Augsburg Fortress Pastoral Care Collection (8 vols.)
Overview
Depression, substance abuse, physical abuse, autism, dementia, mourning, domestic violence—the list of psychological troubles and disorders is overwhelming. How does a pastor or counselor bring Christ’s healing to the drastic—and sometimes violent—fallenness of the human heart and mind? The Augsburg Fortress Pastoral Care Collection is designed for pastors and counselors seeking to grow themselves in the area of counseling ministry. Written specifically for pastors, these volumes will prepare your heart and mind for whatever troubles this deeply broken world brings under your care.
The Logos version of these volumes will bring your study even further. Bible verses appear on mouseover, displaying your preferred translation. These volumes are easily searchable, enabling you to quickly find that one paragraph you read earlier about “counseling grieving mothers” right as you need it most.
- Provides an array of counseling perspectives and backgrounds
- Gives pastoral and medical advice for helping those who are coping
- Explores the relationship between spiritual and mental health for effective counseling and therapy
- Title: Augsburg Fortress Pastoral Care Collection
- Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Press
- Volumes: 8
- Pages: 1,718
Partially included
Those who are afflicted, as well as those who are adversely affected by mental illness, often live lives of “quiet desperation” without recourse to appropriate assistance. Most caregivers confronted with these illnesses in the work of ministry have had no training or accurate information about mental illnesses, so frequently they do nothing, resulting in further harm and damage. Others may operate out of a theological system that does not adequately account for the nature, severity, or treatment of these illnesses.
In Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, psychiatrists and pastoral theologians come together in an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to ensure accuracy of information concerning the medical dimensions of mental illness, interpret these illnesses from a faith perspective, and make suggestions relative to effective ministry. Readers will learn how science and a faith tradition can not only co-exist but work in tandem to alleviate the pain of the afflicted and affected.
A fascinating and insightful book that draws together theology and professional mental health care together in ways that are creative and deeply illuminating. For pastors who need to understand how to deal effectively and compassionately with mental health issues this is an ideal book.
—John Swinton, chair of divinity and religious studies, University of Aberdeen
Defying social and religious stigma, many of the authors write of living with or loving someone with psychiatric illness, openly using their first-person experience as a resource. This excellent guide goes way beyond the norm—use it for classes in your congregation and in your school!
—Kathleen J. Greider, Edna and Lowell Craig Professor of practical theology, spiritual care, and counseling, Claremont School of Theology
Robert H. Albers is distinguished visiting professor of pastoral care at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.
William H. Meller, MD, practices psychiatry in Maple Grove and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Steven D. Thurber, PhD, LP, ABPP, practices clinical psychology in Willmar, Minnesota.
From personal interviews with chaplains at the temporary mortuary at Ground Zero and her own experiences as an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and chaplain, Storm Swain offers a new model of pastoral care grounded in theology and practice.
Reflecting on experiences of suffering faced in ministry, Swain considers what it means to love in these instances and what is involved in ministering in these contexts. Within this model, caregivers can move from a place of trauma to a place of transformation, which enables wholeness and healing for both caregivers and those for whom they care.
Swain models a fresh and intelligent theological hermeneutic that is applicable to situations of horrific disaster and loss of life, offering an applied reading of Christ as the Earth maker, Pain bearer, and Life giver, carefully grounded in psychological insight. As our world seems increasingly shattered by heart–rending events that can shake our faith, Swain’s book offers a deep richness of understanding and solid theological interpretation.
—Philip L. Culbertson, professor of counseling psychology, The University of Auckland
Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero is a stunning book! Part ethnography, part practical theology, Storm Swain has offered a moving and powerfully written reflection on the soul-wrenching work of chaplaincy in the midst of disaster and in the aftermath of great evil, and on the challenges to those who minister at the extreme edges of shock and grief. Drawing from the New Zealand Prayerbook, Swain has developed a trinitarian theology for pastoral care that not only undergirds responses to trauma, but offers a foundation for all pastoral care. A profound must-read for all who minister and all who offer care.
