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Pastoral care and counselling

What is pastoral care and counselling?

Pastoral care and counseling is the Christian care of people in grief, guilt, doubt, suffering, abuse, illness and crisis, and the question of where that care ends and other help begins. Pastoral care is the whole church's care for people; pastoral counseling is a structured conversation led by a trained minister; pastoral therapy is specialized and long term.

  • 66Sources
  • 16Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 13Minutes

Study v1.1, 7 November 2026

Pastoral care and counselling

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Care for people in need is an ancient Christian practice that now draws on psychology and contests it. Church guidance and professional codes share two rules: know your limits, and route anyone in danger to help.

What the study found

Christian care of souls is ancient and varied; modern pastoral care draws on psychology and contests it. Church guidance and professional codes share two rules: know your limits; route anyone in danger to help.

Where traditions divide

Christians divide on how Scripture relates to psychology, spiritual and medical accounts of distress, deliverance, what healing to expect, divorce and remarriage, and counsel on sexuality.

How the traditions compare

  • Pastoral counseling integrated with psychology

    Stands in the line of Anton Boisen, Seward Hiltner and Clinebell and integrates theology with psychology.

    Clinebell's Basic Types of Pastoral Counseling (1966) was revised in 1984 toward "a more holistic and explicitly liberation-growth paradigm", and its third edition (2011) still teaches "holistic, growth-oriented pastoral care and counseling in the parish".

    Sources1–4

  • Levels of explanation

    Treats psychology and theology as separate disciplines giving complementary perspectives.

    Eric Johnson's Psychology and Christianity: Five Views gives David Myers as its holder.

    Sources5–6

  • Integration

    Holds that Scripture governs core belief and that psychological findings are integrated with it; Stanton Jones is its holder in the Five Views volume.

    Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola joins research with "biblical perspectives on human flourishing" in APA-accredited doctoral programs.

    Sources5–7

  • Christian psychology

    In the view of Robert Roberts and Paul Watson, builds an explicitly Christian psychology from the church's own tradition rather than integrating a secular one.

    Sources5–6

  • Transformational psychology

    Held by John Coe and Todd Hall, one of the five positions on psychology and faith that Johnson's Five Views volume sets out within evangelicalism.

    Sources5

  • Biblical counseling

    Holds, in the words of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), that "the Bible sufficiently informs the structure and content of counseling relationships" and that the church is "the primary context for soul care".

    Jay Adams became its central figure with Competent to Counsel in 1970 and coined "nouthetic" from Paul's word nouthesia. Adams's original nouthetic approach, today's Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), which recognizes "the legitimate place of broader resources within the body of Christ", and ACBC are distinct positions. David Powlison's position is that Christian faith "is a psychology".

    Sources68–11

  • Intercultural and liberative care

    Emmanuel Lartey's intercultural approach starts from the claim that care must respect the diversity in which the world is made and that care often comes from unexpected sources, not only from religious officials.

    Liberative care asks what oppresses the person, and African American pastoral theologians argue that the shepherding model centers the pastor, is individualistic and psychologically biased, and leaves oppressive structures unchallenged.

    Sources212

  • African pastoral care

    Masamba ma Mpolo of Congo grounded African pastoral counseling in the principle "I am, because we are" and argued in 1988 for "spirituality and counselling for liberation", in which illness is tied to broken relationships.

    Daniël Louw reads ubuntu as "I am because we are" and calls for intercultural care built on hospitality and interpathy. Magezi records three emerging African responses: prophetic rituals, healing and deliverance, and communal support through family and group programs.

    Sources13–15

  • Roman Catholic Church

    Permits a major exorcism only by a bishop or a priest with "special and express permission", after thorough medical and psychological or psychiatric testing, and only with "moral certitude" that possession is genuine.

    The Catechism holds that a ratified and consummated marriage "cannot be dissolved by any human power", and that "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives".

    Sources16–18

  • Church of England

    Its House of Bishops' guidelines of 1975 (revised 2012) require authorized ministers working in consultation with doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists, and say that deliverance ministry "should never be undertaken by one person ministering alone".

    Its current guidance forbids deliverance aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, and its guidance on domestic abuse forbids mediation or relationship counseling where abuse is suspected.

    Sources19–21

  • Orthodox Church

    Centers care on the spiritual father and the elder, whom Kallistos Ware describes as companion and guide.

