Date
5-20-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Richard Green
Keywords
wellness, burnout, compassion fatigue, faith integration
Disciplines
Christianity | Counseling
Recommended Citation
Stanley, Angela Joy, "Faith and Flourishing: Describing the Lived Experiences of Christian Counselors Who Integrate Christian Faith into Their Wellness" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8432.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8432
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of counselors who integrate Christian faith into their wellness. The basis for this study was rooted in the work of Myers and Sweeney’s (2004) model of the indivisible self and the spiritual framework of coping for optimal health as introduced by Walker et al. (2015). Both models provide a holistic approach to wellness that recognizes the complexities of wellbeing which require the integration of multiple dimensions. Further, each model points to spirituality as an essential part of wellness. The research questions that guided this study were as follows: How do Christian counselors describe their experience with personal wellness? How do Christian counselors describe the way that faith integrated wellness practices inform their professional wellbeing? How do Christian counselors describe the way that faith integrated wellness practices inform their personal wellbeing? How do Christian counselors describe the barriers to their wellness? The semi-structured interview, journal entries, and a focus group were the means of data collection for this study. By using the data analysis method recommended by Hill (2012) which included: identifying domains, summarizing core ideas, constructing core ideas from cross analysis, auditing the analysis results, checking the stability of the results and charting the findings, six major themes emerged: (a)wellness is a loose construct and a term that is hard to define (b) faith is central to counselors’ wellbeing (c) faith is essential to personal wellness (d) wellness education is still emerging in supervision and higher education (e) barriers to counselor wellness include balancing multiple roles that demand time and energy (f) anxiety can be a barrier to counselor wellness.
