Pastoral Psychotherapy: An Introduction to the Clinical Practice

By Chaplain Steven J. Kaplan

The Pastoral field of pastoral psychotherapy is coming of
age; yet there are growing pains. If one looks
at the training programs offered by colleges and
universities, as well as the few books available on the
market, one will note a paucity of psychodynamic
understandings and clinical skills being taught. The
emphasis is either on biblical-based counseling, or general
pastoral care. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with
this, the lack of psychological focus is evident. Pastoral
Psychotherapy: An Introduction to the Clinical Practice
fi lls this gap by presenting a psychodynamic understanding
and approach to the specifi c psychological challenges
people often have, and offers a practical spiritual guide to
assist one in lifes journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477137994

Chaplain Steven J. Kaplan

Steven J. Kaplan is the Dean of the Graduate Theological Institute in Margate, Florida. A State classifi ed Chaplain, holding a doctorate in psychology, he is additionally an ordained rabbi who has taught both Jewish studies and psychology at the college and university levels. Dr. Kaplan has been engaged in pastoral psychotherapy for thirty-fi ve years.

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Copyright © 2012 by Steven J. Kaplan.

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Contents

Acknowledgement

Preface

Foreword

Introduction

Part One Foundations

Chapter One Understanding Inferiority

Chapter Two Social Interest The Psychological Golden Rule

Chapter Three Childhood’s Role and Influence

Chapter Four Birth Order and Family Constellation

Chapter Five Lifestyle Formation and the Unity of the Personality

Chapter Six The Fictional Final Goal

Chapter Seven Private Logic, Common Sense, the Conscious, and the Unconscious

Chapter Eight Safeguarding Mechanisms and the Purpose of Symptoms

Chapter Nine The Tasks of Life

Part Two The Dynamics of Abnormal Psychology

Chapter Ten Anxiety and Phobias

Chapter Eleven Obsessive – Compulsive Behaviors

Chapter Twelve Dynamics of Depression

Chapter Thirteen Suicide’s Message

Chapter Fourteen Guilt Feelings

Chapter Fifteen Hysterical States

Chapter Sixteen Psychophysiologic Disorders

Chapter Seventeen Sleeplessness

Chapter Eighteen Marriage: Building Blocks and Foundations

Chapter Nineteen Sex and Sexual Difficulties

Chapter Twenty Problems of the Elderly

Chapter Twenty-One Excessive and Prolonged Grief

Chapter Twenty-Two Paranoia and Paranoid States

Chapter Twenty-Three Anti-Social Behaviors

Chapter Twenty-Four Cults

Chapter Twenty-Five Schizophrenia

Part Three Guidance for Life’s Journey

Chapter Twenty-Six Defining Faith

Chapter Twenty-Seven Silence Is Golden

Chapter Twenty-Eight The Simplicity of . . . Simplicity

Chapter Twenty-Nine The Virtue of Patience

Chapter Thirty The Ugliness of Anger

Chapter Thirty-One The Greatness of Joy

Chapter Thirty-Two To the Future: Optimism and Hope

Chapter Thirty-Three Living Serenely: Peace of Mind

Chapter Thirty-Four Courage and Self-Confidence

Chapter Thirty-Five Remembering To Forget

Chapter Thirty-Six Marriage and the Home

Chapter Thirty-Seven The Value of Work

Chapter Thirty-Eight On Life and Living

Chapter Thirty-Nine Maximizing Midlife

Chapter Forty The Panorama of Old Age

Chapter Forty-One Living With Illness

PART FOUR The Practice of Pastoral Psychotherapy

Chapter Forty-Two An Overview of the Clinical Process

Chapter Forty-Three Transference and Resistance

Chapter Forty-Four Early Recollections

Chapter Forty-Five Dream Interpretation

Chapter Forty-Six Getting Better Is Better Than Feeling Better

Chapter Forty-Seven Pastoral Psychotherapy and the Placebo Effect

Chapter Forty-Eight Theological Doubts

Chapter Forty-Nine Pastoral Psychotherapy and Hypnosis

Chapter Fifty Meditation in Pastoral Psychotherapy

Chapter Fifty-One Talking to God As Therapy

Chapter Fifty-Two Training in Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapy

Chapter Fifty-Three On Referring

Bibliography

Dedicated to Neworah, my light.

Acknowledgement

This publication came to fruition as a result of the kind and generous support of Fay Rosenbaum and Sally Stutman. Most sincere thanks are given for their continuing efforts in encouraging education and educational programs.

