Alastair V. Campbell

Research in Pastoral Counselling: Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract The emergence of counselling as a specialism practised by a number of different professions has had a marked effect on the understanding of the pastoral role of the clergy. Attention has been focussed on the nature of pastoral counsel-ling and a wide range of courses in ‘clinical pastoral education’ have been developed in Britain and in the USA. Examination of research to date suggests that boundaries between pastoral counselling and other areas of counselling are ill-defined, that personality variables may be a potent influence on the clergymans understanding of his counselling role, and that training courses in counselling result in modified personality change. Suggestions about priorities in research in this area in Britain are offered, with a view to clarifying the relevance of pastoral counselling to the counselling services in the community as a whole.

Book Review: A Critique of Pastoral Care

It is to be hoped that this will not be so, for this report comes at one of the great watershed periods in Anglo-Irish relations. For the first time in 800 years, the colonial uneasiness between London and Dublin is giving way to a shared common concern based on the concept of partnership, with the newest fruit of that transformation being given recognition in the Anglo-Irish Agreement of November 1985. So far, the recorded achievements of the Agreement have been few, but in the historic redefinition of relationships there has been a momentous change in shared attitudes and mutual concerns. For those who wish to build on these historic developments, Sydney Bailey has provided an invaluable guide for reflection and. political action on themes which are central to contemporary Christian witness.