GUIDELINES
Pastoral Counseling is synonymous with the term Psycho-spiritual Counseling. It is a listening art based on empathy, interpersonal collaboration, and spiritual and psychological recognition.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO DISTINGUISH PASTORAL COUNSELING FROM PSYCHO-THERAPY. WE DO SO IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
- Psychotherapy, according to Webster’s dictionary, is a treatment of mental or emotional disorders or of related bodily ills by psychological means.
- A Pastoral Counselor does not view her/himself as an expert, but as a partner with considerable experience who joins a willing participant and shares in the responsibility for understanding, exploring and clarifying an individual’s or couple’s developmental life pursuits. This is a joint undertaking towards a better understanding and integration of one’s whole life experience.
- People who seek Pastoral Counseling do not regard themselves as having a disorder or an illness and would not be so regarded by their counselor.
- AIWP pastoral counselors do not practice and are not licensed to practice psychotherapy. This would be outside the scope of their work as ministers. However, in carrying out their work as pastoral counselors they will, like all counselors, call upon various counseling techniques and the wealth of psychological and spiritual literature.
- A Pastoral Counselor understands that the difficulties and challenges of life can be a portal for spiritual growth. Pastoral counseling recognizes the need for an environment in which people who seek to discuss their life-concerns can be offered informed listening without reference to the clinical diagnosis or treatment of an illness.
These guidelines have been adopted by AIWP, Association for the Integration of the Whole Person as guidelines for ministers. They form a foundation for how I work with my counseling clients and are responsible for a grounded and thorough approach.
PASTORAL COUNSELING BELONGS WITHIN THE SPIRITUAL NOT THE MEDICAL TRADITIONS.
It recognizes that spiritual authority resides in the client not in the counselor.
It listens for the other’s unique spirituality. It is interested in what the client considers the meaning of life; where this is not known, Pastoral Counseling helps to seek this meaning. In Pastoral Counseling the goal is not to heal but to mutually create an environment within which the unspoken self can emerge.
Pastoral Counseling recognizes and accepts that an individual’s spiritual perspective includes the totality of one’s life. A few examples are: family history, trauma, use of substances as escape, self-defeating patterns, thoughts and behaviors, inevitable losses, separations, and interpersonal relationships.
“Words can’t express my gratitude and admiration for Dr. Randall Alifano, but I’ll try. The blessings that define my life today – stability, happiness, intimacy, trust, peace – things that eluded me for most of my life, are a direct result of the many hours I’ve spent with Randall. While it took me years to get this far — I can be stubborn — there wasn’t one hour that I didn’t feel we were getting closer. I’ve never met anyone quite like Randall. He is more engaged and less programmatic than a shrink, more earthy and less dogmatic than a “guru,” more holistic and wise than a “life coach.” He is my friend and my teacher and one of the few people I’ve ever met who seems to know how to live in this world. He’s waiting to share that knowledge with you. All you have to do is show up. You’ll be forever grateful that you did.”