—Pamela Cooper-White, Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling, Columbia Theological Seminary
Storm Swain has a PhD in psychiatry and religion from Union Theological Seminary. She has served as the canon pastor at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York and now teaches pastoral care and theology and oversees Anglican studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Many Voices is a must-read textbook for pastoral psychotherapists and pastoral counselors in clinical training as well as a guide for those in professional practice. In it Cooper-White harvests the great potential of postmodern sensibilities to help, accompany, and support individuals, couples, and families in recognizing and healing especially painful psychic wounds or longstanding patterns of self-defeating relationships to self and others. In Part 1 she shows how multiplicity and relationality provide a dynamic way of viewing human potential and pain. In Part 2 she unfolds the practical applications of this paradigm for a strongly empathic therapeutic relationship and process.
Pamela Cooper-White is the Ben G and Nacye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary. She has PhDs from the Chicago Institute for Clinical Social Work and from Harvard University.
Good Grief identifies 10 stages of grief—shock, emotion, depression, physical distress, panic, guilt, anger, resistance, hope, and acceptance—but, recognizing that grief is complex and deeply personal, defines no “right” way to grieve. Good Grief offers valuable insights on the emotional and physical responses persons may experience during the natural process of grieving. The anniversary gift edition includes space for readers to record thoughts about their personal experience with grief.
Whether mourning the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, the loss of a job, or other difficult life changes, Good Grief is a proven steady companion in times of loss.
I just finished re-reading this gem. It is immediately clear why it has been and will continue to be a bestseller. It is written with the heart of a pastor, the insight of a psychologist, the humanity of a father and husband, and the hope of someone who has seen so many survive the process of grieving. It is simple but not simplistic. It is profound but not professorial. Most importantly, it describes the pathway through grieving that can only be found through honesty. In my opinion, this is a book that should quickly be in the hands of anyone grieving for any reason.
—Dr. Timothy Johnson, senior medical contributor, ABC News
Granger E. Westberg (1911–1999) was a widely respected pioneer in holistic healthcare and the interrelationship of religion and medicine, and founder of the parish nurse program. He held a joint professorship in medicine and religion at the University of Chicago and a professorship in preventive medicine at the University of Illinoise College of Medicine. He also served as a pastor and taught at several seminaries.
The experience of grief has been a source of intrigue and curiosity throughout history, and it continues to stimulate thought and theory in various fields of study. Unfortunately, these fields tend to function in isolation from each other. The result is a substantial disconnect between grief research, theory, and care—which has evolved greatly over the last two decades—and ministerial practice.
Using a metaphor of grief as a mosaic, Melissa Kelley presents contemporary grief theory and research, integrated with important theological, religious, and ministerial perspectives. Written in an accessible way for ministers, ministers-in-training, and all pastoral and spiritual caregivers, this book provides the most up-to-date theory and research in grief to help inform their care of others. Through exploration of critical topics including attachment to God, meaning making, and religious coping in grief, readers are brought right to the heart of a contemporary understanding of grief.
Melissa M. Kelley is assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. She is among an elite number of professionals certified by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) and the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC).
Perhaps no single issue is of greater importance for families in Western culture than the one of marital conflict. When couples fail to successfully negotiate the emotional difficulties of their relationship, it can lead either to years of unhappiness within the marriage or to the breakdown of the marriage and to divorce. Unhappy couples negatively affect their families and even their communities.
Couples in Conflict describes the nature of the emotional process leading to marital difficulties and how a minister or counselor can be a resource to help couples in conflict. The minister/counselor will be able to help them improve their lives personally, as well as their relationship and family life. By extension, couples will also develop skills that will improve their work life and their life in the community. The book provides practical and specific approaches to helping these couples and the issues that a minister must deal with in order to be useful to them.
Richardson does an intriguing pastoral integration of Murray Bowen’s family systems approach to counseling couples in conflict with superb clinical illustrations. His writing reflects clear scholarship and pastoral and psychological wisdom.
