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- Pastoral & Spiritual Counselling
- Pastoral counselling is a form of counselling in which a pastoral counsellor, as
a representative of a religious tradition or community, uses the insights of theology and
psychology in working with persons to achieve health and wholeness. Unique to pastoral
counselling is the conviction that life's transitions and crises are best met by utilizing
both the wisdom of religious teachings and the knowledge and skills of psychology.
Cultural and social contexts are taken seriously in the therapeutic process.
For many people problems related to relationships produce a spiritual crisis.
If requested we can provide help with questions of meaning etc. At Joan Spencer and
Associates we believe that with competent counsellors, some of their deeply held values
will inevitably shine through, otherwise they would be exhibiting some form of
pathological denial. However, we also believe that it is obligatory for counsellors to
respect the autonomy of each individual and not to burden them further by raising
spiritual matters unless requested to do so.
Capabilities
Both Joan and Bill Spencer are competent to provide pastoral counselling
Bill has studied at the San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo.
California U.S.A. under the Department of Advanced Pastoral Studies. The LLoyd Counselling
Centre at S.F.T.S. describes pastoral counselling in the following way.
What is Pastoral Counselling?
Pastoral counselling is a form of counselling in which a pastoral counsellor,
as a representative of a religious tradition or community, uses the insights of theology
and psychology in working with persons to achieve health and wholeness. Unique to pastoral
counselling is the conviction that life's transitions and crises are best met by utilizing
both the wisdom of religious teachings and the knowledge and skills of psychiatry and
psychology. Cultural and social contexts are taken seriously in the therapeutic process.
Key Benefits
When Can Counselling Be Helpful?
- When life becomes stressful and it seems that you cannot work out a personal
difficulty alone, a trained counsellor may be able to help you work through your problems
and give you an opportunity to better understand yourself, your relationships, values, and
beliefs. A counsellor can help you solve problems realistically so that you can work
toward a more satisfying, productive, and fulfilling.
The Counselling Process Can Help You:
- Communicate better with the important people in your life
- Deal with addictive behaviours.
- Develop a more enriching and holistic spiritual life.
- Enhance personal growth/self esteem. Enrich your marriage or remarriage.
- Heal from emotional/physical/sexual/ spiritual abuse.
- Make moral/ethical decisions.
- Parent more effectively.
- Rebuild your life after a significant loss or change.
- Resolve causes of depression, anxiety, anger, confusion, and insecurity.
- Assess growth and vocational concerns with your future partner.
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