The Pastoral Counselor in the Nineties: The Quest for Spirituality Among Religious Integration and Pastoral Care Functions

This study investigated three aspects of the pastoral counselor's spirituality: spiritual well-being, spiritual maturity and the perception of pastoral counseling as a spiritual call to ministry. Participants included 108 pastoral counselors and 36 ordained clergy. No differences were found bet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of pastoral counseling 1998-08, Vol.1 (4), p.41-53
Main Authors: Kehe, Judith V., Ciarrocchi, Joseph W., Greer, Joanne M., Wicks, Robert J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
clergy
lay
ministry
ordained
Spiritual maturity
spiritual well-being
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Summary:This study investigated three aspects of the pastoral counselor's spirituality: spiritual well-being, spiritual maturity and the perception of pastoral counseling as a spiritual call to ministry. Participants included 108 pastoral counselors and 36 ordained clergy. No differences were found between clergy, ordained, and lay pastoral counselors on spiritual well-being. In assessing spiritual maturity, lay pastoral counselors scored significantly higher on Spiritual Openness. Seventy-five percent of pastoral counselors indicated that a spiritual call drew them to pastoral counseling. Implications for future therapeutic outcome studies, as well as the need to address the spiritual nurturing of pastoral counselors, are discussed.
ISSN:1094-6098
1528-6886
DOI:10.1300/J062v01n04_03