Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 41, No.

4, 1993

Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction:

Enrichment Where the Twain Meet
Joseph D. DriskilP

INTRODUCTION
In recent decades the Protestant community has been increasingly interested in what the Roman Catholic Church refers to as "spiritual direction," Protestant pastoral care, which turned increasingly away from its own
historical and theological traditions to embrace findings in the social sciences, has again become interested in the unique gifts that religious counselors may bring to the counseling context. Spiritual direction provides
some insights into the importance of theological resources for promoting
growth and healing--an aim it shares with Protestant pastoral care.
Fairchild (1982) provides a general overview of the contrast between
spiritual direction, psychotherapy and pastoral counseling. This paper, however, will compare and contrast two approaches to pastoral care and two
approaches to spiritual direction by focusing on three themes: the significance of experiential knowledge of God; the importance of religious/spiritual and psychological insights for theory and practice; and the role of
ethics and social justice concerns. While this discussion will provide insights
which are mutually beneficial to both pastoral care and spiritual direction,
the spotlight here will focus on ways spiritual direction may effectively inform pastoral care.
The four approaches have been selected both because they are distinctive and because of the impact these works have had in their respective
fields. Seward Hiltner's Pastoral Counseling, published in 1949, served for
almost twenty years as a standard text in Protestant pastoral care (Conn,
1987, p. 37). Howard Clinebell's Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling." Resources for the Ministry of Healing and Growth (1984) is a standard
1Joseph D. DriskiI1, G r a d u a t e Theological Union, 817 P o m o n a Avenue, E1 Cerrito, CA 94530.
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1993 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

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pastoral care text. Kenneth Leech's Soul Friend (1977) and William A.
Barry and William J. Connolly's The Practice of Spiritual Direction (1982)
represent two approaches to spiritual direction which are influential in the
Anglican and Roman Catholic communities.

EXPERIENTIAL A P P R O A C H TO G O D

Spiritual direction affirms the centrality of personal religious experience. "Pastoral spiritual guidance first heightens awareness of God, and
then raises appropriate response to God's presence and action" (Liebert,
1989, p. 298). According to Barry and Connolly (1982) the focus of spiritual
direction is not the relationship between the director and the directee, but
the relationship between the directee and God (Connolly, 1975, p. 99;
Neufelder and Coelho, 1982, p. 17). This, of course, assumes that such a
relationship is not only possible but that it is also affirmed by both director
and directee (Barry, 1987, p. 76). Barry and Connolly (1982) view this experiential relationship between God and the directee as integral for defining spiritual direction:
We define Christian spiritual direction, then, as help given by one Christian to
another which enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in
intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship. The
focus of this type of spiritual direction is on experience, not ideas, and specifically
on religious experience, i.e., any experience of the mysterious Other whom we call
God. (p. 8)

Barry and Connolly (1982) identify two reactions to religious experiences which have very different consequences. In the first instance a person
has a spontaneous reaction to God, but only a momentary desire to respond. Persons, for example, may encounter something in nature which
elicits a profound sense of thankfulness; they have a desire to thank God
for the beauty, but the event itself seems like an isolated experience. It
may be remembered, but it remains a "relatively isolated experience of
God" (Barry and Connolly, 1982, p. 34).
The other type of reaction noted by Barry and Connolly (1982) may
also be based on a meaningful encounter with nature, but rather than being
isolated from the fabric of the person's life it is integrated into an ongoing
conscious relationship with God. Here the experience of a sunset may serve
as another instance of how much God provides; or it may serve as a reminder that one has been taking God for granted lately and should reconnect. Barry and Connolly (1982) contend the integration of a religious
experience into one's personal experience of God's activity provides for the

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type of divine-human relationship which makes spiritual direction most

valuable (Barry and Connolly, 1982, p. 35).
Leech (1977) contends that this experiential awareness of God's presence in human life should be a primary focus of any minister. He insists
that any pastoral work which does not nurture this awareness of taking
prayer, study, and ascetical theology seriously is bound to wane or become
superficial. In Leech's (1977) historically informed approach to spiritual direction it is the ecclesiastical community which fosters and nurtures one's
relationship with God:
Theology is an encounter with the living God, not an u n c o m m i t t e d academic exercise. This encounter cannot survive if its only locus is the lecture theater or the
library. It needs the n o u r i s h m e n t of sacramental worship, of solitude, of pastoral
care and the cure of souls. Theology must arise out of and be constantly related
to a living situation. (p. 36)

