Abstract The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of Imams in their mosques during their personalized interactions with the congregants they serve. Eight Imams were identified as meeting criteria for the study. Data collection consisted of a demographic questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and artifact collection. A hermeneutic phenomenological method was used to analyze the data which resulted in five themes around Imam’s experience with their congregants. The five central themes included: (a) intentional communication and engagement, (b) incorporating ‘Deen’ (faith), (c) contextualizing congregants, (d) conceptualizing their identity, and (e) encouraging collaboration with professional helpers. Additional findings are also discussed, along with implications, limitations, and future research.
Abstract Muslim college students are experiencing heightened distress amid global violence and increasingly hostile campus climate. This qualitative study examined how Muslim-identified college students navigate identity-linked stress, emotional exhaustion, and institutional mistrust. Drawing on seven focus groups with students ( N =26) from five Michigan universities, we conducted a secondary thematic analysis focused on mental health. Guided by the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies and wellness models, we identified intersecting themes of vicarious and collective grief, faith-based meaning-making, community and peer support, activism-related empowerment and fatigue, and help-seeking barriers rooted in cultural fit and trust. Findings highlight the need for trauma-informed, faith-affirming counseling that validates geopolitical stressors, while leveraging spiritual practices, peer support, and advocacy. We offer practice, training, and policy recommendations to strengthen Muslim responsive services in college and counseling settings.
Abstract This exploratory research aimed to investigate the presence of moral dumbfounding— defined as maintaining a moral judgment without being able to provide a sufficient justification—in the ethical decision-making of counselors. Despite advanced ethics training in graduate school, counselors exhibit dumbfounding with both classic moral dilemmas and counseling ethical dilemmas. By examining the prevalence of dumbfounding in counselors, it may help to understand the process behind ethical judgments. A national sample of practicing counselors ( N = 142) completed a vignette-based survey adapted from McHugh et al. (2017). A chi-square test assessed variations in dumbfounding frequency between responses to queries labeled as “ethical” versus “wrong,” while an independent samples t -test examined differences in need for cognition but results for both were non-significant. Framing the counseling dilemmas as ethical versus wrong did not significantly affect dumbfounding rates but 58.5% of participants exhibited dumbfounding at least once across four dilemma-based vignettes.
Abstract Climate anxiety is increasingly recognized as both a mental health and existential challenge, often intersecting with crises of faith. This paper presents a case study of Maria, a climate justice activist, to illustrate how integrating process theology, existential contemplative practice, and relational counseling approaches can provide a holistic framework for mental health and spiritual care. Process theology, grounded in Alfred North Whitehead’s concepts of relationality, becoming, and creativity, reframes ecological crises not as inevitable catastrophe but as an opening for new possibilities in creation’s ongoing unfolding. Process theology tenets overlap with Relational Cultural Theory, which will also be discussed in this paper as an anchor for counselors seeking a counseling-focused corollary to process thought. For clients who also experience spiritual doubt, this theological vision affirms that a faith crisis can itself become a pathway to deeper engagement with meaning and responsibility in the wake of the climate crisis.
The ethical decision-making process for counselors is complex, and the use of decision-making models has not proven to be fully effective. Because limited data exists regarding the factors that help a counselor consider the nuances involved, additional factors must be considered. A multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to determine the degree to which counselors' spiritual intelligence, meditation practice, clinical experience, and the quality of their ethical climate predicted their level of ethical reflection. Participants (n = 700) included licensed counselors and counseling students in the southeast of the United States. Counselor spiritual intelligence and the quality of their ethical climate accounted for 12% of the variance in their ethical reflection. This research demonstrates how well a counselor makes sense of and applies their spiritual intelligence, along with the quality of the ethical climate in which they practice, together inform their propensity to reflect on ethical issues.
