Faculty, staff and members of the Ames community have the opportunity to participate in group counseling with a focus on different religious or spiritual beliefs and concerns.

The organization, Network, is a Psychology Department program that offers group counseling. Network is also a place to research and train doctoral students and mental health professionals in group counseling.

The group hopes to begin sessions next month, but several more participants are needed.

Nathaniel Wade, assistant professor of psychology and director of Network, is a co-leader of a group that is for people from different religious backgrounds to talk about spiritual issues.

“I’m interested in the role of religion and spirituality in therapy,” Wade said.

While there is a lot of research literature available about religion and spirituality in individual therapy, Wade said not much research has been done on religion and spirituality in group therapy.

Scott Young, graduate student in counseling psychology and group co-facilitator of Network, will be the other co-leader of the spirituality group.

Part of Young’s research interest are “the effects of counselor self-disclosure, in particular of a religious nature, on therapy.”

“We really don’t know a lot about how these things come into play in therapy,” Young said of religion and spirituality.

In the future, Wade said he would like to “start a conversation” with research about religion and spirituality in group counseling.

But right now, “in this situation, our main goal is to offer a therapy resource” that is “open to religious or spiritual themes and ideas,” Wade said.

Network currently has other groups, but none focused on religion or spirituality.

Members are welcome to discuss religion, Wade said, “but people aren’t brought together for that concern.”

Wade said the spirituality group is open to anyone, regardless of their religious affiliation.

Members are in a “setting that is accepting” where members can have “connections within differences.”

Wade said the goal of the new group therapy is to see “how religion and spirituality might relate to personal problems.”

“Our goal is to help the client explore their religious strengths, their religious beliefs, their religious practices, and how they might relate to their personal problems,” Wade said.

The group has two tracks. For some their religion or spirituality “may be a wonderful source of coping” and it can be used to help in therapy.

On the other hand, Wade said, religion or spirituality for some “is aggravating their personal problems.”

An example Wade gave was if someone is going through a divorce, but divorce goes against their religion; if their primary support group was religious institution-based friends, Wade said, the group could be an alternative support group.

Religion and spirituality “can be a source of support or stress,” Young said.

The group aims to provide therapy, not expertise, because Young and Wade aren’t pastors or ministers.

“We don’t claim expertise around the idea of religious answers,” Wade said. “Our expertise is in psychotherapy.”

Network primarily provides group counseling for faculty, staff and Ames community members, which is “low cost, high quality treatment,” Wade said.

“We’ve done a nice job, I think, of filling the need for people in the community,” Wade said. “It’s a nice option for those who may be struggling financially.”

However, Network is not geared toward students — although Wade said students specifically interested in spirituality can call for more information.

He encourages students to utilize Student Counseling Services before contacting Network.

Students are encouraged to go to Student Counseling Services before Network unless they are particularly interested in spirituality group therapy

• Open: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
• Location: 3rd Floor, Student Services Bldg, north of Friley Hall.
• Call 515-294-5056 to make an appointment or visit the office.

Interested in the religious/spiritual counseling group?

Call 294-1898 or e-mail [email protected], for more information.