Counselling for Harmonious Living Among Different Christian Denominations in Rivers State (Published)
This study was an empirical survey to find out the perceived counseling services/strategies for improved harmonious living among different Christian denominations in Rivers State. A sample of-100 counsellors drawn from Rivers State Schools, comprising 40 counsellors from tertiary level and 60 counsellors from secondary level. A self-constructed questionnaire titled Counselling Strategies for Harmonious Living Scale (CSHS) was the instrument used for the study. The instrument was validated and a reliability coefficient of 0,67 was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The data collected was analyzed using mean scores for the research questions, while t-test statistics was used to test the hypothesis. Results showed that factors like poverty, strict opposition by Pentecostal churches to the orthodox Churches, lack of tolerance among others are responsible for disharmonious living among Christian denominations. Also, the effects that are capable of tearing the state apart were also revealed. Above all, the findings showed that group counseling, social and community counseling, and Rational Emotive Therapy are the counselling strategies that could be used to promote harmonious living among Christian denominations. Some recommendations for promoting harmonious living among Christian denominations were highlighted.
Keywords: Christian denominations, Counselling, Rivers State, harmonious living