    A 2026 article from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia distinguishes the elder's charismatic guidance from the priest's absolution and states the limits: obedience never extends to sin, and guidance that breeds "fear, secrecy, or dependence" is not true fatherhood. Orthodox teaching calls confession "an ecclesial ministry, not a private charisma detached from the bishop", in which the confessor acts as a physician.

    Sources22–23

  • Assemblies of God

    Holds that "Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the Atonement", that divine healing "neither opposes nor competes with medical doctors", and that "some are healed instantly, some gradually, and others are not healed".

    Sources24

  • Lausanne Theology Working Group (Africa)

    Affirms expectant faith in God's power but denies that it is "automatic" and that illness, poverty or early death always shows a curse or a lack of faith.

    Sources25

  • Westminster Confession

    Allows divorce only for "adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the church, or civil magistrate".

    Sources26

  • Evangelical Alliance

    Supports protection from coercive and abusive practices but argues that the draft Conversion Practices Bill of June 2026 could put at legal risk adults who freely seek prayer or pastoral support.

    Sources27

  • Professional bodies on conversion therapy

    The UK Memorandum of Understanding, signed by 29 bodies, holds that conversion therapy "is unethical, potentially harmful and is not supported by evidence".

    The American Psychological Association opposes sexual orientation change efforts, while noting that approaches which reduce distress from conflict between orientation and religion without harm "show promise".

    Sources28–29

How the field developed

  1. Reformation
    July 1530

    Luther writes to his friend Jerome Weller, who is struggling with despair: "By all means flee solitude". His letters of spiritual counsel show him as a pastor in sickness, death and despair.30

  2. Reformation
    1538

    Martin Bucer's Concerning the True Care of Souls sets out five tasks: to lead the estranged to Christ, to restore those who have drifted, to help the fallen to amend, to strengthen the weak, and to protect and encourage the steady. Its ideas were applied in the Strasbourg congregation Calvin pastored from 1538 to 1541.31

  3. Reformation
    1606

    William Perkins's Whole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience is printed at Cambridge from his lectures, an example of the Puritan casuistry that answered cases of conscience.32

  4. Modern
    1656

    Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, first titled Gildas Salvianus, expounds Acts 20:28 and begins with "The Oversight of Ourselves". Baxter met every family in his parish by appointment, "about fifteen or sixteen families in a week".33

  5. Modern
    1925

    Anton Boisen, himself hospitalized for mental illness from 1920, runs the first clinical training unit in the summer with four students, reading "the living human documents" alongside books.1

  6. Modern
    1958

    Seward Hiltner's Preface to Pastoral Theology gives the field its shepherding perspective and defines pastoral theology as "a formal branch of theology resulting from the study of Christian shepherding".2

  7. Modern
    1964

    Clebsch and Jaekle define pastoral care as "helping acts, done by representative Christian persons, directed toward the healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling of troubled persons", still the standard reference point.34

  8. Modern
    17 November 1967

    Four bodies merge to form the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE): the Council for Clinical Training, the Institute of Pastoral Care, the Southern Baptist association and the Lutheran Council's department.3536

  9. Modern
    1968 and 1970

    Jay Adams and John Bettler found the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation in 1968, and Adams's Competent to Counsel (1970), its title taken from Romans 15:14, makes him the central figure of the modern biblical counseling movement.119

  10. Modern
    1983

    E. Brooks Holifield's A History of Pastoral Care in America traces American pastoral care from saving souls to supporting self-realization.37

  11. Modern
    1984

    Thomas Oden's Care of Souls in the Classic Tradition critiques contemporary pastoral counseling while still valuing clinical psychotherapy. Oden wrote that pastoral care had been "steadily accommodated to a series of psychotherapies" and had fallen into "a state of amnesia" about its classical past.3834

  12. Modern
    1988

    Masamba ma Mpolo of Congo argues for "spirituality and counselling for liberation": life is an integrated whole, illness is tied to broken relationships, and counseling should pursue critical awareness, not only comfort.13

  13. Modern
    1991

    In South Africa, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Work, the Association for Pastoral Psychology and the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education in Southern Africa combine to form the Southern African Association for Pastoral Work (SAAP).39

