{"id":3842,"date":"2019-03-14T11:29:47","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T16:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/?p=3842"},"modified":"2024-06-20T15:46:11","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T15:46:11","slug":"spiritual-counseling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/?p=3842","title":{"rendered":"IPS Coordinator of Formation on Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Counseling"},"content":{"rendered":"
Submitted by Carol Taliaferro<\/a>, IPS Coordinator of Formation<\/a><\/h5>\n

Which is right for me?\u00a0 Spiritual Direction and\/or Pastoral Counseling?<\/em><\/h4>\n

This is a really good question and one that comes up often. So let\u2019s start by defining terms.\u00a0 First, spiritual direction<\/strong>, as the name implies, is primarily about the spiritual life: our relationship with God and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. \u00a0It is also involved in fostering personal growth in and deeper intimacy with God (as experienced in prayer and lived out in discipleship).<\/p>\n

Counseling and psychotherapy are different.\u00a0 These terms are often used interchangeably so I\u2019d like to make a distinction here as well.\u00a0 Counseling<\/strong> helps us to work through and resolve problems in our lives and relationships.\u00a0 Psychotherapy, on the other hand, goes deeper and is primarily focused on the emotional life and helps us to heal past hurts and to look at and resolve unhealthy patterns in our lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When should you pursue counseling\/therapy vs. spiritual direction?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

If you are struggling with emotional pain and negative patterns of behavior in your life, dealing with depression or mood disorders, anxiety, addictions or other diagnosable conditions, psychotherapy is your best option.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you need guidance and support sorting out your life and your relationships?\u00a0 Counseling would be the way to go.<\/p>\n

Are you trying to grow in your relationship with God and discern the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life?\u00a0 Then, spiritual direction is what you should pursue.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that each discipline is not mutually exclusive and you can participate in spiritual direction along with therapy and counseling.<\/p>\n

(Adapted excerpt from: Spiritualdirection.com \u2013 Catholic Spiritual Direction \u2013 What is the Difference between Counseling and Spiritual Direction?)<\/em><\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPastoral counselors hold a unique position in the field of counseling.\u00a0 With their combination of theological training and advanced education in the behavioral sciences, they are poised to provide effective mental health counseling that is capable of respectfully integrating religious and spiritual components.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

(The Misunderstood Pastoral Counselor: Knowledge and Religiosity as Factors Affecting a Client\u2019s Choice, Walker, et. al., Paper based on a program presented at the 2012 American Counseling Association Annual Conference and Exposition, San Francisco, CA, March 23-25,)
\n<\/em><\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reflection Corner<\/u><\/strong><\/h4>\n

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards to God\u2019s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Spiritual formation requires taking not only the inward journey<\/em> to the heart, but also the outward journey<\/em> from the heart to the community and ministry.\u00a0 Christian spirituality is essentially communal.\u00a0 Spiritual formation is formation in community.\u00a0 In community, we learn what it means to confess our weakness and to forgive each other.\u00a0 In community, we discover our own woundedness but also a place of healing.\u00a0 In community, we learn true humility.\u00a0 Without community, we become individualistic and egocentric.\u00a0 Therefore, spiritual formation always includes formation to life in community.<\/p>\n

(Henri Nouwen, Following the Movements of the Spirit, Spiritual Formation with Christensen, M. J. & Laird, R. J.)<\/em><\/h6>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

You can reach Carol Taliaferro<\/a> at ctaliaferro1@luc.edu<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n
To learn more about IPS<\/a>, go to https:\/\/www.luc.edu\/ips\/<\/a>.\u00a0 For those interested in applying<\/a> to IPS, go to https:\/\/gpem.luc.edu\/apply\/<\/a>.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by Carol Taliaferro, IPS Coordinator of Formation Which is right for me?\u00a0 Spiritual Direction and\/or Pastoral Counseling? This is a really good question and one that comes up often. So let\u2019s start by defining terms.\u00a0 First, spiritual direction, as the name implies, is primarily about the spiritual life: our relationship with God and the read more <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10,11,12,13,17,19,21,24,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chaplaincy","category-graduation","category-interfaith","category-ips","category-ips-alumni","category-ips-students","category-jesuit-university","category-loyola-university","category-pastoral-counseling","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4815,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions\/4815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ips\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}