Pastoral care
Pastoral care is a supportive service that addresses the emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical needs of individuals seeking help, often within a religious context. Traditionally, this care has been provided by trained clergy, grounded in biblical teachings and principles, but it can also be offered by laypersons affiliated with religious organizations. The term "pastoral" is derived from the Latin word for "shepherd," reflecting the Christian tradition where leaders are seen as shepherds guiding their flock. Although rooted in religious practices, pastoral care extends beyond spiritual matters, encompassing holistic support for various personal challenges, such as marital issues, grief, or bullying.
Caregivers in this field strive to assist individuals and families in healing from emotional and spiritual struggles, helping them develop coping skills and restore relationships. They often guide clients in making ethical decisions based on faith and values, promoting practices like prayer and reflection. In educational and healthcare settings, pastoral care can also address practical needs, such as providing resources for those facing illness or distress. Ultimately, pastoral care emphasizes a compassionate approach, fostering a safe environment for individuals to confront their challenges and find peace.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Pastoral care
Pastoral care refers to a form of support that addresses the emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical needs of the person receiving help. Historically, it has been provided by a trained member of religious clergy and is based on biblical teachings and principles. However, non-clergy people are often trained to provide this form of assistance with the backing of a religious organization. In some cases, pastoral care can also refer to assistance provided through hospital or school counselors when this treatment embraces the idea that pastoral care should address more than just the person's psychological needs.
Background
The word pastoral comes from the Latin pastor, meaning "shepherd," and pastoralis, meaning "pertaining to a shepherd." The common idea of pastoral care is derived from the Christian image of Jesus Christ as a shepherd tending to a flock of followers. Just as sheep are dependent on the shepherd to help them deal with any difficulties or dangers they encounter, Christian theology holds that Christ's followers should turn to him as their main source of help. Christian priests, ministers, and other clergy members are expected to care for Christ's followers as Christ would; therefore, pastoral care came to mean providing for the spiritual, emotional, and, when necessary, physical support of the Christians under a clergy member's care. For this reason, although any counseling that addresses the whole individual fits the definition of pastoral care, the term is most often associated with the help provided through a Christian church or organization. It can, however, refer to care provided through any religious denomination.
The origins of pastoral care were based on the ways Christ treated those who followed him. Christ brought people back into a place of mental peace by bringing them into a good relationship with God. When people were healed by Christ or witnessed him healing others, it helped them to have faith in God and to deepen their relationship with God. Many stories in the Old Testament also show God caring for his people. Pastoral care often draws on biblical stories and principles to deepen faith because it is believed that trust in a divine being can help people face hardships and overcome difficulties.
Overview
The administration of pastoral care can be undertaken by an individual who is either an ordained member of the clergy or a trained layperson. This care can be offered to individuals, families, or even groups. For instance, an individual coping with past abuse, a husband and wife encountering marital difficulties, a family attempting to blend step-siblings, and a school class stricken by the loss of a classmate in an accident would all be potential candidates for pastoral care.
Although the origins of pastoral care are religious, the care itself is not always religious in nature. Usually, however, the person administering it is grounded in the principles of faith and guided by the same sense of responsibility in caring for others that a shepherd has toward his flock. The caregiver strives to help people heal from whatever emotional or spiritual problem they are suffering. While it may not always be possible for the person to reach the same condition he or she was in before the situation that imposed the need for care, the caregiver will attempt to give the person the skills and tools needed to cope with new circumstances and to reach a new state of peace. Pastoral caregivers can also help people fix relationships by teaching them ways to forgive and reconcile.
Another function of pastoral caregivers is helping and guiding a person to make choices that are based in good moral and ethical principles, often using faith as a guideline. In some cases, this involves helping to educate and train a person to form relationships based on respect, kindness, generosity, and other values. It may also involve providing recommendations on practices that will help the person develop discipline and the ability to discern or decide how to best handle future situations. These recommendations may include such practices as reading the Bible or other faith-based texts, spending time in prayer and reflection, or making a retreat—time spent away from the normal routine of life and dedicated to prayer, reading, study, and reflection.
In some cases, pastoral caregivers will help in ways beyond listening and providing guidance. For example, a person who is struggling with a serious illness may have financial and practical concerns that can deepen the emotional and spiritual issues that lead to the need for pastoral care. Some caregivers are affiliated with churches or other centers with resources that can help provide emergency funds, meals for the person and his or her family, rides to medical appointments, child care, and other needs. These are not the primary function of pastoral care, but they are part of caring for the needs of the person.
Many schools, especially colleges and boarding schools, offer a form of pastoral care that may or may not be religious in nature. In these cases, pastoral refers to the responsibility of the school to care for the whole student. For instance, a student who is being bullied will not be in the best frame of mind to study and learn. Therefore, a school that adopts a pastoral care approach will not only provide counseling to help the student cope with and address the bullying, it will also put in place the resources to foster an environment that supports and encourages kindness and respect. These resources can be emotional, psychological, physical, and/or spiritual in nature.
In some cases, hospital-based counselors also provide pastoral care. This can be provided by the chaplain, who is usually a clergy member associated specifically with the hospital, or by a non-clergy person specifically designated to help with the emotional and spiritual needs of patients. This person helps the patient to cope with the stresses associated with illness and to face issues related to loss of life.
Pastoral caregivers often prepare for these functions through formal studies in a college, university, or seminary. Some may take special non-degree classes to help form the skills needed. Those based with a religious organization will often be taught spiritual practices, such as prayer, fasting, and scripture study that will help them prepare to help others. Pastoral caregivers are generally taught to listen with an open heart and mind and to be nonjudgmental. They work to develop the trust of the person or persons being assisted so that they can provide a safe place for those in need of pastoral care to resolve their issues.
Bibliography
Cerni, Tom. "The Five Crucial Functions of Pastoral Care." Scots College, 26 Sept. 2017, www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/the-five-crucial-functions-of-pastoral-care. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
"Creating a Lay Pastoral Care Team Ministry." Unitarian Universalist Association, www.uua.org/growth/membership/pastoral-care. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
Eclov, Lee. "My Top 10 Resources on Pastoral Care." Christianity Today,Apr. 2016, www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2016/april-web-exclusives/my-top-10-resources-on-pastoral-care.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
"Pastoral Care." UK Healthcare, ukhealthcare.uky.edu/patients-visitors/pastoral-care. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
"Pastoral Care: A Presence at the Bedside, but So Much More." Penn Medicine News, 28 Dec. 2017, www.pennmedicine.org/news/internal-newsletters/system-news/2018/january/pastoral-care-a-presence-at-the-bedside-but-so-much-more. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
"Pastoral Epistles." Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Pastoral-Epistles. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
Polischuk, Pablo. "The Caring Church: Training Laity for Pastoral Care and Counseling." Assemblies of God Enrichment Journal, enrichmentjournal.ag.org/201003/201003‗066‗‗laycounsel.cfm. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.
"What Does It Mean to Be a Pastoral Care Worker?" Canberra University, www.canberra.edu.au/current-students/canberra-students/student-support/multi-faith-centre/pastoral-care/pastoral-worker. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.