Balance,wholeness, and healing in christianity

The nature of the spiritual journey inevitably leads us to examine our fears, doubts, and conflicts, in life and in our spiritual communities. Psychology and a true spiritual theology acknowledge an unconscious part of ourselves that is the reservoir for suppressed fears, pain, and anger. Unless these conflicted emotions and related experiences or imaginings are sought out and examined, an authentic spiritual search is denied. The result will be a superficial cognitive belief-system, predicated exclusively on shoulds, oughts, and constant accommodation. To make free, intelligent, mature decisions in our search, we need always to ascertain what we want that will bring fulfillment and spiritual and emotional freedom. This can only be done if we truly own the repressed, hidden, negative memories and behavior that often become self-destructive unconscious determinants. The psychological reality is that unless we look at the shadow part of ourselves, the part that is repressed, denied, hidden and which we often find discomforting, it will surface eventually in a more unhealthy, destructive fashion.     

Hospitalized psychiatric and medical patients and the clergy

Earlier research suggested that persons in a community with significant psychiatric disorders seek relief from their clergy as often as from trained mental-health professionals. In this research, contacts with clergy about current hospitalization by matched samples of inpatient psychiatric (N=51) and medical/surgical (N=50) patients were compared, as were responses to structured interviews about the importance of religion, religious affiliation, and participation, spiritual needs, and spiritual well-being. The findings suggest that the two groups were similar in demographics, the degree to which religion was a source of strength and comfort in their lives, and percentages reporting as having a clergy person; the group of hospitalized psychiatric patients was significantly less likely, however, than the sample of medical/surgical patients to have discussed their current hospitalization with their clergy persons. Possible causes for this difference as well as areas of further research are discussed.     

Sometimes it is better to receive: Ministry in a long-term care facility

The story of the sinful woman who annoints Jesus with her perfume and tears at Simon the Pharisee's table (Luke 7:36–50) is used as a model for pastoral work in a long-term care setting. Intervention in the depersonalization of institutionalization is seen as an important aspect in such ministries. The focus of intervention is allowing residents to move out of the receiving role into the giving role. A case example of a patient-led Bible class is presented. The difficulties that professional givers encounter in shifting to become recipients are noted.     

The Minister's own marriage

From a questionnaire study of 56 clergy couples and concurrent in-depth interviews with ten selected couples, findings and conclusions are reported. The difficulties confronting the pastor and his wife are discussed and suggestions offered to remedy them. Ministers' marriages are currently undergoing some stress due to social changes in our culture and to changes in the concept of ministry. Some promising new developments suggest that the necessary readjustments can be made over time.He also serves as Director and Staff Counselor of the Tenafly Pastoral Counseling Center and as Clinical Associate and Supervisor of Student Pastors at Drew Theological Seminary.     

Wholistic prayer

The author has experimented with an approach to prayer in which he draws on insights and methods from contemporary psychotherapy. He calls his approach wholistic prayer and defines it as the movement, the lifting up, of the person-body, heart, mind, and will-towards God. He characterizes wholistic prayer, discusses problems associated with its practice, describes its stages, and illustrates the use of dreams. He provides clinical data from participants in classes on prayer and from his own experience.He teaches classes in prayer both in the parish and in the Logos Institute of Chicago Theological Seminary.     

Clergy wives of the new generation

This article describes the changes that are occurring in the lives of wives of ministers, the difficulties and satisfactions they are experiencing, the issues they are confronting. It presents the thesis that the crucial change in the past 15 years for wives of ministers is that they no longer derive their primary identity from being ministers' wives, and therefore they are less involved in their husbands' ministries and more focused on their own issues and careers.Dr. Niswander is a pastoral counselor and senior staff member of the Pastoral Psychotherapy Institute, 1580 N. Northwest Highway, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068. She has been the wife of a United Methodist minister for 27 years and was recently ordained by that denomination as an elder herself. She has led retreats, workshops and study groups for wives of ministers as well as counseling them professionally.     

Pastoral counseling challenges in the Javanese hospital: A cross-cultural perspective

The following article presents some of the challenges experienced by a European pastoral counselor during a two year service period in a Protestant hospital in Central Java, Indonesia. The incompatibility of some of the Western, First-world counseling approaches with Javanese culture suggests the urgent need for pastoral counselors to rethink their methods in the face of cultures not their own.