Hiltner (1949) and Clinebell (1984), on the other hand, do not directly address the possibility of participating in an authentic meaningful
personal relationship with God. Hiltner (1949) speaks of Christ's mandate
to preach the gospel and heal the sick as the primary work of the pastor.
While this mandate may guide the pastor's activity, it does not necessarily
empower it in a spiritually enriching experiential manner. "Broadly speaking, the special aim of pastoral counseling may be stated as the attempt
by a pastor to help people help themselves through the process of gaining
understanding of their inner conflicts" (Hiltner, 1949, p. 19). The focus
here is the relationship between the pastor and the person seeking aid.
Hiltner's (1949) interest in the way psychological principles, methods,
and techniques impact on healing results in a pastoral counseling approach
which does not focus on the relationship between the person needing help
and God. This becomes very evident in a section of his book which deals
with religious resources (e.g., spiritual direction and prayer) useful to the
pastoral counselor. In the brief section on spiritual direction, Hfltner (1949)
sees merit in periodic consultations between the ctergyperson and the parishioner. He is, however, primarily fearful that spiritual direction may locate too much authority in the director. He speaks of the need for spiritual
directors to adopt psychologically informed methods of counseling. His failure to mention any reference to God in this section belies his implied assumption that spiritual direction can be reduced to a form of supportive
counseling. He refers to the spiritual director as a "public-health man" who
assists the person in a review of his spiritual Iife and helps "in the application of therapy where that seems indicated" (Hiltner, 1949, p. 92).
One section of Pastoral Counseling (Hiltner, 1949) discusses prayer
as an activity which is primarily psychologically therapeutic. Hiltner (1949)
cautions the pastor to pray in a manner that it is therapeutically helpful

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to t h e client, e.g., t h e p a r i s h i o n e r ' s e m o t i o n a l n e e d s s h o u l d b e a f f i r m e d

b e f o r e G o d , a n d h e a l t h y C h r i s t i a n a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d suffering s h o u l d b e aff i r m e d . T h e r e is n o m e n t i o n o f a p e r s o n a l e n c o u n t e r w h e r e G o d ' s h e a l i n g
power could be manifested.
It is o n l y in H i l t n e r ' s (1949) u s e o f a n e x t e n d e d q u o t a t i o n f r o m
R u s s e l l D i c k s (1947) t h a t o n e gains a s e n s e o f the role t h a t t h e d i v i n e - h u m a n r e l a t i o n s h i p m i g h t c o n t r i b u t e in t h e p a s t o r a l c o u n s e l i n g context:
The problem of health and of regaining health . . . is basically the problem of establishing and maintaining a proper relationship with G o d . . . If we do know God's
healing power, if we do pay attention to it, a measurable change occurs. Let a
person be deeply anxious, or lonely, or despairing, or bitter in his illness. Then let
him really experience in his inmost awareness the consciousness that, all the time
he has been anxious or lonely or despairing or bitter, the healing power of God
has been trying to break through and bring him health and new life. He relaxes,
not just on the surface, but deep inside. A power greater than himself, greater than
his physician, is fighting, has been fighting, and will go on fighting on his side.
Something happens in his body as well as in his soul . . . The consciousness of
God's healing power is thus itself an agent or instrument of that healing power,
hand in hand with medicine, psychiatry, and all the other arts of healing based on
scientific observation. (p. 195)
H i l t n e r ' s (1949) q u o t a t i o n f r o m D i c k s (1947) is suggestive, b u t he d o e s n o t
e l a b o r a t e at a n y p o i n t o n t h e t h e o l o g i c a l o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l significance to
pastoral counseling of a divine-human experiential encounter.
H o w a r d C l i n e b e l l (1984), o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , d o e s suggest t h a t spiritual n u r t u r e a n d an e n c o u n t e r with t h e divine can b e b a s i c to h e a l t h a n d
growth. C l i n e b e l l (1984) a r g u e s t h a t p a s t o r a l c a r e a n d c o u n s e l i n g s e e k to
e m p o w e r g r o w t h t o w a r d w h o l e n e s s in six i n t e r d e p e n d e n t a s p e c t s o f a p e r s o n ' s life: 1) e n l i v e n i n g o n e ' s m i n d (thinking, feeling, e x p e r i e n c i n g , envisioning, c r e a t i n g ) ; 2) revitalizing o n e ' s body; 3) r e n e w i n g a n d e n r i c h i n g
o n e ' s i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s ; 4) d e e p e n i n g o n e ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p with n a t u r e
t h r o u g h e c o l o g i c a l a w a r e n e s s , c o m m u n i o n a n d caring; 5) r e l a t i n g to instit u t i o n s by t r a n s f o r m i n g u n j u s t social, political, a n d e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e s
w h e r e v i o l e n c e , e x p l o i t a t i o n a n d o p p r e s s i o n occur; a n d 6) d e e p e n i n g a n d
vitalizing o n e ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p with G o d (Clinebell, 1984, pp. 31-33). S p i r i t u a l
g r o w t h is i d e n t i f i e d as t h e "unifying b o n d " which links t h e o t h e r a s p e c t s
o f growth. C l i n e b e l l (1984) says:
The key to human flowering is an open, trustful, nourishing, joy-full relationship
with the loving Spirit who is the source of all life, all healing, all growth. Methods
of spiritual healing and growth aim at enhancing our meanings, our guiding values,
our faith, our moments of transcendence ("peak experiences"~Maslow), and our
empowering relationship with the creative Spirit of the universe . . . . Theological
education should equip us with resources and skills for helping people come alive
at their center--their higher Self, which is their inner point of contact with God.
(pp. 33-34)

