Children of divorce: A pastoral care approach

Pastoral Psychology -     

A journey in pastoral care: A case study

What is pastoral care? Many health professionals are not clear about the role of the chaplain on the health care team. This article addresses the question by using an actual case study to demonstrate how the chaplain interacts with the patient and the value of this interaction to the well-being of the patient. It attempts to define, by example, pastoral care.     

Family stress theory: A perspective on pastoral care

This article reviews crisis theory from family stress literature and research from medical sociology to advance a rationale for clinical pastoral care of seriously ill patients and families. It describes Reuben Hill's A,B,C,X crisis model and offers it as a conceptual framework for understanding the psychosocial experiences of families facing illness and the role of pastoral care in the coping process.     

The pastoral care movement: A product of many contributions

Summary The preceding statements make it clear that all denominations have been concerned. Some began earlier than others; some have made it more of a major emphasis than others, but all have been concerned, and those that came in later are showing an increasing interest. These statements also point out the fact that this is an historic tradition. The names of Luther and Wesley are mentioned, as well as men who are still active in their leadership. Some have stressed a theological orientation more than others; some have concentrated on training; others have developed a ministry in institutions and the founding of institutions, hospitals, and home.All have stressed the influence of certain key individuals who have helped shape the thinking of a denomination. Again we see the ecumenical aspect of the movement, for the names that are mentioned as being influential in a denomination have also been influential in other denominations as well. This is true from Luther and Wesley down to Westberg and Hiltner.The major impression from reading these statements is not their diversity but their common concerns. Differences are obvious, but they are not divisive. We have much to learn from each other in sharing experiences, fostering experimentation and research, and a continuing dialogue for increased effectiveness in the service of the people and the advancement of the church.     

Incarnation and pastoral care

This essay is an examination of the usefulness of incarnation as a theological metaphor for pastoral care and counseling. Understanding the incarnation as both an event and as a paradigm of God's relationship to the world provides a theological perspective for examining four interrelated questions about identity and the helping relationship frequently asked by the pastoral care-giver. The incarnation metaphor finally frees us to care in the confidence that in God the Incarnating One, all things, including our care for the sick, are held together.Dr. Anderson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Counseling at Wartburg Theological Seminary, 333 Wartburg Place, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.     

Phenomenology and pastoral care

The author discusses phenomenology as a potential resource for pastoral care generally and then illustrates its implications in two specific areas of pastoral care. After a brief discussion of the development of phenomenology, he defines pastoral care and identifies its methodological problem. Phenomenology, it is argued, offers potentially helpful methods and interpretative categories in its attitude, its attempts at self-aware, ordered discernment, and its anthropology. It serves to militate against the temptation in pastoral care to understand human problems in terms of individual and social pathology, in the case of individuals, and to illumine the ways the community functions as a dimension of pastoral care.He is the author ofEcclesial Man.     

Transcultural hospital pastoral care

Transcultural hospital pastoral care's subjects, the immigrant and the refugee, are described. Differences and similarities are noted. Three difficulties—culture shock, prejudice, and ethnocentrism—are followed by principles of transcultural hospital pastoral care, the significance of hospitalization, and a case history.The Rev. David G. Hawkins, B.A., S.T.M., D. Rel., R.S.W., St. George's Anglican Church in Vancouver, is a chaplain at Vancouver General Hospital.     

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.