Counselling Practices of the Clergy in Selected Churches in the Sekondi-takoradi Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the counselling practices of the clergy in selected churches in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was used within the Mixed Methods Approach for the study. The study was conducted in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. A sample of 132 pastors was selected from a population of 200 pastors from the Metropolis. Questionnaire and a semi-structured interview guide were used in collecting data for the study. The study found that pre-marital counselling, marital counselling, biblical counselling, grief counselling, family counselling and career counselling were the most common types of counselling provided by the clergy in selected churches in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. The study revealed again that family issues, marriage issues between spouses, conflicts people have with others, health issues, issues with children and financial issues were the most common issues that clients brought to counselling in selected churches in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. Even though, most of the respondents had received some training in counselling, they still favoured receiving additional training in counselling. The clergy also adopted the right counselling practices such as listening, adhering to ethical issues, utilizing counselling skills, availability and building strong relationships with clients. Lack of resources and time as well as inadequacy of training on counselling were the main challenges encountered by the clergy in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in their provision of counselling. It was recommended that the clergy association in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis organize intermittent training programmes for the clergy on counselling services