  14. Modern
    7 November 2004

    Six North American chaplaincy and pastoral counseling bodies affirm a Common Code of Ethics, which requires carers to "Understand the limits of their individual expertise and make referrals to other professionals when appropriate".40

  15. Modern
    2019

    The American Association of Pastoral Counselors, founded in the 1960s to set standards for pastoral counselors, joins ACPE as an integrated organization. In September South Africa's Minister of Health confirms that the 2008 regulations reserving "psychological counselling" and "any psychotherapeutic method" to the profession of psychology "remain in force".414243

  16. Modern
    2025 to 2026

    Illinois bars AI "therapeutic decision-making" in August 2025, and the American Psychological Association warns in November 2025 that "Relying solely on an app during a mental health emergency can be dangerous". California's SB 243, in force from 1 January 2026, requires companion chatbots to run a protocol for suicidal ideation that notifies users of crisis service providers.444546

How to study pastoral care and counselling

The questions it asks

  • What is pastoral care, and how does it differ from pastoral counseling and from psychotherapy?3915
  • How did the church care for souls before psychology, and what changed in the twentieth century?
  • How does Scripture relate to psychology?5
  • Is a person's distress to be read in spiritual or in medical terms, and where does deliverance fit?471619
  • What healing may a sick person expect?2425
  • What must a carer do when a person speaks of suicide, abuse or danger?
  • Where does a carer's competence end, and when must the carer refer?40

Its method

Start

  1. Read the person as well as the books: Boisen trained students to read "the living human documents"1.

  2. Give each hearer the words that suit them, because "one and the same exhortation does not suit all"48.

  3. Keep in view the aims Clebsch and Jaekle name: the healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling of troubled persons34.

  4. Where suicide may be in question, ask directly, do not promise secrecy, be there, help keep the person safe, help the person connect to crisis lines and professionals, and follow up49.

  5. In life-threatening danger, the person calls emergency services50.

  6. Where abuse is suspected, put safety first: no mediation or relationship counseling, and no pressure to leave, disclose, reconcile or forgive, because that can increase risk21.

  7. Speak of suicide by safe-messaging guidance: no method or location, no presenting suicide as a solution, never "committed suicide", and always a route to help51.

  8. Keep confidences within their limits: disclosure may be "for the safety of any person" or "when required by law"40.

  9. Know the limits of one's own expertise and refer to other professionals when appropriate40.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • Gregory the Great's Pastoral Rule, whose third book fits its words to each kind of hearer5248.
  • Luther's letters of spiritual counsel, among them his letter of July 1530 to Jerome Weller30.
  • Martin Bucer's Concerning the True Care of Souls (1538)31.
  • William Perkins's Whole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience (1606)32.
  • Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor (1656)33.
  • Anton Boisen's The Exploration of the Inner World (1936)1.
  • Church guidance on deliverance and healing: the Catholic rite of exorcism, the Church of England's deliverance guidelines and the Assemblies of God position paper on divine healing161924.
  • The Common Code of Ethics for Chaplains, Pastoral Counselors, Pastoral Educators and Students (2004)40.
  • Clinical and safe-messaging guidance: the WHO suicide fact sheet and the recommendations of Reporting on Suicide5351.

Standard reference works

  • Clebsch and Jaekle's definition of pastoral care (1964), still the standard reference point34.
  • Seward Hiltner's Preface to Pastoral Theology (1958)2.
  • Clinebell's Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling, third edition (2011)3.
  • E. Brooks Holifield's A History of Pastoral Care in America (1983; reissued 2005)37.
  • Thomas Oden's Care of Souls in the Classic Tradition (1984)38.
  • Emmanuel Lartey's In Living Color, second edition (2003)12.
  • Robert Dykstra's Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings (2005), which gathers the field's images of the carer54.
  • Eric Johnson's Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, second edition5.
  • Voices from Africa on Pastoral Care (2013), from the seminars of the Society for Intercultural Pastoral Care and Counselling13.
  • The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, in continuous publication since 194755.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 1538Concerning the True Care of SoulsMartin BucerConcerning the True Care of Souls (1538)Martin BucerSources31
  • 1606Whole Treatise of the Cases of ConscienceWilliam PerkinsWhole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience (1606)William PerkinsSources32
  • 1656The Reformed PastorRichard BaxterThe Reformed Pastor (1656)Richard BaxterSources33
  • 1936The Exploration of the Inner WorldAnton BoisenThe Exploration of the Inner World (1936)Anton Boisen (1876 to 1965)Sources1
  • 1958Preface to Pastoral TheologySeward HiltnerPreface to Pastoral Theology (1958)Seward HiltnerSources2
  • 1966Basic Types of Pastoral CounselingHoward ClinebellBasic Types of Pastoral Counseling (1966)Howard ClinebellSources3–4
  • 1970Competent to CounselJay AdamsCompetent to Counsel (1970)Jay AdamsSources9
  • 1983A History of Pastoral Care in AmericaE. Brooks HolifieldA History of Pastoral Care in America (1983)E. Brooks HolifieldSources37
  • 1984Care of Souls in the Classic TraditionThomas OdenCare of Souls in the Classic Tradition (1984)Thomas OdenSources38
  • 2003In Living Color, second editionEmmanuel LarteyIn Living Color, second edition (2003)Emmanuel LarteySources12

