Psychology and Theology in the Family Tree of the Clinical Pastoral Movement

1. Psychology and Theology in the Family Tree of the Clinical Pastoral Movement Bukal Life Care 2024

2. This presentation will look at the interweaving of psychology with theology that has developed into the clinical pastoral movement. This will be done, primarily, through looking at things biographically--- key people in the interaction of theology, psychology, and philosophy. <This presentation makes no attempt to dig deep into the topic--- it barely will skim the surface.>

3. Prior to the late 1800s, Psychology did not exist as a completely separate field of study. Rather it was seen as related to philosophy, theology, and medicine (natural philosophy). Psychology can be seen as having three phases

5. Pre-Modern Psychology • Theology and Philosophy dealt with the theoretical aspects of the human mind such as the understanding of free will, the mind-body problem, and the concept of the soul. It also dealt with self-understanding. • Theology and Philosphy also dealt with practical aspects of psychology--- lived out in terms of ethics, aesthetics, abstract wisdom (sophia) and practical wisdom (phronesis). Medicine as natural philosophy came in as well recognizing that there is an unbreakable link between healing of body and healing of mind. • Key in both Philosophy and Theology was the desire to understand oneself in relation to others and the world and to live a life that healthy based on that proper understanding.

6. 6th century BC • The 6th century BC saw a huge growth in theology, philosophy, and practical ethics from the Mediterrean region across Persia, to India, and China. Numerous religions had there start in this time, or became more organized. • The earliest evidence of Western philosophy goes back to this period. • This was the beginning of era of the SAGES, who wrote and taught wisdom. In Judaism, the fruit of this was the wisdom literature.

7. 6th century BC Wisdom tended to be practical. A wise person has right thinking (correct thoughts and beliefs)--- but more importantly--- a wise person has • Right Actions • Proper Words • Healthy Relationships (socially and spiritually) To fail to have this practical wisdom is to be FOOLISH.

8. Jesus and the Church • Jesus embraced the metaphor of the Shepherd as one who provides care for people in need. The metaphor predates Jesus to the Hebrew Bible including Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34. • Jesus established the church (ekklesia). In the early years of the church, the gathering was partly to worship of God, but primarily for mutual encouragement and support. (See Acts 1-4). • And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

9. Paul • Paul encouraged the church to be a place of psychospiritual support from each member to each member. This is seen in the “one another” passages--- love one another, comfort one another, encourage one another, be likeminded one with another, be kind one to another, bear one another’s burdens, etc. • Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. II Corinthians 1:3-6

10. Pope Gregory the Great (serving 590-604AD) • Gregory wrote an amazingly influential book for bishops of the Western Church. “Pastoral Care” or “Liber Pastoralis Curae.” • “For the things that profit some often hurt others; seeing that also for the most part herbs which nourish some animals are fatal to others; and the gentle hissing that quiets horses incites whelps; and the medicine which abates one disease aggravates another; and the bread which invigorates the life of the strong kills little children. Therefore according to the quality of the hearers ought the discourse of teachers to be fashioned, so as to suit all and each for their several needs, and yet never deviate from the art of common edification.… Whence every teacher also, that he may edify all in the one virtue of charity, ought to touch the hearts of his hearers out of one doctrine, but not with one and the same exhortation [instruction].”

11. Gregory Noted that Different Parishioners Needed to be Dealth With Differently He gave a list of 35 comparative qualities including… 29. Those who deplore sins of deed, and those who deplore sins of thought. 30. Those who lament but do not forsake sin, and those who forsake but do not lament sin. 31. Those who boast of their sin and those who denounce wrong yet do not guard against it. 32. Those who sin impulsively and those who sin willfully. 33. Those who commit small sins frequently and those who commit large sins occasionally. 34. Those who do not begin what is good, and those who fail to complete the good begun. 35. Those who do evil secretly and good publicly; and those who conceal the good they do, and yet in some things done publicly allow evil to be thought of them.

12. Church Leaders Tended to Focus on Issues of Faith, Conscience, and Right Behavior • “Spiritual counsel is always concerned above all else with faith—nurturing, strengthening, establishing, practicing faith.” --Martin Luther • "As the lawyer is (a counselor) for their estates and the physician for their bodies," so the minister is the "counselor for their souls," who "must be ready to give advice to those that come to him with cases of conscience." -- William Perkins • Regarding Richard Baxter, “A good counselor, it was said, would bear with ‘peevishness’ and with ‘disordered and distempered affections and actions.’ He would share sorrows and tears, listen well, guard secrets, and not be censorious where consciences were ‘unduly disturbed.’ Baxter emphasized the importance of such ministries by arguing that the pastoral office was much more than ‘those men have taken it to be, who think it consists in preaching and administering the sacraments only.’" -Liston Mills

13. Modern Psychology Grew Out of Three Branches Philosopher--- seeking to understand the mind, self, and behavior. Theologian--- focusing on what it means to be human and how one should, ideally, live and relate to others. Alienist--- medical doctors who dealt with serious problems of the mind. What made Psychology a separate discipline was it sought to (1) be empirical or “scientific”, and (2) be secular (not presuming a religious or ideological norm to adhere to).

