Canadian ethnographic study of sources and definitions of theological reflection in pastoral care and counseling

What are the sources and definitions of theological reflection developed by Canadian practitioners of pastoral care and counseling? This study is part of a larger qualitative research project on theological reflection. This research reviews the literature, describes the ethnographic method, and presents the findings with a sample of 75. Main sources are sacred texts, personal experience, experiences of clients, and traditions of faith group. Definitions are meaning making, discovering the divine and discipleship with recommendations for future research listed.     

A model for theological interpretation in pastoral care

The wide-spread use of the clinical method in the preparation of ministers and the subsequent exposure of theprofession to other helpers raises questions about the uniqueness of ministry. Two responses are the efforts to locate uniqueness in terms of role and ritual and/or in terms of the moral dimensions of the clergy's work. The author argues that a more fundamental effort is needed, i.e., the recovery of theological interpretation in pastoral care. He presents a model including five elements which is designed to aid ministers to understand how they perceive experience theologically and how their pastoral responses are shaped by these perceptions. He then describes three settings in which the model has been used and discusses the results.     

Using movies in pastoral counseling

This article uses a case study of a bereaved woman to illustrate the potential benefits of using movies as an adjunctive therapy in pastoral counseling. The article also references the literature on bibliotherapy and cinematherapy while summarizing relevant findings from studies for the use of movies in clinical practice. This article offers both suggestions and cautions for practitioners. At this time, research suggests that a considered therapeutic use of movies can be beneficial for personal growth.     

Ego psychology and pastoral counseling

Conclusion Implicit in this entire consideration is the recognition that pastoral counselors need a differential methodology, and that the major divisions of such an approach are insight and supportive counseling. Skill in both insight and supportive counseling will markedly enhance the pastor's ability to be a therapeutic agent in the lives of those who seek his help.     

Spiritual direction and pastoral counseling

The thesis is that spiritual direction is a form of pastoral counseling-indeed, the core from which all other forms of pastoral counseling radiate, since all pastoral counseling aims ultimately to help others to ground their lives in God. The major elements of spiritual direction are described in an attempt to justify the thesis.Dr. Barry is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Weston School of Theology and a staff member of the Center for Religious Development, both in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.     

Self psychology in pastoral counseling

This article provides a general explication of how a pastoral counselor might use the self psychology perspective in conjunction with theological and ethical approaches. A particularly appropriate structure for this explication is self psychology's theory and practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy as a two-phase process: an observation-understanding phase, in which empathic introspection is the central method, and an explanation-interpretation phase, in which by these empathic means the therapist hopes to consolidate further and mobilize developmentally an individual or group's self-cohesion. Each of these phases and the self psychology theory behind them provide an organizing rubric by which we can discuss how theological and ethical approaches might be carried out in a working alliance with the self psychology framework.     

Covenant making and pastoral counseling

The biblical concept of convenant refers to realities that place God beyond the gods of the philosophers. It also suggests the kinds of relationships the people of God should seek to establish with others. Helping establish such relationships constitutes one important goal of pastoral counseling, incorporating and transcending the more usual counseling goals. The biblical concept of convenant making also integrates counseling with larger pastoral and theological concerns.Richard C. Erickson, an ordained Presbyterian minister, is staff psychologist on the inpatient unit at Portland VA Medical Center and an associate professor of Medical Psychology at the Oregon Health Sciences University. His address is: Portland VA Medical Center (116 B), 3710 SW U.S. Veterans Hospital Road, Portland OR 97201.     

Biblical models in pastoral counseling

This paper contributes to current discussions regarding the development of Biblically-informed methods of pastoral counseling. It identifies three Biblical models of pastoral counseling and shows that each has its own particular understanding of the process of personal change and each invites a different understanding of the counseling task. The paper further contends that two of these models (called thepsalmic andproverbic) are favored by the pastoral counseling approaches that have dominated the field for some years. It argues, therefore, for greater attention to the third model (theparabolic).