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Clinebell (1984) offers some suggestions about counseling methods

which emerge from his theoretical framework for pastoral care. In his chapter on "Facilitating Spiritual Wholeness: The Heart of Pastoral Care and
Counseling," the experiential nature of spirituality is expressed in the language of psychologists who have been interested in spirituality, e.g., Maslow
(1954) and Assagioli (1965). He says, "Pastors should help their counselees
discover ways of fulfilling their need for a sense of wonder and transcendence, for 'peak experience' in which they become aware of their oneness
with humankind, with the biosphere, and with Spirit" (Clinebell, 1984, p.
112).
In a list of questions which Clinebell (1984) provides for diagnostic
and treatment purposes of explicitly spiritual issues, we see something of
the nature of his experiential approach. He believes the pastoral counselor
must discern if the religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices of the client
"provide an integrating, energizing, growing relationship with that loving
Spirit that religions call God" (ClinebelI, 1984, p. 118). Do they nurture
the transcendent dimensions of persons' lives, their higher Self? Do they
bring the inner enrichment and growth that come from "peak experiences"
(Clinebell, 1984, 118)?
As Clinebell (1984) speaks about spiritual direction, however, there
is not a sense that an experiential relationship between God and humankind powerfully influences all growth and healing. Clearly spirituality provides the intellectual framework for his focus on growth. Yet this
proposition does not foster an experiential affirmation about the God-human relationship such as one would find in Barry and Connolly (1982) or
Leech (1977; 1989).
Instead, Clinebell's (1984) position appears to reflect a common Protestant position which acknowledges a growing appreciation for, but inadequate understanding of, the ministry of spiritual direction. Without an
appreciation for the centrality in spiritual direction of a meaningful experiential relationship between God and the directee, the integrating core of
spiritual direction is missed. Spiritual exercises and techniques are recognized by Clinebell (1984) as useful; they are recommended, but the profound experiential nature of the relationship between God and humankind
upon which they are based is not addressed.
In the context of the dialogue between pastoral counseling and spiritual direction, the theological assumptions of spiritual direction make it
incumbent upon pastoral care to reexamine its own theological foundation.
Spiritual direction requires a commitment by both the director and directee to God's personal self-communication. The implication of this experiential relationship suggests theological language cannot be reduced to
the language of the social sciences without remainder (Schneiders, 1984).

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Is there a possibility that c o m m i t m e n t to the experiential nature of G o d ' s

self-communication might facilitate the healing or growing processes of
religious persons participating in pastoral counseling? Barry and Connotly
(1982) and L e e c h (1977) would say "yes." Pastoral counseling will miss
m u c h of the impact of G o d ' s healing presence if G o d talk remains tangential to the process or is viewed as exhausted by social scientific explanations.

I M P O R T A N C E OF R E L I G I O U S / S P I R I T U A L AND P S Y C H O L O G I C A L
I N S I G H T S F O R T H E O R Y AND P R A C T I C E
Seward Hiltner's (1949) counseling practices are undergirded by the
belief that there are certain essential h u m a n needs of the personality, distinguishable from biological needs, which if not given expression, result in
a violation of h u m a n nature. F r o m the "Christian-theological" point of view
the implication is that G o d created the h u m a n being with certain basic
needs which are denied at one's peril. The Christian pastoral counselor
m a k e s an additional theological affirmation: the Holy Spirit or divine grace
is operative when positive potentialities emerge, ostensibly spontaneously,
from the midst of a troubled, confused person. The implications of this
affirmation, however, are not developed by Hiltner (1949).
Hiltner's (1949) approach, both to the nature of the h u m a n personality and to appropriate methods for pastoral counseling, is guided m o r e
by psychological than theological insights. Even in his later work, Theological Dynamics (1972) the focus is on the way in which theological concepts
are enriched when their psychological dynamic is understood. His theory
of personality is grounded in dynamic psychology. His focus on the acceptance of the client's unfolding feelings as a counseling method reflects Hiltn e t ' s (1949) reliance on the influential methods of Carl Rogers (Rogers,
1942; Rogers and Wallen, 1946; Holifield, 1983). Hiltner (1949) summarizes
his method in five points:
1) The counseling process focuses attention on the parishioner's situation and his
feelings about it. 2) The counseling proceeds through real understanding on the
pastor's part of how the parishioner feels about the situation, and through communication of the reality of that understanding. 3) When conflicting feelings of the
parishioner emerge in counseling, the pastor first aids the parishioner in clarifying
the elements of the conflict and their relative pull upon him. 4) The counseling
relationship contains a special kind of freedom on the part of the parishioner, as
well as a special kind of limitation. The basic limitation upon the parishioner is
that he accept the pastor's task as helping him to help himself, and not as telling
him what to do or precisely how to do it . . . The parishioner should be free to
express or withhold any statements about his feelings. 5) The counseling process