14. Early Advances in Psychology Relating to Clinical Pastoral Care • Josef Breuer--- Talking Cure • Sigmund Freud--- Unconscious Mind, “Will to Pleasure” • William James--- Stream of Thought, Religious Experience • Alfred Adler--- “Will to Power” • Victor Frankl--- “Will to Meaning” • Henry Stack Sullivan--- Interpersonal Theory

15. The Clinical Pastoral Movement Has Its Roots in Psychology, Theology, and Medicine through Anton Boisen He took his theological degree and his calling to ministry as foundational to his work. He embraced Sigmund Freud, particularly, and his identification of unconscious processes of the mind, as well as the value of talk therapy in the application of his work. He took the medical case study method of Richard Cabot, and the insights from “psychosomatic medicine” from Helen Flanders Dunbar to try to understand and treat the whole person--- seeing them as “living human documents.”

16. Anton Theophilus Boisen • Experienced several psychotic breaks. In his recovery he noted how patients were not given the opportunity to deal with their own spiritual/theological/religious issues in the sanitarium. • He realized several problems • Sanitarium staff were not competent to deal with these issues. • Seminary students were uncomfortable with dealing with mental illness and had not training in that ministry. • Theological/religious problems were not considered in either the nature of the problem, or its treatment.

17. Anton Boisen • Drawing from his own experience and his readings of the works of Sigmund Freud, Boisen sought to apply the talking cure to mental patients. Unlike Freud however (who had described himself as a “secular pastoral counselor”) Boisen took seriously disconnects between their faith perspectives and the actions, and struggles with meaning, morality, and purpose. • Boisen also became friends/colleagues with Henry Stack Sullivan and embraced many of his ideas regarding interpersonal treatments--- not simply focusing on individuals but relationships. • Boisen began training seminary students to minister in psychiatric wards in 1925--- the beginning of the clinical pastoral movement. • He worked closely with Helen Flanders Dunbar, whose specialty was psychosomatic medicine. He also developed his case study method from innovations developed by Henry Cabot.

18. Seward Hiltner • Seward Hiltner was a good friend of Carl Rogers and applied client-centered therapy to pastoral counseling. • His work was in developing pastoral theology as a basis for good pastoral counseling at University of Chicago and Princeton University. • He described Pastoral Counseling as entailing Guiding, Healing, and Sustaining. Later he added Reconciling based on the work of William Clebsch and Charles Jaekle.

19. Paul Pruyser Clinical Psychologist at the Menninger Clinic • Provided a caution to religious leaders. He believed that they too often gave up their own religious and theological language and expertise in Christian counseling. • He suggested Seven Areas that religious leaders have expertise in clinical care that psychologists typically lack. • He was not suggesting that religious leaders ignore psychology, but rather to give more attention to what their specialization is.

20. Pruyser--- Seven Areas of Specialization • “The Holy”--- Explore what the patient places as highest value. Who or what is their god, their idol, their sacred place? Who or what is the crutch they rely on, thing they worship, or item or idea they refuse to let go of. • Providence--- Does the patient see God, the universe, or life in general to be benevolent, hostile, or uncaring? Is there a place where the patient places their trust? • Communion--- Does the patient have a network in which they can rely on to help through difficulties? What is their religious support system? Their family support system? Their social support system?

21. Pruyser--- Seven Areas of Specialization • “Faith”--- What is the patient’s view of the future? Are they open to embrace hope? Are they willing to change to bring about a positive future? • Vocation--- Does the patient have a sense of calling (divine or otherwise)? Do they have a understanding of having a purpose or plan for life? • Grace--- Is the patient ready to forgive (Self, Others, God) as well as receive forgiveness? Can the patient express gratitude? • Repentance---Is the patient able to plan and make real, tangible steps to change… to act according to their faith?

22. Attitudes Among Christian Counselors Regarding Psychology vs Theology • Perspectival--- See Christian counselors as “Spiritual Counselors,” ignoring physical, or psychological problems as they are for “specialists” (such as psychologists or physicians). • Integrative with Psychology focus--- Driven by psychological theory but with a Theological worldview. • Integrative with Theological focus--- Driven by religious concerns but incorporates psychological techniques. • Distrust--- See Christian counseling as a religious or theological activity, attempting to avoid psychological theories or techniques.

23. The Clinical Pastoral Care movement has struggled finding a balance between... • Focusing on Psychological Roots or Theological Roots • Emphasizing Secular Concerns or Religious Concerns • Preparation as an Educational Activity or a Training Activity The key point is that all of these are a balance.

24. References • Psychology Timeline. https://journalpsyche.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/psych-timeline.png • The Book of Pastoral Rule--- Gregory the Great. https://www.beunitedinchrist.com/wp-content/uploads/BS.Gregory-1.pdf • A Historical Reminder for Pastoral Care--- Liston O. Mills. Perspectives in Religious Studies, 1997, Vol. 24 #1. • Dynamics in Pastoral Counseling--- Robert and Celia Munson • The Minister as Diagnostician--- Paul Pruyser • Recovery of Soul--- Raymond J. Lawrence • Anton Boisin: Breaking the Wall Between Religion and Medicine--- Robert Charles Powell