| The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychotherapists' professional discipline and the personal, theoretical, and clinical values held by those therapists. The objective was to learn if and how the dependent variable of therapist values, especially religious ones, might distinguish between psychotherapists from two professional disciplines--clinical psychology and pastoral counseling.;The research design involved mailing questionnaire packets to individual subjects from the two groups investigated. A total of 175 packets were sent to psychologists, randomly selected from a list of those who described their primary interest or orientation as psychotherapy in the directory of the American Psychological Association. An equal number of packets were sent to randomly selected fellows and diplomates of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, as taken from the directory of that organization.;Each survey packet contained four questionnaires and a cover letter. The questionnaires used were: the Personal Data Questionnaire, the Inventory of Therapeutic Goals, the Rokeach Value Survey, and the Therapists' Orientation Questionnaire, Form 1972. Subjects were asked to self-report and then mail back their questionnaires in a self-addressed envelope.;The actual sample consisted of 85 useable replies, with 43 subjects being pastoral counselors and 42 being psychologists.;The results were somewhat mixed. On most clinical, theoretical, and personal values, the two subject groups did not appear to differ too significantly. However, the two disciplines examined did distinguish themselves when religion was made an explicit value consideration. When religious factors were salient, pastoral counselors were more positively religious or at least less rejecting of traditional religious values than were psychologists. |
