Pastoral counseling centers: Mid-century phenomenon

Summary The movement as a whole has been pictured as a diverse one embracing many administrative patterns with a common purpose of offering help to persons with problems through counseling. Centers in which clergymen do all the counseling, though with the benefit of psychiatric consultation, and having some kind of relationship to a church or church related institution represent the dominant pattern. Centers with interprofessional staffs including ministers, though few in number, have a significant impact on the movement as a whole through their training programs. Centers that are unrelated to any church comprise a significant minority of the centers, and church related centers staffed by professionals other than the clergy are the least prevalent. Though there appears to be some uniformity among the centers in regard to the kind of counseling done, they are sharply divided on the questions of fees, referral, and attitude toward church and community relations.     

Ministry with the aging: A cross-cultural perspective

Older persons have the same basic needs as other persons. Different cultures have different ways of responding to these needs. Studies of the experience of aging in various ethnic groups in the greater Boston area have identified patterns of mutual care which are often lacking in our individualistic society. Interactions of family, church, and community which have been observed have important implications for the development of more effective programs of ministry with the aging.He is a Faculty Affiliate of the Boston University Gerontology Center and has done cross-cultural research in Singapore.     

Pastoral counseling in East Asia

Pastoral Psychology -     

A teaching framework for cross-cultural genetic counseling

The increasing diversity of American society has brought growing recognition of the need to bridge cultures in the delivery of genetic counseling services. New immigrants and members of diverse ethnic groups face multiple barriers to genetic counseling services. The need to train genetic counselors to deal with cultural diversity is especially crucial in the new genetic era, given the rapid expansion of available technology, with the resulting social and ethical ramifications. A framework for teaching cross-cultural issues in genetic counseling training programs is presented that can be implemented in step-wise fashion, consistent with available resources. Cross-cultural issues can be incorporated into existing teaching and training modalities by expanding the orientation from monocultural to multicultural. Relevant clinical experience, exploration of students' preconceptions and biases, reading materials, and lectures by invited speakers can all enhance students' knowledge and sensitivity. It is critically important that training programs furnish students with the basic tools necessary for the ongoing process of learning about cultural diversity.     

Pastoral counseling in the age of aquarius

Pastoral Psychology -     

Pastoral counseling and the compassionate God

Taking up a suggestion of Michael Cavanagh in a recent issue of this journal, Marcel Sarot contributes to the theological task of distinguishing conceptions of God that are psychospiritually unhelpful from those that are helpful. More specifically, he argues that the conception of God as compassionate and co-suffering is psychospiritually more helpful than that of God as blissfully impassible. In the final section, he shows that there is some empirical research confirming this conclusion.     

Pastoral counseling in a settled community

Much of the literature in pastoral counseling has been written against the backdrop of an anonymous, changing, technological, and urban community setting. The author contrasts the premium this understanding of counseling places on establishing relationships, confidentiality, gaining information through questions, and the long training required with the way these same matters may be understood from the vantage point of a more settled community, characterized by long-term relations, limited confidentiality, and the support lay persons give each other. He discusses the pastor's role change in this setting and describes an approach to training lay men and women to assume pastoral care responsibility.     

Pastoral counseling in the context of social action

Pastoral Psychology -     

Pastoral care for the head-injured: A biopsychosocial/spiritual perspective

This article discusses the pastoral role in the individual and family crisis of a head injury. A case study illustrates the nature and consequences of this widespread but little-understood injury. Physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences of this injury are discussed. Finally, this article describes four pastoral responses to head-injured victims and their families: helping the victim to speak the unspeakable, facilitating prayerful imagination, connecting therapeutic efforts among professionals, and advocating for the family with national and community head injury resources.Private Practice, 1542D Honey Grove Dr., Richmond, VA 23229.     

Pastoral counselling: an American perspective

While pastoral counselling is a function of pastoral ministry in religious communities, it is also a specialised ministry requiring professional training that extends well beyond a pastoral/ theological education for ministry, as well as beyond the confines of religious communities. This article is an American perspective on Certified Pastoral Counsellors as mental health care providers for individuals, couples, and families, generally on a fee-for-service basis, with many qualifying for reimbursement by private and federal third party payers. It demonstrates that pastoral counselling as practised in the USA is spiritually integrated counselling and psychotherapy, requiring graduate academic and clinical work in these disciplines as well as graduate education in religious studies. It offers an American perspective on this specialised ministry of mental and relational health and discusses its identity and function, methodology, supervision requirements, and the clinical use of religious resources, including a case illustration.     

Pastoral counseling training: training goals in a changing environment

Pastoral counseling training is redefining itself in a changing environment. Theological education and ordination and church relatedness once was the crucible that shaped pastoral counselors. Today that formation process is being redefined as an increasing number of non-theologically trained students who are not seeking ordination come to increasingly fewer pastoral counseling training programs for formation in integrating spirituality and psychotherapy. This article outlines a statement of who an ideal intern would be in one pastoral counseling training program, lists fourteen goals of the training program along with the method of achievement, and who in the training program is responsible to see that the goals are accomplished.     

Native american alcoholism: A transcultural counseling perspective

Alcohol-related mental and physical health problems are critical problems among Native Americans. The intensity of these problems increased proportionately to the destruction of traditional/aboriginal ways. Despite centuries of attempts at physical and cultural genocide a semblance of traditionalism survived to the presence among many tribal groups. Nonetheless the vast majority of contemporary Native Americans are ‘marginal’—caught between their traditional culture and the demands of the dominant United States society. Treating Native Americans merely from the conventional clinical perspective spells of ethnocentrism while a pure traditional approach often serves to restrict both off-reservation mobility and inter-tribal interactions. Here the transcultural approach offers a needed bridge for effective Native American alcohol and mental health counseling.