The Treatment of a Major Depressive Episode Using a Pastoral Counseling Approach

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents qualitatively derived data from a case which applied a pastoral counseling model to the treatment of depression. The characteristic feature of the pastoral counseling model presented is that it calls a person to spiritual wholeness and authenticity. The treatment of depression consisted of working out one or more of its constituents within context of the person's significant personal and social dimensions. The constituents of depression included feeling obligated, loss of personal space, sense of helplessness and powerlessness, unexpressed feelings of anger, guilt feelings, and a desire to become empowered and to take action. The personal and social dimensions included the work place, church community, family of origin, couple relationship and striving for personal space and leisure time. The pastoral counseling model takes the position that the etiology of depression must be considered in a broader context and its treatment must address the constituents of depression within c...