ABSTRACT
As mentioned in the preface, this book is meant to be a handbook for clinicians and practitioners as well as a tool for students. Its central focus is how individuals and groups strengthen their identities through making deliberate value choices (Hall, 1990a). This main theme is illustrated by the substantive, structural, and process concerns about identity and religion that predictably arise when clinicians empower individuals or groups through strengthening the effectiveness of their interaction within and among communities (Glassner & Freedman, 1979). For example, marital discord can be clarified and reduced by orienting partners to their respective priorities and belief systems. Ideally, these kinds of clinical interventions eventually culminate in both individual and social benefits (Randour, 1993; Wuthnow, 1991).
