
Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling
Pastoral care is part of the daily life of the deacon and all ministers in pastoral assignments. Pastoral counseling incorporates additional theories into the process. Through this course, deacons and their colleagues in ministry will gain the knowledge and skills to be more comfortable in offering pastoral.
Course Focus
Pastoral counseling has been defined as a form of counseling that integrates religious resources with behavioral sciences. It is a branch of counseling that uses insights and principles derived from theology and psychology to work with groups, families, couples, and individuals in order to achieve spiritual and emotional well-being.
While professional pastoral counseling is performed by ordained ministers, rabbis, and priests and others with degrees in pastoral counseling, the purpose of this course is to serve as an introduction to pastoral counseling with a focus on the deacon’s role in pastoral counseling using specific case scenarios.
Professional pastoral counselors are licensed before entering into practice. This course does not lead to licensure but serves as a primer for deacons and their colleagues in ministry to acquire basic skills and an appreciation of pastoral counseling.
Included Topics
This course encompasses a large part of pastoral counseling and includes:
What Is Pastoral Counseling? | Advanced Challenging Skills |
The Spiritual Dimension of Pastoral Counseling | Advanced Action Planning Skills |
Basic Counseling Mistakes | Specialty Scripture, Prayer, and Intervention Skills |
The Basic Structure of Pastoral Counseling Sessions | A Model for Pastoral Counseling |
Basic Listening Skills | Pastoral Counseling in Relation to Other Counseling Methods |
Advanced Listening Skills | Professionalism |
Course Components
This course draws from the disciplines of
to emphasize the critical importance of ministering to people as they seek to live healthy lives.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the Deacon will be able to:
Required Materials
The following book will be used throughout the course, beginning in Week 3.
Cheydleur, J. R. (1999). Called to counsel. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN 0-8423-3243-X
Rationale |
Pastoral care is part of the daily life of the deacon. Pastoral counseling incorporates additional theories into the equation. Deacons will be able to feel more comfortable as they offer pastoral care to their parishioners when they have these additional theories at hand.
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Course Focus |
Pastoral counseling has been defined as a form of counseling that integrates religious resources with behavioral sciences. It is a type of counseling that uses insights and principles derived from theology and psychology to work with groups, families, couples, and individuals in order to achieve emotional well-being.
While professional pastoral counseling is performed by ordained ministers, rabbis, and priests or those with degrees in pastoral counseling, the purpose of this course is to serve as an introduction to pastoral counseling, the deacon’s role in pastoral counseling, and how to counsel pastorally using specific case scenarios.
Professional pastoral counselors are licensed before entering into practice. This course does not lead to licensure but serves as a primer for deacons to acquire basic skills and an appreciation of pastoral counseling.
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Included Topics |
The following topics have been chosen for this course since they encompass a large part of pastoral counseling. They include:
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Course Components |
This course draws from the disciplines of
to emphasize the critical importance of ministering to people as they seek to live healthy lives.
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Course Material Integration |
Materials used in this course will be drawn from:
· Texts · Current research · Practical pastoral experiences
in order to help deacons adequately respond to the issues faced by today’s people of faith.
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