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should include, on one or more appropriate occasions, that which will aid in consolidation of the insights achieved or the clarifications gained. (pp. 47-48, 51, 54)
Throughout the book Hiltner (1949) uses as a pedagogical technique insights gained from critically evaluating pastor-parishioner encounters. Empathic and clarifying responses are normative.
Significantly one does not find in this method per se anything which
distinguishes pastoral counseling from other types of counseling. In fact,
Hiltner (1952) was concerned that pastoral counselors might feel it necessary to speak only of religious matters. "As to counseling methods . . . . the
basic methods of the pastor and of other counselors is so nearly similar as
to be almost identical--if counseling is good" (Hiltner, 1949, p. 121). Hiltner (1949) notes, however, that pastoral counselors have a different role
and "loci of function" than other counselors, but he emphasizes the "basic
methods and approach are the same once counseling itself has begun"
(Hiltner, 1949, p. 121).
Hiltner (1949) devotes attention to the religious resources upon which
the pastor may draw. These include prayer, the Bible, spiritual direction,
Christian doctrines, sacraments and rites. He is clearly very concerned that
these resources not be used in a moralistic fashion or a manner which is
not psychologically therapeutic. In these discussions one glimpses elements
of his personal faith commitment. He speaks, for example, of sacraments
and rites as expressing symbolically "the relation between fundamental religious truth and the most common acts of life" (Hiltner, 1949, p. 223).
His references to the use of religious resources in the counseling context
notwithstanding, his method is informed principally by psychological insights.
Howard Clinebell's 1966 edition of Basic Types of Pastoral Counseling
reflected a move away from the Rogerian-psychoanalytic approach to a "relationship-centered" approach. Clinebell (1966) sought to incorporate into
pastoral counseling a wide range of approaches united by the "relationshipcentered" context. These included: family group therapy, role-relationship
marriage counseling, transactional analysis, crisis intervention theory, reality
therapy, existential psychotherapy, and ego psychology (Conn, 1987). Now
the client-centered approach was no longer normative; traditional pastoral
functions such as sustaining, guiding, inspiring, confronting, and teaching
were emphasized. It must be noted, however, that self-realization remained
the operative goal in his approach. The definition of such self-realization
has, however, been broadened to include the development of more meaningful relationships with neighbor and God (Conn, 1987).
In the second edition of Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling
(1984) the theme of growth, so customary to self-realization approaches,
is even more predominant. Obviously influenced by critiques of pastoral

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care leveled by feminist and liberation theologians as well as social ethicists,

Clinebell (1984) incorporates into his theoretical framework aspects of
these perspectives.
Clinebell (1984) presents a drawing of "the flower of wholeness" to
illustrate his theoretical framework. The core of the flower's blossom, which
resembles a daisy, is the spiritual center and "the place where the seeds
of new life grow" (Clinebell, 1988, p. 21). Each of the five petals around
the core represents one of his interdependent systems, viz., body, mind,
intimate relationships, nature and institutions (Clinebell, 1984, 31-33). This
flower illustration, however, demonstrates the way in which the interrelation of the various parts is more one of simple relationship than of integration. A unified theological position which integrates and interrelates the
spiritual center with these various aspects of growth is missing.
Clinebell's (1984) practical approach to spiritual issues also reveals a
separation between the spiritual/value issues and the problems or troubles
being experienced by the parishioner:
There are two levels in the process of much counseling--helping persons deal with
their immediate problems or crises, and then encouraging them to examine the
underlying value-spiritual issues of which their current problems are painful symptoms. (pp. 116-117)
Clinebell (1984) argues that ministers who help persons exclusively
with their immediate problems do only half the job. H e contends the client
must also be helped to face the way in which distorted or destructive values
and life-styles can be the hidden sources of problems involving life's meaning.
Clinebell (1984) suggests some "opening questions" a counselor can
use to invite people to explore spiritual issues:
How do you understand this decision in light of what's most important in your life?
How does this problem with which you're struggling relate to your personal faith,
to your relationship with God? What have you learned from this miserable crisis?
Has it changed your faith? (p. 117)
H e contends that questions of this type should be asked only after two
criteria are met: 1) a trustful relationship is established and 2) the stress
of struggling with the acute phase of the crisis is diminished.
Both Clinebell's (1984) theoretical model and his practical method
give explicit evidence of a concern for religious/spiritual matters which only
was present by inference in Hiltner's (1949; 1972) works. Clinebell's (1984;
1988) direct treatment of religious/spiritual issues, however, still seems to
lack an integrating theological framework.
Barry and Connolly's (1982) assertions about the self-communicating
character of G o d provide the theological foundation into which psychological insights are integrated. In contrast to pastoral counseling approaches

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where healing and growth are associated with the resolution of emotional
conflicts, Barry and Connolly (1982) relate such conflicts to the directee's
relationship with God. The resolution of such emotional conflicts is only
the first of two major phases in spiritual direction.
In the first stage, the directee may experience his/her own emotions,
e.g., anger, fear, guilt, without any awareness of God's presence. Here, the
directee often cannot fathom a deeply personal relationship with God.
Once, however, one has been sufficiently freed from anxieties, angers and
other fixations, a relationship with God can begin to flower. Thus, even in
this early stage of direction, Barry and Connolly (1982) do not want the
director to use any technique or method which would hamper the development of contemplation by overtly focusing on the director-directee relationship. This stands in contrast to both Hiltner (1949) and Clinebell's
(1984) approach to pastoral care, where the relationship between the counselor and client is the focus of the healing and growth.
In this first stage of spiritual direction, Barry and Connolly (1982)
contend meditating on scripture is used by the directee to nurture and focus
her experiential awareness of God:
They listen to the gospel text and treat it for what it is: literature intended to teach
people how to let it inspire their imaginations and enkindle their faith as it was
written to do. But the desire is not to know the Scripture text better. R a t h e r it is
to know Jesus better. (p. 57)

