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Concept
Pastoral care
Summary
Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from religious communities. It is also an important form of support found in many spiritual and religious traditions.
Pastoral care as a contemporary term is distinguished from traditional pastoral ministry, which is primarily Christian and tied to Christian beliefs. Institutional pastoral care departments in Europe are increasingly multi-faith and inclusive of non-religious, humanist approaches to providing support and comfort.
Just as the theory and philosophy behind modern pastoral care are not dependent on any one set of beliefs or traditions, pastoral care itself is guided by a broad framework. This involves personal support and outreach and is rooted in a practice of relating with the inner world of individuals from all walks of life.
Pastoral care is usually provided in the form of the practitioner and client sitting with each other and the client shares personal details while the practitioner keeps it private and offers guidance and counsel.
Pastoral Care is a Christian approach to improve mental distress and has been practiced since the formation of the Christian Church. By offering guidance and counsel, it is an easy and often preferred contact point for religious people seeking help with psychological problems or personal issues. The model for pastoral care is based on the stories about how Jesus was healing people.
In the early church the term ‘Poimenic’ was used to describe this task of soul-care. In the New Testament, the interactions that are described with the term "pastoral care" are also described with Paraklesis (Greek: παράκλησις paráklēsis) which broadly means "accompaniment", "encouragement", "admonition" and "consolation" (e.g. Rom 12,8; Phil 2,1; 1 Tim 4,13; 1 Thess 5,14).
Official source
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