Coping and Treatment Strategies in Crisis Counseling

Pastoral Studies: Review

Switzer provided inside into pastoral care in his article “Crisis Intervention and Problem Solving” by showing how a minister can be called to be a counselor to a member of the parish or community. Most of this care will be crisis-oriented. However, to provide crisis-oriented pastoral care, the minister must be able to provide a theological diagnosis, as the root of all crises is ultimately a spiritual ill that one may need help overcoming, identifying, understanding, or coping with. Depression, suicidal thoughts, self-abuse, all of these stem from spiritual maladies, but a minister who understands pastoral care and counseling will be able to help, according to Switzer.

The article first defines a crisis as something happening within the person and not within an event or external incident that has happened. Moreover, Switzer aptly notes that every crisis is going to be unique, because every person is unique, and therefore the minister should look for what is unique about the crisis and not try to understand it through the application of a cookie-cutter formula or a one-size-fits-all lens. The article then moves on to how a minister can help to provide pastoral care in a unique crisis situation.

The steps involved are to provide contact, focus and coping strategies. Contact centers on establishing the relationship, identifying the problem, facilitating catharsis, and encouraging hope. Focus centers on exploring the current situation and identifying risks or threats to be aware of. Coping centers on identifying resources that can help in problem-solving, helping the person make good decisions, giving encouragement to the person to have positive relationships with other people, and summarizing or reviewing what has been learned with the person. These are all really good steps that the minister can take, but the beauty of this approach is that it keeps the process centered on the individual and is in line with person-centered care. The minister has to be present and engaged so as to be able to provide support, guidance, and help to the person as the issues are identified—but each crisis has to do with the person, which means the minister is providing care in a one-on-one manner.

The great thing about the article is that it provides an example of how a minister can provide pastoral care: it begins with a real-world example of a person coming in for help, a person who has been unable to go into work. The minister begins by establishing the relationship and identifying the nature of the problem through a series of questions and answers. Together they try to pinpoint the problem or problems that are affecting the person. It is not always a case of the first presenting problem being the real or underlying issue. Sometimes the minister has to probe more deeply, and this is shown in the example given by Switzer.