This paper reviews and responds to Weld and Eriksen's (2007) study on Christian clients' preferences regarding prayer as a counseling intervention. It summarizes six key findings from the original research — including rates of patient acceptance, initiation preferences, religious identity, and prior experience with prayer in therapy — and offers a critical interaction with the results. The paper also applies the study's conclusions to a hypothetical clinical scenario involving a depressive and suicidal patient, exploring how prayer might serve as a source of hope and comfort within a secular therapeutic framework. The discussion highlights important considerations for counselors integrating spiritual practices into mental health care.
The use of spiritual prayer has recently gained popularity as a common practice among mental health counselors. This is due to a variety of reasons, but most commonly it reflects the reality that religion remains an inescapable part of contemporary society. This phenomenon has not undergone rigorous empirical inspection, however, and no medical study has conclusively confirmed or denied prayer's benefit to patient well-being. The study reviewed here — Weld and Eriksen's (2007) examination of prayer as a counseling intervention — analyzes six different aspects of prayer counseling and arrives at conclusions intended to provide a basis for its most effective use in clinical practice.
The source article is: Weld, C., & Eriksen, K. (2007). Christian clients' preferences regarding prayer as a counseling intervention. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 35(4), 328–341.
The study produced six noteworthy findings. First, 82% of patients agreed to prayer counseling as a regimented form of therapy. Second, patients preferred that the counselor initiate the subject of prayer, as they had reservations about requesting such a service within a scientific setting. Third, patients reported that they did expect prayer as a form of counseling, recognizing its comforting effect in the therapeutic process.
Fourth, patients overwhelmingly wanted the counselor to continue their personal prayers beyond the assigned counseling session — a strong indicator of patients' willingness to accept and value prayer's role in their care. Fifth, the more religiously identified the individual, the stronger the request for prayer; conversely, more politically or socially liberal patients found prayer less comforting and held diminished expectations for its effectiveness. The sixth and final finding was that patients with prior prayer counseling experience had higher expectations for its effectiveness than those for whom it was a first experience.
"Student reflection and reaction to findings"
"Prayer applied to hypothetical depressive patient"
The research by Weld and Eriksen (2007) offers valuable insight into how Christian clients perceive and respond to prayer as a counseling intervention. Their findings suggest that a substantial majority of clients are open to prayer when it is offered by the counselor, that religious identity strengthens this preference, and that prior experience with prayer in therapy increases its perceived effectiveness. For clinicians working with religious populations, these findings support a proactive but sensitive approach to introducing spiritual practices into the therapeutic relationship. When applied thoughtfully — as illustrated in the hypothetical case of a depressive and suicidal patient — prayer has the potential to serve as a meaningful source of comfort and hope within an otherwise secular clinical environment.
You’re 43% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.