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The study of which pastoral care and counseling are practices; Seward Hiltner defined it in 1958 as "a formal branch of theology resulting from the study of Christian shepherding"2.

The whole church's care for people; for Clebsch and Jaekle, helping acts by representative Christian persons directed toward troubled persons "whose troubles arise in the context of ultimate meanings and concerns"3934.

In Van Arkel's four forms, a fixed-time agreement, comparable to entry-level counseling, within a wider ministry; for Juanita Meyer, the role of a faith leader trained in theology1539.

Longer-term work on deep, chronic problems, which Meyer calls "a specialised form of care and cure"1539.

In Van Arkel's four forms, the whole community of believers supporting its members15.

The older name for pastoral care; Gregory the Great's Pastoral Rule says that "the government of souls is the art of arts"52.

A care of life that attends to relationships, place and space as well as the inner soul, which Daniël Louw argues should supplement the cura animarum5614.

Clinical training for pastoral carers, begun by Anton Boisen in 1925 with four students reading "the living human documents" alongside books; the movement grew into the four bodies that formed the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education in 1967135.

Conversation in which a person consults someone more spiritually experienced about how the Divine may be touching their life; Spiritual Directors International gives its directors the first rule to "do no harm"57.

A diagnosis added to DSM-5-TR for intense grief that persists at least twelve months after a loss (six months for children) and disables daily life; for most people grief eases with time and needs no treatment58.

Where it sits

Builds on

Pastoral care and counselling

Questions people ask

Pastoral care is the whole church's care for people; pastoral counseling is a structured conversation led by a trained minister; pastoral therapy or psychotherapy is specialized and long term3915. South African practical theology adds a fourth form, mutual care, in which the whole community of believers supports its members15.

No: asking about suicide does not increase suicides or suicidal thoughts, and the World Health Organization states that "suicides can be prevented"4953. The #BeThe1To steps of the 988 Lifeline are to ask directly, not to promise secrecy, to be there, to help keep the person safe, to help the person connect to crisis lines and professionals, and to follow up49.

The record is mixed, and research in particular communities should not be generalized to all churches. In a Baylor study of 293 Christians who sought church help for a diagnosed mental illness in themselves or a family member, more than 32 percent were told by their church that they did not really have a mental illness47. A 2014 Lifeway survey found that 49 percent of Protestant pastors rarely or never speak about mental illness, while 59 percent of people with mental illness want their church to talk about it openly59.

The research is early and mixed6061. The American Psychological Association says such tools should not replace a qualified provider and that "Relying solely on an app during a mental health emergency can be dangerous"45. A Stanford study found stigma in therapy chatbots, a RAND study found general chatbots inconsistent on suicide questions at intermediate risk, and Illinois has barred AI "therapeutic decision-making"626344.

Not always. The Common Code of Ethics of six North American chaplaincy and pastoral counseling bodies protects information except where disclosure is "required for necessary treatment", "granted by client permission", "for the safety of any person" or "when required by law"40. In South Africa, Smit v Van Niekerk (1976) held that "the law does not recognise the clergy privilege", and every adult must report domestic violence against a child, a person with a disability or an older person6465. In the United States, clergy reporting duties and privilege vary by state66.

