Clinical Pastoral Supervision and the Theology of Charles Gerkin

Chapter 6. An Adequate Transformed Praxis

Chapter 6 An Adequate Transformed Praxis Mary is an American woman in her thirties who has experienced many losses. She has a BA in psychology and is currently in a MTS program in pastoral counselling with a focus on family therapy. She is uncertain about seeking ordination in her Protestant denomination. On the Myers­Briggs test,1 Mary scores as an INTJ. She is an introvert who prefers thinking as her dominant mode. On Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI),2 Mary learns through assimilation, i.e., through abstract conceptualization and re­ flective observation. On the Helping Styles Inventory (HSI),3 Mary tends to the consultant and celebrant styles when working with patients. In her pro­ fessional life before theology, Mary worked as a research assistant in a medi­ cal facility. Mary came to the educational unit wondering if chaplaincy was an avenue that she might pursue as a career. In the initial interview, she dis­ played excellent communication skills, manifested a desire to learn and ar­ ticulated her professional goals, but found it difficult to identify personal goals for herself. Within the first week of the unit, a learning contract be­ tween the supervisor, Mary, and the peer group was negotiated and formu­ lated. Mary's goals for the unit were to: 1. Practise the skills of joining with patients that included summarizing, the use of positive connotation, tentative language. 2. Utilize the experience of ministering with patients with chronic illness in developing a theology of suffering. 3. Examine issues from Mary's family­of­origin, especially concerning closeness/distance that influence herministry. 4. Describe patients in systems concepts and language from the Struc­ tural school, using her theory in family therapy. Mary was placed as a chaplain on a unit for patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABIP); she also worked clinicallywith the families of patients. Clinical pastoral supervision is concerned with transforming Mary's praxis. What is an adequate transformed praxis? What are the components of an adequate praxis? This chapter describes five elements of an adequate transformed praxis. These are demonstrated with Mary in supervision. The chapter also outlines the five concrete areas that clinical pastoral supervision addresses in its praxis. In terms of the adequate praxis, the first element is the utilization of interpretations from the Christian fact.4 This includes a the­ ory of personality that is grounded in a theological anthropology described as the life of the soul. The life of the soul is a narrative of creation, sin and redemption. The soul within a systemic perspective responds to grace through the gifts of faith, hope and care.5 88 An Adequate Transformed Praxis 89 Theologically, Mary is wondering about God's call to her and where the call is leading her. This is the issue of vocation as Mary is searching for her place in ministry. Mary struggled with notions of sin in praxis. She was able to identify systemic and social sin. Personal sin was harder for her to identify. For her, it smacked of moralism. Grace and redemption were easily used by Mary, and she could quickly identify such moments in her praxis. Mary had a well­developed sense of meaning. She worked hard to use the language of meaning and make sense of her experience. The language of force (ego) was less developed. While Mary struggled with her specific vo­ cation, she had a sense of her eschatological identity in God. This identity was informed by feminist theology. Second, this transformed praxis also uses interpretations from the so­ cial sciences. In the case of clinical pastoral supervision, interpretations from adult education theory are especially helpful.6 Clinical pastoral supervision is education for ministry directed at adult learners. Also important to this ade­ quate transformed praxis is a systemic understanding of personality with a distinction between supervision and therapy.7 As adult education, clinical pastoral supervision facilitates Mary's learning goals, the needs of patients and the institution and the goals of the supervisor, peer group and the learn­ ing context. Dialogue and negotiation are key elements in this approach to learning.8 This adult educational model utilizes the supervisee's learning style. Mary, according to the Learning Styles Inventory (LSI), is an assimi­ lator who learns primarily through cognitive reasoning and observation. Adult education assumes that the learner is self­directed, responsible, learns from experience and is able to evaluate learning. Mary demonstrated these characteristics. She was able to articulate a goal for a pastoral visit and evaluate the visit...