A very special thanks to Henry McFlicker for opening doors.

Preface

People of all faiths have similar challenges – they’re confronted with anxiety producing situations, they become depressed, they wonder about their place in this world we live in. Religion is no magical barrier protecting one and all from these life confrontations.

While there may be theological and philosophical approaches in the attempt to resolve the many problems people face, and often bring to their religious leaders, the challenge becomes that given the variety of religious traditions, and theological understandings and interpretations even within the same tradition, it is virtually impossible to present a uniform theological and/or philosophical approach to this task. Pastoral Psychotherapy: An Introduction to the Clinical Practice seems to have found a solution.

As the subtitle of this work states, a clinical approach to those in distress is presented, rather than a theological. While, as stated above, there are many versions and approaches and variations to a given problem based upon one’s specific religious tradition, the underlying dynamics of the various disorders themselves, along with challenges in areas of life, remain the same, regardless of one’s faith. The depression suffered by the Christian has the same dynamics as a depression suffered by the Buddhist or the Jew, regardless of the unique circumstances which may have brought the problem to the forefront in each case. Understanding the underlying cause of the problem is almost always essential for its successful resolution.

Steven Kaplan presents clinical skills for pastors/religious leaders of any faith in order that he or she may fine-tune and hone his or her skills in order to most effectively help those in need. In clear, reader-friendly language, the pastor is taken through concepts, dynamics, understandings, and treatment processes necessary to most effectively provide the guidance and teaching needed to help those who are hurting. This book is a most valuable contribution to the fields of pastoral psychotherapy and pastoral counseling, and is the bar by which other works, past and future, are to be measured.

Rabbi Henry H. McFlicker

Margate, Florida

Foreword

I recently spoke with a former doctoral student of mine who, after receiving his Ph.D., received ordination. An interesting fellow with a law degree and two Master’s degrees (one in political science and the other in counseling), he shared a story of how he was treated shabbily by most of the faculty – I was the lone exception. The reason he gave was that his purpose for doctoral studies was to fit psychological theories and methods into his decidedly spiritual view of the world. He was accused by one of the faculty of accommodating psychology rather than assimilating it. This comment may sound like a reasonable observation, but it was intended to be a pejorative remark meant to diminish his accomplishment of a doctoral degree.

As we spoke, I reflected on my own training as a psychologist and my spiritual journey. When I was a graduate student in the 1970s, any student who showed signs of having a developed sense of spirituality was treated to mocking and abuse on the part of the faculty that went far beyond good-natured chiding. I recall one student who happened to be a nun and wore her habit daily. The program director taught the course in projective testing which included Rorschach and the Thematic Apperceptive Technique. He made interpretations of test protocols in class that included a good deal of sexual innuendo and seemed to take delight in trying to embarrass this woman. His justification was that she needed to be prepared for dealing with all kinds of eventualities once she entered the arena of professional practice, and he wanted to make sure she could handle uncomfortable situations. Was this reasonable? Yes, but he went out of his way to challenge the religious woman more than other students.

At that time, the thought of any student attempting to mix psychological practice with spirituality was unheard of within mainstream psychology training. In fact, the development of transpersonal psychology, a distinct school of thought blending psychology and spirituality, was in its infancy and considered the lunatic fringe of psychology. Transpersonal psychology eventually became legitimized, and assumed the position of being the fourth force in psychology, the others being Psychoanalytic, Behavioral, and Humanistic. At that time, doctoral training in psychology was intended to inculcate an appreciation for psychology as a science and not coincidentally, a view of the human condition in a reductionistic manner emphasizing only that which may be subject to sensory observable behavior and verifiable by empirical methods. The fact that we dehumanized people by developing approaches to behavior changes that negated human qualities seemed unimportant in the quest to create a scientific basis for psychotherapy.