Contribute to pastoral care and counselling

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  1. 1The Biography of Anton Theophilus Boisen, Leas (ACPE)https://spiritualhealthassociation.treepl.co/Mental%20Health%20page%20attachments/the-biography-of-anton-theophilus-boisen.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2African American Pastoral Theology, Hinds (St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology)https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/AfricanAmericanPastoralTheology (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling, third edition (Abingdon Press)https://abingdonpress.com/product/9780687663804 (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling, third edition, preview (Everand)https://www.everand.com/book/381707847/Basic-Types-of-Pastoral-Care-Counseling-Resources-for-the-Ministry-of-Healing-Growth-Third-Edition (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, ed. Johnson (IVP Academic)https://ivpress.com/psychology-christianity (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Review of Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, Stamps (The Gospel Coalition)https://thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/psychology-christianity (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Rosemead School of Psychology (Biola University)https://www.biola.edu/rosemead (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8About (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors)https://biblicalcounseling.com/about/ (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Jay Adams (Institute for Nouthetic Studies)https://nouthetic.org/about/jay-adams/ (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10About (CCEF)https://www.ccef.org/about/ (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Beliefs and history (CCEF)https://www.ccef.org/about/mission-beliefs-history/beliefs-and-history/ (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12In Living Color, Lartey, chapter 1 preview (Jessica Kingsley, Perlego)https://perlego.com/es/book/951778/in-living-color-an-intercultural-approach-to-pastoral-care-and-counseling-second-edition-pdf (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Voices from Africa on Pastoral Care, ed. Federschmidt, Temme and Weiss (SIPCC magazine 20, medbox)https://medbox.org/index.php/dl/5f1e88325c501e2dcd2cd173 (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14The hermeneutics of intercultural pastoral care, Louw (Scriptura)https://scriptura.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/597/594 (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Reflection on pastoral care in Africa, Magezi (In die Skriflig 50(1), North-West University repository)https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstreams/4c2b9d9f-1809-4451-96ca-b68c1dc0ffe2/download (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Exorcism (USCCB)https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/sacramentals-blessings/exorcism (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Catechism of the Catholic Church 2382-2386 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P87.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Catechism of the Catholic Church 2280-2283 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7Z.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19House of Bishops' Guidelines for Good Practice in the Deliverance Ministry 1975, revised 2012 (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/house-of-bishops-guidelines-for-good-practice-in-the-deliverance-ministry-1975-revised-2012.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Deliverance Ministry (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/mental-health-resources/deliverance-ministry (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Safeguarding gateway: Domestic abuse (Church of England)https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/safeguarding-gateway/supporting-victims-and-survivors/domestic-abuse (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22The Spiritual Guide in Orthodox Christianity, Kallistos Ware (churchmotherofgod.org)https://churchmotherofgod.org/articles/the-spiritual-guide-in-orthodox-christianity/ (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23Spiritual Fatherhood and the Healing of the Soul, Psaromatis (Orthodox Christian Network)https://myocn.net/spiritual-fatherhood-and-the-healing-of-the-soul/ (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Divine Healing, position paper (Assemblies of God)https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Divine-Healing (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25A Statement on the Prosperity Gospel (Lausanne Theology Working Group, Africa)https://lausanne.org/content/statement/a-statement-on-the-prosperity-gospel (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Westminster Confession of Faith 24.5-6 (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)https://www.opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27How should the church respond to the proposed conversion therapy ban, Lynas and Webster (Evangelical Alliance)https://www.eauk.org/news-and-views/how-should-the-church-respond-to-the-proposed-conversion-therapy-ban (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK (BACP)https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/mou/ (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29Resolution on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (American Psychological Association)https://www.apa.org/about/policy/resolution-sexual-orientation-change-efforts.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30Luther to Jerome Weller, July 1530, in Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. Tappert (The Gospel Coalition)https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/martin-luthers-personal-letter-close-friend-struggling-spiritual-despair/ (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Concerning the True Care of Souls, Martin Bucer, tr. Peter Beale (Banner of Truth)https://banneroftruth.org/us/?p=276 (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32The whole treatise of the cases of conscience, William Perkins, 1606 (Wellcome Collection)https://wellcomecollection.org/works/h5z6wa96 (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/baxter/pastor.all.html (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Modern Psychopathologies, chapter 1 excerpt, Yarhouse, McRay and Butman (IVP)https://ivpress.com/Media/Default/Downloads/Excerpts-and-Samples/A1596-excerpt.