Integrating Spirituality and Psychology for Healing and Growth
About Us
So...what is a Pastoral Counselor anyway?
No, we don't just counsel pastors. The term connects us with the professional organization through which most of us gain our accreditation as Certified Pastoral Counselors: the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. The majority of members of AAPC are pastors -- most are ordained, and all must be endorsed by their denomination to do a special ministry of counseling.
In addition to having theological education, Certified Pastoral Counselors must have advanced education in the field of psychology or counseling, normally leading to a master's or doctor's degree. This enables Pastoral Counselors also to be certified by the states in which they practice.
Arizona Interfaith Counseling has 18 clinical staff members. Twelve are ordained clergy or members of a religious order. Nine of the 12 are certified by AAPC (and Arizona Interfaith Counseling as a whole is certified by AAPC as a service center). The others on the staff all share the vision of what pastoral counseling is all about.
A pastoral counselor does counseling with individuals, couples and families in a way that integrates the understanding and experience of theology and spirituality with the knowledge and skill of psychology and psychotherapy. Religious or biblical language may or may not be a part of the counseling dialogue, depending on the beliefs or wishes of the client. (The AAPC Code of Ethics states, "We avoid imposing our beliefs on others; although we may express them when appropriate in the pastoral counseling process.) Irrespective of the language, an observer would notice a qualitative difference in the depth of counseling experience when there is attention to the spiritual, as well as psychological, meanings in the stories of people's lives.
Pastoral counselors are trained to understand psychopathology and work among and along with mental health practitioners; however, the focus of pastoral counseling is not from a mental illness model. Rather, it is a model that looks for unique possibilities for healing, change and growth in every situation. The pastoral counselor works in collaboration with the persons who come for help, with the aim that they find faith, hope, and courage to keep reaching for what they truly want in their lives and relationships.
Arizona Interfaith Counseling
Ken Lieber, Executive Director
