An Introduction to Pastoral Counseling

Pastoral counseling is a specialized hybrid modality that integrates religious and spiritual resources with clinical mental health resources to offer a more holistic, mind/body/spirit approach to healing and growth. Accredited pastoral counselors require both professional mental health licensure and in-depth religious and/or theological training. In this course, we’ll track how the path of accreditation in pastoral counseling is changing in real time in response to increasing regulation and state licensing requirements around counseling and psychotherapy.

We will map and explore the evolving overlaps and distinctions between pastoral care, spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and clinical mental health counseling to help the students understand where their future professional work – and some issues that commonly arise in the course of that work – may land in this matrix.

This course will introduce culturally responsive counseling practices that focus on the strengths, inherent knowing, and personal agency of the care receivers. It will provide opportunities for the students to cultivate helping qualities in themselves and practice basic practical skills centered around Person-Centered (Rogerian) counseling and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).

This is a synchronous-hybrid online, intermediate course intended for MDiv students.

Meets Thresholds: 2. Prophetic Witness, 5. Spiritual Practice and Care of the Soul and MFC Competencies: 2. Pastoral Care and Presence, 4. Social Justice in the Public Square.

Faculty Consent required. Registration is contingent upon faculty approval. 1. Students will self-enroll in the course to be placed on the waitlist. 2. Complete the required faculty consent questionnaire. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FC25-26. For questions regarding Faculty Consent, please contact kmatsuura@sksm.edu.

Enrollment max: 20. Auditors excluded.