The director, following this method, must first help the directee keep
focused on his/her impressions of the text. This requires allowing the directee to fully explore the personal impact of the text prior to searching
out or uncovering its personal implications. According to Barry and Connolly (1982) this approach frequently allows the directee to see more in
the text than first realized; the significance of the passage deepens as the
director helps the directee reflect more deeply on it.
If directors do help directees to pay attention to the Lord, they find that the simple
act of looking at the Lord in a scriptural event, or in s o m e other event or situation,
is in itself productive prayer. This contemplation produces, all by itself, sprouts of
love, affection, and desire; and these in turn lead the person to look m o r e closely
at the Lord. T h e looking more closely can gradually bring about a new trust in
him or companionship with him. T h e search for meaning, while valid in itself, can
in the context of contemplation be a distraction from this process (Barry and Connolly, 1982, p. 59).

By using this method Barry and Connolly (1982) believe the object
of the relationship (e.g., God or Jesus) begins to acquire a life independent
of the directee. At this juncture, the directee's experience of God's reality
is becoming more defined and a second stage in direction is realized. Now
the directee is able to further deepen her affective relationship with God
by sharing her feelings. The purpose of this affective sharing, however, is

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not, as in pastoral counseling, an introspection aimed at self-understanding.

Instead personal sharing is used to deepen one's relationship with God in
much the same way one would deepen a relationship with a close friend.
Directees can tell the difference, if they reflect, between examining their feelings
in order to know what they are and expressing them so that the other person can
know them better and share their lives more explicitly (Barry and Connolly, 1982,

p. 75).
According to Barry and Connolly (1982) it is this sharing process
which gradually but continually moves people more deeply into the relationship. Basic desires, hopes, loves, fears, anger, and guilt frequently surface; as these emerge into consciousness, the director will help the directee
notice what has unfolded. The director, however, does not force the directee to notice newly conscious material; she may ask questions which elicit
it if such is the will of the directee. Spiritual direction, in this context, is
based on "a process of progressively greater openness to reality that is
freely undertaken and freely pursued through a series of usually quiet,
sometimes dramatic, decisions to see and not be blind" (Barry and Connolly, 1982, p. 79).
As God's presence and identity assume a more definite role in the
directee's prayer, the director not only avoids interfering with the dialogue,
but sees herself as a facilitator of the encounter. As the contemplative experience deepens it will acquire distinctive forms in different persons. God
may appear, for instance, as awesome, daunting, loving, enigmatic, healing,
and disconcerting.
Through all these ways in which the Lord shows himself, the common element is
his reality. He is not an idea to be thought about, a set of values to be considered,
an image to be handled by the imagination. The person praying has the sense that
he is not controlling the way the Lord seems to him. Someone else is setting the
direction of the relationship, deciding its events. The praying person does not look
for helpful thoughts, work up feelings, or concoct images. He simply looks at the
Lord as he appears in Scripture or in experience, puts himself before him as he is,
and lets happen what will happen (Barry and Connolly, 1982, p. 62).

Here, Barry and Connolly (1982) demonstrate their own faith in

God's power to transform human affairs. This faith, however, does not
blind them to psychological realities either at the theoretical or practical
level. They acknowledge, for example, the role that psychological processes,
such as projection, may play in the directee's understanding of God (Grant
and Hayes, 1990). Clearly the initial perceptions of God's autonomy "will
usually still be limited by the directee's subconscious conceptions" (Barry
and Connolly, 1982, p. 61).
The interviewing practices used by Barry and Connolly (1982) share
with Hiltner (1949) a dependence on the research of Rogers (1942, 1961)

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e.g., moving at the client's pace in an affirmative environment. The agenda

of the directee-in-relationship sets the direction and pace of the growth
process. Self-realization through a gradual unfolding, however, is in the
spiritual direction process transformed to a self-transcending perspective
where one attends to God's agenda for the relationship. There is a gentleness to the process that sees as transformative the deepening of the relationship with God through the expression of one's deepest feelings.
In spite of their sensitivity to psychological insights, Barry and Conholly (1982) do not define the process exclusively by its psychological components. Religious and spiritual concerns are not only valued, they shape
the process. Theological affirmations about the God-humankind relationship are determinative in both the theory and practice of Barry and Conholly (1982).
Kenneth Leech (1977) roots his approach to spiritual direction solidly
in the Christian tradition. In Soul F14end (1977) he delineates the history
of spiritual direction in the Christian West and demonstrates the relevance
of that tradition for the contemporary setting. He contends the minister's
task is to bring illumination; the minister points beyond the self to God's
glory.
With this view of ministry, spiritual direction becomes a crucial pastoral activity for a number of reasons. Spiritual direction centers on God;
it has a vision of God, and assists human beings in relating to God. It has
a long, influential history beginning with the men and women who in the
fourth century went to the desert to pray. Over time spiritual direction has
proven flexible enough to endure. It is solidly based in the church community and offers guidance for the spiritual journey (Leech, 1977, p. 31).
Leech (1989) contends recent interest in pastoral counseling reflects
the extent to which the church has become trapped by a model which advocates distributing services instead of enhancing theological visions. Pastoral counseling, he contends, is not essentially concerned with theology or
belief, but instead focuses on emotional distress and problem solving. Leech
(1989) views pastoral counseling as a relatively new discipline which is not
deeply rooted in the classical Christian tradition. He contends it is primarily
office or clinic based; its relationship to the sacramental life of the Christian
community is more tenuous.
Leech (1989) notes that accepting his critique will have profound consequences, not only for the practice of ministry, but also for ministerial
formation. Pastors will need to devote significantly more time to the practice of spiritual direction. In his model ascetical and spiritual theology and
prayer will again be placed at the center of human life and activity.

