In August I will be teaching a class entitled “Pastoral Counseling Foundations.” To prepare I’ve been reading three of the books that were central in my early development as a pastoral counselor: John Patton’s Pastoral Counseling: A Ministry of the Church, James Hillman’s InSearch: Psychology and Religion, and my own book, Building the Therapeutic Sanctuary.
To my surprise I’ve re-discovered the deep wisdom that first attracted me to Patton and Hillman, and found my own book (alas) grossly sub-par in comparison.
With regard to my own book, perhaps it’s normal to look back at my opinions and ideas from 12 years ago and see it from a new perspective—one that makes it seem shallow. Sometimes that feels right, for it might be that I’ve deepened, but it also is a little embarrassing to read some of what I once wrote. Oh, well!
I re-read Hillman’s book first and it reminded me of the essence of the task of any pastoral counselor: the inward search. There is a primary reason one seeks counseling help that goes beyond the initial “help me solve this problem.” We also seek wisdom, and the pastoral counselor is a human embodiment of the wise person archetype—the grandparent-like wise one we idealize. We want some of what he or she seems to have. That is why it is so important for the pastoral counselor to spend his or her life searching inward for wisdom, acceptance of self, and divine presence.
John Patton’s book has been important to me for two reasons. First is that he expresses perspectives on pastoral counselor that have been essential in my professional formation, particularly his emphasis on the counseling relationship as central to healing—he calls it “relational humanness.” Second is because he’s one of my favorite pastoral counseling friends—a man I am honored to know, care for, and even play music with. He is in many ways for me the wise old man, and he’s a mere friend—a human being whom I can argue with and see as flawed like me. My friendship with him is an embodiment of relational humanness.
I can say more clearly now who I am vocationally. Perhaps what I say will apply to other pastoral counselors, but all I know is what I can say about myself right now. I am a pastoral counselor who seeks to field requests for help by being skilled in psychotherapy that can solve problems, and who also seeks to create a relational environment that provides the kind of sanctuary that allows for openness, vulnerability, courage, compassion, and the quest for wisdom that enables us to live a full life.