Advanced Pastoral and Spiritual Care and Listening Skills (Part A) (DP9107S)

Content

This unit builds upon the spiritual care and listening skills framework and listening skills developed in the introductory unit (introduction to Pastoral and Spiritual Care). The unit will develop, to an advanced level, the skills of listening and reflective practice as elements of theological reflection in the practice of spiritual care. Concurrent skills practice, special issues and interventions, will be engaged through the methods of reflective practice to enable students to develop competence in the practical art of spiritual care and integrative reflective practice. Advanced learning will be consolidated through lectures and a verbatim/workshop approach will be complemented by tasks that invite students to engage in theological reflection upon: role and identity; safe, sustainable professional practice; and their spiritual care style.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

The unit may only be taken after the prerequisite foundational unit DP8001S has been completed. Students who enrol in this unit must enrol in Part A (DP9107S) in first semester and Part B (DP9207S) in second semester.

Pedagogy

1. Lectures to the whole group with opportunity for dialogue groups and discussion times.
2. Participation in a supervision session with the lecturer as part of the process of presenting a video verbatim reflection.
3. A series of practical workshops (with input and notes) on listening skills.

Indicative Bibliography

• Cook, C. (Ed) Spirituality, theology and mental health: Interdisciplinary perspectives. London: SCM. 2013.
• Fitchett, G & Nolan, S. Spiritual care in practice: Case studies in healthcare practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 2015.
• Cooper-White, P. Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004. (recommended for purchase)
• Corey, G., Corey, M., & Callanan, P. Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions, 7th ed. California: Brookes-Cole, 2007.
• Culbertson, P. Caring for God’s People: Counselling and Christian Wholeness. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000.
• Damasio, Antonio. Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain. London, Vintage, 2004. (recommended for purchase)
• Louw, D., Ito, T. & Elsdörfer, U. (eds.). Encounter in Pastoral Care and Spiritual Healing: Towards an Integrative and Intercultural Approach. Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2012.
• Rogers, Carl R. On Becoming a Person. Croydon, Constable & Co., 1967.
• Whitehead E., & Whitehead J. Transforming our Painful Emotions: Spiritual Resources in Anger, Shame, Grief, Fear, Loneliness. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2010.
• Wicks, R. The Resilient Clinician. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Assessment