Cultivating Compassion in Counselors: The Impact of Spiritual Transcendence
Anna Lee Brown, Cyrus Williams, J. Ripley, S. Dorais
Counseling and Values June 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1163/2161007x-bja10043 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 95 |
| Population | Professional counselors |
| Interventions | contemplative prayer nature-based practices |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | Spiritual transcendence significantly predicts compassion and empathy among professional counselors, accounting for 23.6% and 20.1% of the variance respectively, beyond the effects of spirituality and religion. |
Abstract
Compassion and empathy are essential dispositions in effective counseling, however, empirical research has not sufficiently examined how counselors’ spiritual experiences relate to these qualities.1 This study examined whether spiritual transcendence predicts compassion and empathy among professional counselors. Participants ( N = 95) reported engagement in spiritually transcendent experiences facilitated through practices such as mindfulness, contemplative prayer, nature-based practices, and psychedelics. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, spiritual transcendence significantly predicted compassion ( β = .27, p < .05) and empathy ( β = .24, p ≤ .05), accounting for 23.6% of the variance in compassion and 20.1% in empathy, beyond the effects of spirituality and religion. Findings suggest that spiritual transcendence represents a distinct construct associated with counselors’ relational capacities. Implications for counselor education and professional formation include the ethical integration of reflexive spiritual wellness practices to support compassion, empathy, and counselor development.