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Ministerial formation, according to Leech (1989), would involve programs in which the life of prayer and spiritual theology are pivotal:
If we are to provide the future church with pastors who are capable of guiding
others, we need to place a very high priority indeed on training in prayer, on the
practice of silence and reflection, on deepening the awareness of the presence of
God, on helping people to understand the principles of spiritual growth, and on
placing all theological work within a framework of worship and prayer. (p. 79)

To be spiritual directors clergy must be familiar, not only with spiritual theology, but also with various historical forms of prayer. They must
have an understanding of the prayer practices of significant groups in the
historical tradition, e.g., Jesuits, Carmelites. Being able to teach people how
to pray is also an important "how to" ministerial skill. The spiritual director,
of course, can also use the sacraments, the Bible, and any other religious
insight or tradition which assists the directee in coming to "the knowledge
of God."
While it is clear that Leech (t977; 1989) is centered in the classical
religious tradition of spiritual direction, he nevertheless recognizes areas
where psychological processes which promote growth also promote spiritual
wholeness. He observes, for example, that self-awareness is necessary for
emotional maturity and is a necessary prelude to knowledge of God. He
recognizes that psychological practices which place an emphasis on the relationship between the body and the spirit, e.g., relaxation exercises, reflect
an ancient realization which in the spiritual tradition of asceticism used
bodily techniques, e.g., breathing exercises, to further spiritual growth.
Leech (1977) also acknowledges that the journey to the unconscious, especially as it is described by Jungian psychology, may be a way to recover
a sense of God's presence.
The way in which the spiritual direction of Leech (1977; 1989) and
Barry and Connolly (1982) appropriate psychological and theological insights provides fertile soil for recovery and discovery in pastoral counseling. Leech (1977; 1989) is interested in recovering the largely ignored
history of spiritual and contemplative disciplines. Although he is far less
interested than Hiltner (1949), Clinebell (1984), or Barry and Connolly
(1982) in psychological theories and methods, his approach to spiritual
direction invites pastoral care to look more seriously at its own history.
New ways of using religious resources might also emerge if pastoral counseling sees itself as an integral aspect of the ministry of the ecclesiastical
community. Barry and Connolly's (1982) psychologically influenced methodology for practicing spiritual direction provides insights into the way a
theological tradition can integrate psychological insights without losing its
distinctive identity.

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229

THE ROLE OF ETHICS/SOCIAL JUSTICE CONCERNS

Hiltner (1949) offers a warning to clergy by focusing considerable attention on moralizing, an inappropriate means of addressing ethical concerns. "Unintentional moralizing is our most serious danger . . . in
counseling" (Hiltner, 1949, p. 49). Hiltner's (1949) commitment to psychologically sound counseling methods leads him to reject all forms of pastoral
moralizing. Hiltner (1949) contends the offering of inappropriate moral
judgments is a particular problem for clergy who are confronted by people
seeking their "advice" or assistance:
It is tempting to speculate on why we pastors have such a predilection for moral
judgment even when its exercise clearly defeats our larger purposes. To some extent
it is the expression of a general habit pattern built up partly out of our real concern
to view what is right and wrong about the world in which we live and partly out
of the fact that people unconsciously expect us to approach things through the
avenue of moral judgment. (p. 49)

In reflecting on how pastoral counseling informs the pastor's various

tasks, e.g., preaching and administration, Hiltner (1949) addresses the relationship between pastoral counseling and social justice advocacy. An educative point of departure informs his counseling methods; that is, he evokes
or elicits from the parishioner his/her genuine concerns. He describes this
as "looking with" people at an evil situation rather than batting them over
the head with it.
His discussion addresses methods which help individuals implement
deeds and actions consistent with their stated ethical standards. For example, he discusses the way a clergyperson might go about hiring a black person to work in an all-white office. Hiltner (1949) argues the pastor must
first raise the idea with the staff and then listen to their genuine concerns.
The pastoral goal here is to assist the staff in clarifying the conflicts they
experience when confronting the disparity between their moral commitments to integration and the reality of their all-white work place. Hiltner
(1949) appears to assume that working through conflicting feelings will necessarily bring an ethical resolution to the issue. Hiltner (1949) also does
not address situations when people feel no dissonance between their ideals
and their actual situations. Thus, neither criteria nor a generalizable
method for raising ethical or social justice issues in the counseling context
is addressed.
Clinebell (1984), on the other hand, acknowledges that pastoral care
has suffered from its "hyperindividualism":
Privatized pastoral care and counseling (along with privatized religion in general)
ignore the pervasive ways in which racism, sexism, ageism, classism, speciesism, nationalism, militarism, economic exploitation, and political oppression cripple human
wholeness on a massive scale in all societies. (p. 33)