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35ACPE records 1930-2005, catalogue (Emory University, Pitts library)https://search.libraries.emory.edu/catalog/990006120760302486 (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, archival record (SNAC Cooperative)https://snaccooperative.org/view/69425205 (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37A History of Pastoral Care in America, Holifield (publisher page, pastforward.org)https://pastforward.org/products/a-history-of-pastoral-care-in-america-9781597523424 (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Care of Souls in the Classic Tradition, Oden (Religion Online)https://www.religion-online.org/?p=9063 (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Developing pastoral therapy as a professional qualification in South Africa, Meyer (HTS 76(2), AJOL)https://ajol.info/index.php/hts/article/view/212666/200573 (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Common Code of Ethics for Chaplains, Pastoral Counselors, Pastoral Educators and Students (Council on Collaboration, APC)https://www.apchaplains.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Common-Code-of-Ethics.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Significant Change in the North American Spiritual Care Education and Psychotherapy Movement, Ivy (JPC&C 73:3, SAGE Journals)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1542305019867863 (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Regulations defining the scope of the profession of psychology, GN R993 of 2008 (HPCSA)https://www.hpcsa.co.za/Uploads/professional_boards/psb/regulations/regulations_gnr993_2008.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Notice not to proceed with the proposed Regulations defining the scope of the profession of psychology, GN 1169 of 2019 (Government of South Africa)https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201909/42702gon1169.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Gov. Pritzker signs legislation prohibiting AI therapy (Illinois IDFPR)https://idfpr.illinois.gov/news/2025/gov-pritzker-signs-state-leg-prohibiting-ai-therapy-in-il.html (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Health advisory: Use of generative AI chatbots and wellness applications for mental health (American Psychological Association)https://www.apa.org/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/health-advisory-chatbots-wellness-apps (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46SB 243 signed (Senator Padilla, California State Senate)https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/first-nation-ai-chatbot-safeguards-signed-law (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Mental Illness Often Dismissed By Local Church (Baylor University)https://magazine.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2008/mental-illness-often-dismissed-local-church (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Pastoral Rule, Book III, Gregory the Great (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/36013.htm (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49#BeThe1To steps and evidence (988 Lifeline)http://bethe1to.com/bethe1to-steps-evidence/ (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Suicide prevention (NIMH)https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Recommendations (Reporting on Suicide)https://reportingonsuicide.org/recommendations/ (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Pastoral Rule, Book I, Gregory the Great, tr. Barmby (NPNF2 12, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/36011.htm (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Suicide fact sheet (World Health Organization)https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings, ed. Dykstra, sample PDF (Chalice)https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0091/9466/8129/files/Images_of_Pastoral_Care.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Reading the Journal (JPCP)https://jpcp.org/reading-the-journal/ (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Space and place in the healing of life, Louw (Verbum et Ecclesia)https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/23 (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57What is spiritual direction (Spiritual Directors International)https://www.sdicompanions.org/what-is-spiritual-direction/ (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Prolonged Grief Disorder (American Psychiatric Association)https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/prolonged-grief-disorder (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59Mental Illness Remains Taboo Topic for Many Pastors (Lifeway Research)https://research.lifeway.com/2014/09/22/mental-illness-remains-taboo-topic-for-many-pastors/ (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Woebot randomized controlled trial, Fitzpatrick, Darcy and Vierhile (JMIR Mental Health)https://mental.jmir.org/2017/2/e19/ (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61First therapy chatbot trial yields mental health benefits (Dartmouth)https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/03/first-therapy-chatbot-trial-yields-mental-health-benefits (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Exploring the Dangers of AI in Mental Health Care (Stanford HAI)https://hai.stanford.edu/news/exploring-the-dangers-of-ai-in-mental-health-care (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63AI chatbots inconsistent in answering questions about suicide (RAND)https://www.rand.org/news/press/2025/08/ai-chatbots-inconsistent-in-answering-questions-about.html (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Confidentiality of private confessions made to priests, Simelane, PhD thesis (North-West University repository)https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstreams/743c3f04-471e-4c8c-9ce7-93882c5e202e/download (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, section 2B (Acts Online)https://www.acts.co.za/domestic-violence-act-199/2b__obligation_to_report_domes (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66Clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway)https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/clergy-mandatory-reporters-child-abuse-and-neglect/ (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 7 November 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.