ABSTRACT
The African-American Spiritual and Religious Orientation Assessment is intended for counselors and therapists to use as a tool to gather information and to facilitate discussions with clients regarding their spiritual and religious beliefs and their degree of involvement in the church. As can be seen here, the African-American church has provided many opportunities for religious involvement and participation. As Boyd-Franklin and Lockwood suggested, 'Once mental health practitioners are aware of the role that spirituality and religion play in the lives of African-Americans, they can utilize this understanding in therapy'. This is particularly significant to counselors and therapists who work primarily in the African-American community. The counselor could have first assessed Jamal's spiritual and religious orientation by asking him to complete the African-American Spiritual and Religious Orientation Assessment, prior to offering recommendations to resolve the issues. The family therapist was white, and took extra care and time to join and establish trust with Yvette and her children.
