Foundations of Pastoral Counselling

Neil Pembroke has more than twenty-five years of practical experience, teaching, and research on pastoral care and counselling. He has published six books and almost fifty articles with leading international outlets; has served for many years on the editorial boards of Pastoral Psychology and Practical Theology and as a regular reviewer for Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health

...provides a much-needed resource to the field of Christian pastoral care and counselling. It integrates philosophical thought into theology and psychotherapeutic theory through discussion and case-based examples and practice. Not only is it an excellent resource for professional pastoral counsellors, it also provides profound insight for those in pastoral ministry who provide pastoral care in congregations and social ministry contexts. It is practical and down-to-earth while also engaging in depth of thought and reflection. I strongly recommend this book for use in Christian counselling and ministry education programs and for those already serving in counselling and pastoral ministry who desire to deepen and expand their thought and practice.

• Introduction 1Part 1: Fundamental Attitudes and Skills 1 Respect for the Uniqueness of the Counsellee, or Resisting the Totalizing Tendency 2 Empathy and the Body, or the Quest for Participatory Sense-Making 3 Deep Listening, or Being Formed in the Discipline of Attention 4 Conditions for Genuine Dialogue, or It’s the Relationship that Heals 5 ‘Relational Humanness’ and ‘Relational Justice’, or Caring for Two Worlds Part 2: Fundamental Interventions and Strategies 6 Revising Faulty Thinking, or a Socratic Approach to Healing ‘Belief-Sickness’ 7 Facilitating Self-Challenge, or Learning the Art of Indirection 8 Working with Counsellee Images, or Exploring the ‘Metaphors We Live By’9 Connecting with a Community of Hope, or Pastoral Rituals that Shine a Light Concluding Reflection: It’s Also about Personal Spirituality