TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

176 The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 the findings. We included “thick descriptions” (i.e., participant direct quotes) of the data in this article to provide context and supporting evidence for the identified themes. We also maintained an audit trail throughout the research process. Information from the audit trail, documenting the procedures and approaches from this current study, can help readers understand how the researchers arrived at the findings (Flynn et al., 2019; Hays & Singh, 2012). Auditor findings. The external auditor was a critical part of the trustworthiness process for the current study (Hays & Singh, 2012). Our auditor identifies as a White woman. She is a graduate student who has some experience working on qualitative research studies. The auditor reviewed the participant transcripts, identified themes, and then provided feedback regarding the research team’s findings. The auditor’s findings were consistent with the research team’s themes. The auditor did note the participants’ acknowledgment for the need for professional counselors. The research team had not highlighted this perspective. Thus, we incorporated this into the discussion of the findings. Findings We identified the following themes: (1) God is a keeper: Getting through the “valley”; (2) positive religious coping; (3) negative religious coping; (4) spiritual growth; (5) “godly counsel” and “sound doctrine”; and (6) “Black people do not go to counseling.” The following section will expound on these findings and provide support for the themes. God Is a Keeper: Getting Through the “Valley” The participants recalled challenging times and transitions such as grief and loss, divorce, physical sickness, and financial difficulties. Although these defining moments are universal in the human experience, the participants interpreted these challenges through the lens of the attributes of God and their religious beliefs. The name of this theme came directly from one of the participant’s responses as she spoke to the vital role God played in sustaining her through the difficult times. This sentiment resonated with five of the seven participants, who identified God as the reason why they were able to endure struggles. God was referred to as a “keeper” either explicitly or implicitly in many of the interviews. Charisma stated, “I do believe that salvation has kept me through a lot of difficult times.” This participant identified the loss of her sibling as her most challenging circumstance, and she recalled vividly how her relationship with Christ kept her through that challenge, even as a young person. Many participants identified their challenges as the catalyst for identifying who God is in their life and connecting with this attribute. Tee defined religious coping as “a heavy or absolute reliance on God to get you through whatever . . . the trauma is or the struggle is, or in religious terms, your valley.” Further, in many ways the participants closely aligned their church communities with God as “keeping” factors. For example, Amy recalled a “pretty dark time” in her life when she was going through a divorce. She and her husband were very involved in church and were not expecting to separate. She attributes the connection to her church, pastoral counseling, and friendships with sustaining her during that time. Amy, like many of the participants, found solace and community in her church family. These relationships were crucial sources of coping. Positive Religious Coping Religious coping strategies came up numerous times throughout the interviews because this was a focus of the study. Although the participants did not always talk about positive religious coping in the exact terminology (e.g., sought God’s love and care ) presented by Pargament et al. (2011) and