The psychology of pastoral care

Abstract

This article is concerned with the rediscovery of pastoral care, a rediscovery made necessary by what Alistair V. Campbell (1981) calls "la contemporary sense of confusion about the true nature of christian caring and by a feeling of alienation from the traditional understanding of the pastoral task." Traditionally the ten» pastoral care referred to the broad activities of a pastor in his relationships with parishioners. The confusion has been partly caused by the extraordinary successes of the behavioural sciences -in particular psychology and sociology - in shedding light on the causes of human distress and the nature of helping relationships. I intend to show that insights gained from modem psychology can help to clear the ground for modem pastoral care.