Christian Prayer as a Counseling Intervention: A Study Review
This paper reviews Weld and Eriksen's (2007) quantitative study published in the Journal of Psychology and Theology, which examined Christian clients' preferences regarding prayer as a counseling intervention. The review summarizes the study's methodology, findings, and conclusions, noting that over four-fifths of surveyed clients wished to pray aloud during sessions and expected their counselors to pray for them outside of sessions as well. The paper then reflects on the study's design and broader implications for spiritually oriented counseling, and concludes with a practical application scenario describing how a counselor might sensitively and ethically integrate prayer into therapy with a depressed client.
- Overview of the Study: Summary of Weld and Eriksen's methodology and purpose
- Key Findings and Conclusions: Study results on client prayer preferences and counselor guidance
- Reflection on the Study: Critical reflection and suggestions for future research
- Practical Application of Prayer in Counseling: Applying study findings in a real counseling scenario
- Reference List: Cited source for the reviewed study
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What makes this paper effective
- It clearly separates three distinct intellectual tasks — summarizing the source study, reflecting critically on it, and applying its insights — giving the paper a logical and easy-to-follow structure.
- The practical application section moves beyond abstract discussion and grounds the study's findings in a concrete clinical scenario, demonstrating real comprehension of the material.
- The reflection identifies a genuine limitation of the study (its focus on Christian clients only) and proposes a meaningful extension (replication with Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish samples), showing analytical thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models the summary-reflection-application format common in counseling and education coursework. Rather than simply reporting what the study found, the writer evaluates the study's design, considers its replicability, and translates its conclusions into professional practice — a hallmark of applied academic writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a concise summary of the study's purpose and methodology. It then presents the key findings and researchers' conclusions. A personal reflection follows, critiquing the study's design and suggesting directions for future research. The final section provides a step-by-step application scenario showing how a counselor would sensitively integrate prayer into sessions with a depressed client. A reference list closes the paper.
Overview of the Study
"Christian Clients' Preferences Regarding Prayer as a Counseling Intervention" is a quantitative study by Weld and Eriksen (2007), published in the Journal of Psychology and Theology. Their study used a survey of counselors and their Christian clientele, with a Pearson and Fisher approach to quantifying the data. The implications of the analysis are used to discuss the counselor-client relationship in terms of prayer, expectations, secularity, race, gender, and a variety of other factors.
The researchers note a lack of scholarly research on the subject of "client expectations about prayer in counseling" and attempt to fill a portion of that gap by analyzing a survey of Christian clientele and their counselors (Weld & Eriksen, 2007, p. 328). In light of recent laws regarding counselors' respect for clients' religious beliefs, specialty counseling has developed that includes a Christian and spiritual approach to healing. Weld and Eriksen (2007) acknowledge that prayer has been shown to have beneficial effects in counseling, and what they aim to achieve with their study is to provide insight into how prayer as an intervention may be utilized more effectively, given ethical, religious, and secular sensitivities.
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