Self-Transcendence: Integrating Ends and Means in Value Counseling

Pastoral counseling is distinguished from secular counseling by “limit experiences.” These are experiences that disclose the fullness of self-transcendence—for Christians, a personal relationship with God. But the radical drive of the human spirit for self-transcendence unifies every dimension of the developing person. This drive thus forms the basis of a fundamental continuity between pastoral and secular counseling in their directions and methods, despite clear differences in boundaries, categories, and languages.