—Merle Jordan, emeritus professor of pastoral psychogy, Boston University School of Theology
Richardson is thorough in his description of Bowen family systems theory and its use in marital counseling. His use of case material makes the theory come alive, illustrating the practical application of the theory. He challenges pastors and others doing marital counseling to rethink their assumptions and role, providing an alternative model that is both authentic and effective. An excellent resource for anyone working with couples in conflict.
—Teresa E. Snorton, executive director, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.
Ronald W. Richardson is former clinical director of the North Shore Counseling Center, pastoral counselor, author of many books on family systems theory, and is currently a retired pastor living in West Vancouver, BC, Canada. Richardson attended UCLA where he received his BA in English Literature in 1962. He then went on to Princeton Theological Seminary and received his MD in Biblical Studies in 1966. Later, he finished his studies at Colgate/Rochester Divinity School receiving his Doctorate in 1976. Richardson is author of Family Ties That Bind: A Self-Help Guide to Change through Family of Origin Therapy, Birth Order and You: How Your Sex and Position in the Family Affect Your Personality and Relationships, and Creating a Healthier Church: Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and Congregational Life.
The Contemplative Counselor extends the discourse on pastoral counseling beyond theories and techniques to include a focal description of a life lived in active contemplation. The contemplative approach to life, care, and counseling demands a daily call to surrender the underlying attitude of meritocracy that heavily emphasizes good works to produce successful results in counseling. At a fundamental level, the contemplative counselor exhibits an unwavering reliance on the grace of God, which transforms all that is descriptive of the counseling encounter. Here, being precedes becoming, and the act of counseling emanates from the deep and quiet center characterized by silence and solitude of the heart. Such counseling targets holistically body, mind, and spirit as a way of facilitating an experience of well being and transformation.
In The Contemplative Counselor, Rolf Nolasco has brought together three worlds that are rarely conjoined in the counseling profession: the clinical practice of counseling, of course, a deep appreciation and integral use of the contemplative traditions in Christianity, and an edgy social commentary on our society. Moreover, he has a sure grasp of the relevant theoretical materials and yet is able to integrate these fields in terms of the intimacy of his own personal experience. Christian counselors and pastors can find in this book a seed-bed of ideas with which to nourish their own further contemplative integration and professional lives. This book is far better than a treatise on what constitutes ‘Christian counseling;’ it is an exhibition of it.
—Robert Cummings Neville, professor of philosophy, religion, and theology and dean emeritus of the School of Theology, Boston University
Rolf R. Nolasco Jr. is associate professor, Department of Counseling Psychology at Providence Theological Seminary, Calgary, Alberta.
According to the American Medical Association, one quarter of American women will be abused by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. Loving support can make a tremendous difference to survivors as they struggle with the difficult process of healing and regaining trust in themselves and others. Often, however, pastoral caregivers possess the same misconceptions about domestic violence as does the uninformed public.
Al Miles addresses the issues related to inadequate pastoral response to this pervasive problem. He explores the dynamics of abusive relationships and the role that clergy members can take to heal this painful situation.
The new edition of Domestic Violence builds upon the insights, policies, and programs of the original volume and includes new information on the pathology of domestic violence and the effect the economic downturn is having on victim-survivors and batterers. Miles also focuses on helping clergy and other pastoral ministers develop a more compassionate response to victim-survivors who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender.
This thoroughly updated edition includes questions for discussion, a list of additional resources, and contact information for state coalitions working to end domestic violence.
No woman should be forced to choose between the safety of a shelter and the support of her church when she experiences domestic terror. She needs and deserves both. This is our job as Christian leaders: to ensure that she is safe and supported and has the resources to protect herself and her children. We need to assure her that God and the Bible are with her in her hour of need. Jesus unequivocally calls us to be the Good Samaritan to the battered woman and her children. In this book, Rev. Al Miles shows us the way.
—Marie M. Fortune, founder and senior analyst, FaithTrust Institute, Seattle, Washington
Rev. Al Miles has served as hospital chaplain in a number of medical centers throughout the United States since 1981 and now coordinates the hospital ministry at The Queen’s Medical Center in Hawaii. He is the author of articles on domestic abuse and has counseled victims and perpetrators for 18 years. Miles also serves on the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women, which is co-chaired by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.
