The Practice of Pastoral Care

by Doehring, Carrie

• ISBN13: 9780664226848
• ISBN10: 0664226841
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-16
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

Drawing on psychological, theological, and cultural studies on suffering, Carrie Doehring encourages counselors to view their ministry through trifocal lenses and include approaches that are premodern (apprehending God through religious rituals), modern (consulting rational and empirical sources), and postmodern (acknowledging the contextual nature of knowledge). Utilizing strategies from all three perspectives, Doehring describes the basic ingredients of a caregiving relationship, shows how to use the caregiver's life experience as a source of authority, and demonstrates how to develop the skill of listening and establish the actual relationship. She then explains the steps of psychological assessment, systemic assessment, and theological reflection, and finally she delineates the basic steps for plans of care: attending to the careseeker's safety, building trust, mourning losses, and reconnecting with the ordinariness of life.

Author Biography

Carrie Doehring is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Iliff School of Theology

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(7)
Sources of Authority in Pastoral Care	8	(1)
A Cross-Disciplinary Contextual Approach	9	(1)
The Shape of This Book	9	(6)
Basic Ingredients of Caregiving Relationships	15	(10)
A Pastoral Care Conversation	15	(3)
Empathy and Relational Boundaries	18	(3)
Power Dynamics	21	(1)
Power Dynamics and Maps of Creation	22	(3)
The Caregiver's Life Experience as a Source of Authority	25	(10)
Sam Lee's Transformative Experience	28	(1)
Sam's Story as a Resource in His Care of Mrs. Wood	29	(4)
Exercise 1: Writing a Verbatim	33	(1)
Exercise 2: Self-Reflection	34	(1)
Listening	35	(12)
Responsive Communication	37	(4)
Paraphrasing for Clarification	37	(1)
Asking Clarifying Questions	38	(1)
Interpreting the Careseeker's Emotional State	39	(2)
Appropriate Self-Disclosure	41	(1)
Body Language and Use of Space	41	(4)
Example 1	42	(1)
Example 2	43	(1)
Physical Contact	43	(1)
Privacy of Space	44	(1)
Exercise 3: Reflecting on Listening Skills	45	(2)
Establishing a Caregiving Relationship	47	(18)
Limits of Confidentiality	51	(6)
Example	52	(5)
Sexual Misconduct	57	(3)
Dual Roles	60	(1)
Recognizing the Limits of Expertise	60	(1)
Availability	61	(1)
Exercise 4: Establishing the Contract of Care	62	(3)
Psychological Assessment: The Careseeker's Story in Terms of Loss, Violence, and Compulsive Ways of Coping	65	(32)
Loss	70	(8)
The Phases of Grief	71	(3)
Types of Loss	74	(4)
Violence	78	(7)
Substance Abuse, Addiction, Compulsive Ways of Coping	85	(8)
Exercise 5: Assessing Loss, Violence, and Coping	93	(4)
Systemic Assessment: The Careseeker's Culture, Communities, and Family	97	(14)
Case Study	98	(2)
Assessing a Careseeker's Culture and Social Identity	100	(3)
Assessing Local Community/Organizational Systems	103	(2)
Assessing Family of Origin and/or Present Family	105	(2)
Assessing Intimate Partnerships and Friendships	107	(2)
Exercise 6: Assessing Culture, Community/Organizational, Family, and Marriage	109	(2)
Theological Reflection	111	(22)
Embedded vs. Deliberative Theology	112	(7)
A Theology of Broken Symbols	119	(3)
Case Study	122	(4)
Poling's Theology of Evil	126	(4)
Exercise 7: Theological Reflection	130	(3)
Plans of Care: Seeking Healing and Justice	133	(10)
Step 1: Attend to the Careseeker's Safety and Build Trust	134	(4)
Step 2: Mourn Losses	138	(2)
Step 3: Reconnect with the Ordinariness of Life	140	(1)
Exercise 8: Planning Care	141	(2)
Affliction: A Case Study	143	(22)
Assessing Immediate Risks	145	(1)
Assessing Losses	146	(4)
Assessing Violence	150	(1)
Assessing Alcoholism	151	(1)
Assessing Social Identity	152	(2)
Theological Reflection	154	(5)
Interpreting Symbols	155	(1)
Assessing the Consequences of Wade's Symbols	156	(1)
Assessing the State of Wade's Soul	157	(1)
Wade's Symbol System as Part of a Web of Violence, Not Life	158	(1)
Making Faith Claims	159	(1)
Plan of Care	159	(6)
Step 1: Attending to Safety and Building Trust	160	(2)
Step 2: Mourning Losses	162	(1)
Step 3: Reconnecting with the Ordinariness of Life	163	(2)
Conclusion	165	(6)
Narrative Pastoral Theology	166	(1)
Contextual Pastoral Theology	167	(1)
Cross-Disciplinary Pastoral Theology	168	(1)
Pragmatic Pastoral Theology	169	(2)
References	171	(8)
Index of Names and Subjects	179