authority can be helpful, it does not mean that the school counselor has to abstain altogether from supporting the student. Rather, the school counselor could focus on the personal, social, and academic issues that are related to the student's spiritual concern.

Because it is so difficult to remain neutral when discussing spiritual matters with students, here is another good self-check: During the counseling sessions mentally ask yourself if the focus of the session is on the student's spirituality. If the answer is "yes," you are probably on safe footing, but when you notice that the focus drifting towards your own beliefs and values, this is a sure sign to redirect the conversation back to the student's beliefs and how they influence what is being explored. Another clue to watch for is when the student asks the school counselor for advice or an opinion on a spiritually sensitive topic. If this happens, school counselors should politely decline to answer and redirect the question back to the student's own ethics and spirituality. A sample statement could be as follows: "I appreciate that you are asking me for advice, but your decision must be made within your own values and spirituality, not mine. Tell me a bit more about what is important to you?" The "refusal" to give advice is a good opportunity to educate the student on why you, the school counselor, cannot give spiritual direction. If this is not clearly explained, the lack of a response could frustrate the student.

With all the restrictions on what to say, or not to say, what can a counselor discuss in relationship to spirituality? "Safe" topics to explore include citizenship, ethical behavior, responsibility, and choices. There are also universal human ethics found across many different religions that include ideals such as kindness, love, forgiveness, and treating others as you would want to be treated. When the Golden Rule is mentioned, many Americans would probably make the association with Christianity. The Chinese philosopher, Confucius (n.d.), however, made a similar statement circa the 4th century B.C. when he exhorted people to: "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." Many character education programs and citizenship-oriented materials available to schools may also relate to spirituality. One example is The Six Pillars of Character from the organization Character Counts (2003). The pillars of this program that resonate with most religions are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

SUMMARY

School counselors need to be open to all forms of spirituality. This is of particular importance when dealing with students from non-European cultures such as Native American, Asian, or African who may have spiritual beliefs that are not based the a Judeo-Christian paradigm of religion or spirituality. Learn more about spirituality and the different faiths of the world. School counselors also need to remember that spirituality is not necessarily based upon or directly related to religion, and that spiritual beliefs are unique for each individual student. Counselors should recognize the difference between teaching and preaching. The Ethical Standards for School Counselors from ASCA (1998) is a helpful document to periodically reference. Good self-checks for counseling sessions include checking that the focus of the session is on the student's beliefs and not the counselor's. Take stock and explore of your own spirituality. Ask yourself, "What are my beliefs and how do they influence me both as a person and as a school counselor?" By doing these things, you will further the development of students in an ethical way while avoiding those sensitive areas inappropriate for school counselors to explore.

References

Allinson, G. D. (2003). Japan. World book online reference center. Retrieved December 1, 2003, from http://www.worldbookonline.com/ar?/na/ar/co/ar285600.htm

American School Counselor Association. (1998). Ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved September 5, 2003, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content. cfm?L1=L2

Character Counts. (2003). The six pillars of character. Retrieved November 26, 2003, from http://www.charactercounts.org/defsix.htm

Commager, H. S. (Ed.). (1958). Documents of American history (6th ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Confucius. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2003, from http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Confucius/41

Eggan, P., & Kauchak, D. (2001). Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Glasser, W. (1998). Basic needs and feelings. In W. Glasser (Ed.), Choice Theory: A new psychology of personal freedom (pp. 25-43). New York: HarperCollins.

Jacobs, E. E. (1994). Impact therapy. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Joel, W. M. (1985). You're only human (second wind). On Greatest Hits volume I & II [CD]. New York: Columbia Records.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2003). Retrieved November 25, 2003, from http://www.m-w.com/home.htm

National Council for the Social Studies. (1998). Study about religions in the social studies curriculum. Retrieved January 14, 2004, from http://www.ncss.org

Stone, C. (2002). Negligence in academic advising and abortion counseling: Courts rulings and implications. Professional School Counseling 6, 28-35.

Thompson, C. L., & Rudolph, L. B. (2003). Counseling children (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.

James T. Wolf is a K-12 school counselor and former high school social studies teach and coach, Ventura Community School District, Ventura, IA. E-mail: [e-mail]