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To correct this situation Clinebell (1984) advocates the pastoral care

of groups and institutions. Through the use of consciousness raising, people
are enabled to see the societal origins of some of their personal pain and
brokenness. Such counseling aims at "freeing, motivating, and empowering
people to work with others to make our institutions places where wholeness
will be better nurtured in everyone" (Clinebell, 1984, p. 33). He introduces
what he has termed the "Gandhi-Day-King-Lee principle" to remedy the
over-emphasis on privatized pastoral counseling. Clinebell (1984) notes that
Mahatma Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Tai-Young
Lee personally embody a concern for personal-spiritual growth and a passion for social transformation. Clinebell (1984) asserts that once a person's
consciousness has been raised by conscientization, it is then crucial to empower him/her. People must be enabled to discover their potential strength
and encouraged to collaborate with others for the purpose of challenging
and transforming injustices.
Clinebell (1984) addresses injustices from a psycho-social understanding of institutions as well as from liberation perspectives and biblical
wisdom. He notes the biblical meaning of liberation refers to both personal
and societal factors. Sin and salvation are communal and individual. He
cites biblical quotations which address both the inner liberation of the
mind, e.g., John 8:32, and the prophetic aspects of Jesus's ministry, e.g.,
Luke 4:18-19. Clinebell (1984) maintains we cannot understand God's love
separated from his justice.
Clinebell (1984) identifies this form of counseling as educative. Following the principles of a feminist consciousness raising model he proposes
a six step counseling process: 1) Recruit and train a growth-action task
force; 2) Deepen understanding of the problem; 3) Decide on action goals;
4) D e v e l o p a plan of action; 5) Take action; and 6) Evaluate and
restrategize.
Clinebell's (1984) methods for introducing social/ethical issues into
the counseling framework is achieved, in part, by broadening the definition
of pastoral counseling. While its aim of fostering growth and healing remains, the process is widened to include work with issue-focused groups.
Pastoral ministrations, in what formerly might have been identified as the
prophetic dimension of ministry, are incorporated into the pastoral care
and counseling domain through this group focus.
Barry and Connolly (1982) address social and ethical concerns in the
context of the way God leads individuals. They cite a traditional standard
of spiritual growth and discernment by turning to Paul's statement in Galatians: "By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians

Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction

23t

5:22-23). These fruits are positive and according to Barry and Connolly
(1982) lead to an enduring sense of basic well-being. "Fundamental joy,
peace, consolation are the best criteria for evaluating one's prayer" (Barry
and Connolly, 1982, 110). A deep sense of well-being is indispensable for
faithfully serving God.
Barry and Connolly (1982) are aware that some in the church fear a
turn to interiority may lead to a loss of energy for righting social wrongs.
Nevertheless, their theory of spiritual direction does not single out ethical
or social justice issues for specific faith development. Instead, the authors
contend such issues will emerge naturally as part of spiritual growth if such
is God's will. Following God's leading and Christ's example may move a
person toward prophetic ministries, e.g., Howard Thurman and Dorothy
Day. In the course of spiritual growth people are led to increasingly identify
with Jesus and his mission. The aim of such identification is not to imitate
the details of Jesus's life, but to see in it a dependence on God which
fosters personal autonomy. It is this autonomy which Barry and Connolly
(1982) suggest may lead one to champion otherwise unpopular beliefs, actions, and issues:
This experience of Jesus shows itself in an ability to live by one's own convictions
despite other people's opposition to those convictions; in a breadth of empathy that
transcends social and economic class; in a deepening trust of the Father of reality;
in a willingness to engage in the war against evil and to stand for justice and mercy
even when one must die small deaths in defense of them; and a willingness to die
those deaths and leave resurrection to the Father. (p. 112)

Turning to the practice of spiritual direction, Barry and Connolly

(1982) insist the spiritual director must not tell a directee where to put
his/her energies. "If the Lord of reality has something in mind, he will communicate it in the directee's relationship with him" (Barry and Connolly,
1982, p. 196). The constant task of the director is to facilitate open communication between the directee and God. They note that in the contemporary context, when many Church leaders are urging Christians to join
the struggle for justice, a director may be concerned if a directee's prayer
never includes concern for others. The precise nature of this concern, however, should not be imposed by the director. Spiritual directors may raise
and explore with the directee justice issues, "but they raise them as spiritual
directors, not as teachers, preachers, or exhorters" (Barry and Connolly,
1982, p. 196).
Barry and Connolly (1982) ~:ontend spiritual growth frequently converts the heart in a manner which profoundly influences not only the attitude toward social justice issues, but also the issues themselves:
In our experience, active, involved people do not lose their passion for work with
and for God's people when they enter into spiritual direction, but they do often

