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

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students completing this course will have demonstrated (1) a better understanding of pastoral counseling and an ability to interpret couple's experience, family relationship patterns, culture, and congregational life through this discipline; (2) skills in counseling couples, pre and post marriage; (3) the ability to more deeply empathize with couples to whom they minister; (4) more motivation to engage in ministries of giving care, prevention education, and the healing of persons; and (5) more commitment to self-development and self-care.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: To pastor effectively is to be available to people in crisis, in growth passages, and in change throughout the life cycle. Couples make up a large demographic of the ministry community. The pastoral counselor is capable of offering both effectual therapeutic intervention and support as well as facilitating the pastoral care of the people of God surrounding the counselee.

COURSE FORMAT: 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 twice weekly for five weeks, in four-hour sessions, including the required small group sessions.

REQUIRED READING: 1200 pp. minimum, including weekly assignments from required & recommended texts:

Rassieur, Charles. I Have a Plan: A Pastor's Guide to Counseling Troubled Marriages. WJK, 2005.

Meier, Scott T., and Susan R. Davis. The Elements of Counseling. 6th ed. Brooks Cole, 2007.

Course Reader with expanded syllabus and readings.

Augsburger, David. Sustaining Love: Healing and Growth in the Passages of Marriage. Regal, 1989.

Busby, D. M., and V. L. Loyer-Carlson. Pathways to Marriage. Allyn & Bacon, 2003.

Cooper-White, P. Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Augsburg, 2003.

DeMaria, R., and M. T. Hannah, eds. Building Intimate Relationships. Brunner-Routledge, 2003.

Gottman, John. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Crown Publishers, 1999.

Graham, Larry Kent. Care of Persons, Care of Worlds. Abingdon, 1992.

Gurman, Alan S. The Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy. 4th ed. Guilford, 2008.

Hendrix, H. Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples. 20th anniv. ed. Holt Paperbacks, 2007.

Hunsinger, Deborah van Duesen. Theology and Pastoral Counseling. Eerdmans, 1995.

Hunt, R. A., L. Hof, and R. DeMaria. Marriage Enrichment. Brunner/Mazel, 1998.

Johnson, Susan. The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2004.

Kipnis, L. Against Love: A Polemic. Pantheon, 2003.

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

Ramsay, Nancy. Pastoral Care and Counseling: Redefining the Paradigms. Abingdon, 2005.

Schnarch, David. Passionate Marriage. W.W. Norton, 1997.