DESCRIPTION:

Pastoral counseling as a specialized ministry within the field of pastoral care will be explored didactically and practically in preparing persons who plan to do pastoral counseling and pastoral psychology. A survey of counseling theory from an integrative perspective, with attention to particular ministry issues, will be incorporated into a practical format in a community setting.

To pastor effectively is to be available to people in crisis, in growth passages, and in change throughout the life cycle. The pastoral counselor is capable of both offering effectual therapeutic intervention and support as well as facilitating the pastoral care of the people of God surrounding the counselee.

Lecture, discussion, audio-visuals, case studies, experiential exercises, triads utilizing counseling skill training processes, and practice in simulated counseling circumstances will integrate theory, theology, and practice. The course will meet once weekly for a four-hour session, including the required small group sessions.

A minimum of 1200 pp., including weekly assignments from the required and recommended reading:

Miller, William and K. Jackson. Practical Psychology for Pastors. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, 1994.

Course Reader with expanded syllabus and readings.

Anderson, Ray S. Self Care: A Theology of Personal Empowerment and Spiritual Healing. Victor Books, 1995.

Augsburger, David. Pastoral Counseling Across Cultures. Westminster, 1976.

_________. Helping People Forgive. Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.

Capps, Donald. Agents of Hope: A Pastoral Psychology. Augsburg Fortress, 1995.

Ciarrocchi, Joseph W. A Minister's Handbook of Mental Disorders. Paulist Press, 1993.

Egan, Gerard. The Skilled Helper. 5th edition. Brooks-Cole, 1994.

_________. Exercises in Helping Skills. 5th ed. Brooks-Cole, 1994.

Gerkin, Charles. The Living Human Document. Abingdon, 1984.

Hunsinger, Deborah van Duesen. Theology and Pastoral Counseling: A New Interdisciplinary Approach. Eerdmans, 1995.

Kornfield, Margaret. Cultivating Wholeness: A Guide to Care and Counseling in Faith Communities. Continuum Books, 1998.

McBride, J. LeBron. Spiritual Crisis: Surviving Trauma to the Soul, Haworth, 1998.

Oglesby, William. Biblical Themes for Pastoral Care. Abingdon, 1980.

Patton, John. Pastoral Counseling: A Ministry of the Church. Abingdon, 1983.

_________. Pastoral Counseling in Context. Westminster/John Knox, 1993.

Wicks, R., R. Parsons, and D. Capps, eds. Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling. Integration Books, 1985.

(1) Attend lectures and small group sessions. (2) Attend one session of a 12-step group (AA, NA, etc.) and write a report with theological and psychological analysis. (3) Present a brief (7-10 pages) paper on a specific area of pastoral care and counseling such as depression, alcoholism, divorce, etc. (4) Do a case study (5-7 pages) on five counseling sessions done during the quarter.