I was enamored by the behavioral approaches, in part because I admired the simplicity of the methods, but in large measure because I was young and naïve about people and the complexity of human beings and their relationships. On some level I recognized this about myself when I was a young assistant professor of psychiatry and becoming a family therapy supervisor-in-training. I had sought supervision from someone who was not only a social worker, but was also a practicing Catholic priest. Inasmuch as my supervisor was not a psychologist, he was not encumbered by limitations placed on psychologists who embraced the party line, and he easily brought spirituality into the conversation. There were no complex rules. He taught me that spirituality is a normal part of people’s lives and that was just the way it was. Yes, this made great sense to me, despite the fact that I had experienced years of having my own spiritual side suppressed. I knew from studying philosophy of science that we have two kinds of validational evidence. The first is referred to as empirical validation. We validate observations using hypothesis-testing procedures and subject them to statistical analyses. The second kind of validation is known as consensual validity. Here we have evidence that something exists because it is verified by consensus. For instance, if we see an act of valor by a Boy Scout assisting someone in danger while imperiling himself, we make the statement that the boy is brave. There would be consensus by most of those hearing the story that the boy is indeed brave. We do not have to gather data on some measure and subject these data to statistical analysis, nor do we question whether something called bravery exists because it cannot be measured directly; we simply come to the conclusion that the boy is brave. Both concepts of validity have their place, but the take home point is that neither of these two types of validation is superior to the other in all situations.

Now let’s consider the spiritual dimension in peoples’ lives. Most people would agree that spirituality exists in people, whether or not they regard this dimension of the human condition important for themselves. Moreover, they would likely agree that the spiritual dimension is a highly significant aspect of life for many people. That being the case, it follows that we should include the dimension of spirituality when making a thorough assessment of clients in order to more fully understand them and position ourselves to best take care of them. I prefer to use the phrase take care of because pastoral care implies the existence of a relationship more than treatment, as this term presupposes an expert provider who delivers a professional service without regard to interpersonal distance.

As it turns out, and this will come as no surprise, most non-religious psychotherapists lack training in dealing with the spiritual side of people’s lives. By contrast, clergy, who are often faced with the task of counseling people in the throes of tragedy or facing major life challenges typically have limited or no training in psychotherapeutic methods. Hence, the need for pastoral counseling/psychotherapy becomes evident.

As we examine spiritual references that may be relevant to this work, we see that healing occurs numerous times throughout both Old and New Testament writings. These writings emphasize that healing comes through God, but may be assisted by people. Positive outcomes are always attributed to Divine sources while certain rituals may be performed as an aid. Within the Judeo-Christian communities the role of clergy became formalized and defined, and then evolved as the larger communities transitioned through changing historical contexts. By the Age of Enlightenment the role of clergy included that of trusted adviser whose counsel was informed by the knowledge base of religion. A priest, minister or rabbi could be counted on to dispense advice on virtually any area of life, and in some communities one would not dare to make an important decision without first consulting a revered clergyman.

Counseling then became imbued with the mantle of authority that surrounded a member of the clergy. It was largely informational or presented with the air of expertise that could not, or should not, be questioned. This is a very limited conception of counseling, when viewed from the modern perspective of psychotherapy. And from that vantage point, we might regard this type of counseling as one of many techniques or strategies that might be used, but by no means the only, or the best, way of practicing psychotherapy.

The need for a better integration between mental health and spiritual care was recognized during the early part of the twentieth century. As described by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, the premier organization representing this discipline, a number of forces were operating during this time period. The writings of Freud and Jung, who were both very much alive, and revolutionizing the understanding and treatment of mental and emotional disorders, had untold influence within the intellectual communities. By the 1930s it was clear that those providing spiritual care needed to avail themselves of the methods that were being developed to better serve their clientele, and training programs were organized to meet these needs. Ultimately, to use the AAPC description,  . . . the role of pastoral counseling has evolved from religious or spiritual counseling to pastoral psychotherapy which integrates theology, spirituality, resources of faith communities, and behavioral sciences.

There is general agreement that pastoral counseling/psychotherapy services are offered by those who have attained credentials as both clergy and as mental health professionals, making the specialization unique among professions. Moreover, there is no universally accepted model or theoretical formulation for how best to practice this specialty. Rather, the threads of principles gleaned from behavioral sciences and psychotherapy practice standards, wide-ranging as they may be, are spun together to weave a tapestry of a personalized approach that respects the integrity of each client, informed by the theology of the practitioner.

Steven Kaplan, in this volume aptly titled Pastoral Psychotherapy: An Introduction to the Clinical Practice, provides the reader with an array of thought-provoking ideas, techniques, strategies, and teachings that will not only educate, but should whet the appetite for further exploration and discovery. Each of us who works with clients in psychotherapeutic encounters are especially privileged to be invited into highly personal space where we see people who are most vulnerable, yet we have the opportunity to assist them in finding the indwelling God and cultivating their inner resources to find greater peace and more joy in living. This book should help the reader continue on his/her journey to becoming a better clergyman/clergywoman who can bring enhanced healing, along with personal and spiritual growth to the lives they touch.

Rabbi Bruce (Dov) Forman, Ph.D.

Licensed