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lose harshness and contempt for those of different points of view as their hearts
are changed. (p. 197)

The authors note that contemplative experiences frequently alter the

lens through which people view their society. Those who practice contemplative disciplines often become more open to the kinds of reading, lectures, and preaching that challenge "public" schemata. Speaking from a
sociology of knowledge perspective, Barry and Connolly (1982) maintain
directees come to understand more fully how ideas, knowledge, beliefs, and
the like are undergirded by social constructions. Through the contemplative
practices, directees gain a self-transcendence which gives a new or altered
perspective on matters formerly taken for granted (Kutz, Borysenko, Benson, 1985). Frequently this leads them to a deeper understanding of what
constitutes justice.
In Leech's (1977) approach to spiritual direction there is a major consideration of the relationship between social justice issues and spiritual direction. Reflecting on the nature of direction Leech (1977) asks: Is the
ministry of spiritual direction concerned only with deepening a personal
relationship of intimacy with Christ or does it include concern with how
God may be working in the structures of society? Leech answers claiming
"spiritual direction is concerned with healing and reconciliation, not with
adaptation to current values, but with the transformation of consciousness."
(p. 187)
Leech (1989) maintains the popular division between prophetic and
pastoral ministry does not have a biblical foundation. In the Old Testament,
for example, both the Mosaic Law and the prophetic writings see an intimate connection between a religion of justice and a religion of holiness.
He argues there are several characteristics of the prophets which should
inform spiritual direction. Prophets, for example, were people of vision who
had intense insight and sought accurate knowledge by keeping their ears
to the ground. They were people of prayer who knew how to wait on God;
they were people who could find God in the pursuit of holiness and justice.
Discernment and discrimination allowed them to interpret everyday life.
Leech (1977) maintains spiritual direction is an activity located within
the sphere of the Kingdom of God. As a result, the ethics associated with
the Kingdom guide spiritual direction; they are the standard by which the
Christian lives and discerns the signs of the times. This new age of the
Kingdom is one of righteousness and joy in the Spirit. It is, according to
Leech (1977), the spiritually-born who are capable of discerning God's activity and who recognize that God is seeking to transform all creation.
"Spirituality which is centered in this hope cannot then be escapist or individualistic, for it is a hope for human society and for the common life"
(Leech, 1977, p. 187).

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233

Vision and clear insight are according to Leech (1977) the fruits of
engaging in contemplative practices. The person who is truly spiritual is,
according to Leech (1977), capable of seeing beneath the surface of events;
conventional and accepted values of the day are submitted to the judgment
of the Kingdom.
Consequently the contemplativeis more of a threat to injusticethan the social activist who merelysees the piecemealneed. For contemplativevisionis revolutionary
vision, and it is the achievementof this vision which is the fruit of true spiritual
direction (Leech, 1977, p. 191).
Leech's (1977) approach to spiritual direction concerns itself with
both individual and social ethics. He insists spiritual direction is not adequate unless it prepares people for the struggle of love against "spiritual
wickedness in the structures of the fallen world and in the depths of the
heart" (Leech, 1977, p. 191). This love is not sentimental or na~ve; "it is
a love which undermines oppression and burns away illusion and falsehood,
a love which has been through fire, a love which has been purified through
struggle" (Leech, 1977, p. 191).
The individualistic approach to ethical and social issues in the pastoral
care approach of Hiltner (1949) is augmented substantially by Clinebell's
(1984) interest in social justice and group pastoral care. Neither, however,
works from a theological position which integrates ethical/social issues into
a unifying framework. Leech (1977; 1989) provides a theology of Kingdom
which integrates personal and social ethics in a manner that might anchor
Clinebell's (1984) concerns in a more consciously theological manner.
While Hiltner's (1949) interviewing methods are closely related to
those of Barry and Connolly (1982) through their mutual dependence on
the research of Rogers (1942; 1961), the theological claims of Barry and
Connolly (1982) give their individualistic approach an entree into the realm
of social ethics. This approach offers a means to bridge the theological and
practical in a manner that might contribute to the ministry of pastoral counseling.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The focus here has been on three themes which highlight the way in
which spiritual direction uses its theological grounding to promote growth
and wholeness. This comparative exercise has raised questions and provided
suggestions which may enrich or transform pastoral counseling theories and
practices.
Questions worthy of sustained future reflection include: How does
the modern world view impact on pastoral care? Would a dialogue with

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contemporary theologies offer a new grounding for pastoral counseling?

Would such a dialogue suggest new practices? What role might intercessory
prayer play in pastoral counseling? How might clients use their theological
beliefs to promote healing and growth?
As pastoral counselors search for their spiritual moorings in this age
of competing spiritualities and therapies, the dialogue with spiritual direction offers promising possibilities. Without diminishing the gains that pastoral care has made by taking psychological perspectives seriously, it may
benefit from a reexamination of its history, theological assumptions, and
ecclesiological context.

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