Clinical Pastoral Supervision and the Theology of Charles Gerkin

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Chapter 7 Conclusion As the educational unit came to an end, the students were anxious about their evaluations. Bill, Sally, Mike, Laura and Mary had various experiences in the clinical pastoral placement. In fact, their learnings seemed so rich that they found it hard to capture all the learnings on paper. The students won­ dered how their supervisors­Alfred and Elizabeth­would evaluate their praxis. These students also wanted an opportunity to evaluate the praxis of their clinical pastoral supervisors. What criteria could they use in evaluating supervision? In the Introduction, I asked three questions about the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision. First, what is distinctive about the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision? Second, what is an appropriate way of doing theology in the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision? Third, what is an adequate transformed praxis of clinical pastoral supervision? In answering these ques­ tions, I have analyzed 298 texts and examined a number of cases. I have taken a hermeneutical detour into the work of Charles V. Gerkin in examin­ ing his incarnational theology and its contribution to the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision. Chapter 6 presented the answer to the third question, which is an adequate transformed praxis. This concluding chapter summa­ rizes and synthesizes the answers to the first two questions. This chapter also notes the limitations of this research and possible directions for future re­ search. Distinctiveness of the Praxis of Clinical Pastoral Supervision The distinctiveness of the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision rests with a number of elements. First, clinical pastoral supervision utilizes concepts and language from the Christian fact to describe its praxis. Language is a crucial item because it both shapes and reflects experience. In this case, clinical pastoral supervision is located in language and interpretations from the Christian fact. This element has been influenced by the hermeneutical ap­ proach of Gerkin's theology. Without this standpoint, the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision loses an essential aspect of its distinctiveness. Second, clinical pastoral supervision is grounded in the specific. That means focusing on cases, verbatims and vignettes within the practice of min­ istry. Essential to the clinical method is a focus on the concrete and what happens in the supervisory relationship, the supervisee and client/patient re­ lationship, the supervisee and institutional relationship. This clinical method was developed in medicine and the social sciences. In clinical pastoral su­ pervision, the influence of the clinical method is demonstrated in the texts from the social sciences approach. A focus on the clinical method is also a 97 98 Clinical Pastoral Supervision major concern of Gerkin's methodology. This method opposes reductionism. Clinical pastoral supervision utilizes the clinical method from the standpoint of practical theology. The practices of clinical pastoral supervision are faith in action. A third distinctive aspect of clinical pastoral supervision is its ability to incorporate interpretations from other disciplines. Clinical pastoral supervi­ sion is not unilingual but multilingual, as it incorporates the insights and in­ terpretations from medicine and the social sciences. Adult educational the­ ory, object relations theory and systems theory are parts of this incorpora­ tion. The social sciences approach and Gerkin's theology bring out this as­ pect of clinical pastoral supervision. A fourth distinctive element in the praxis of clinical pastoral supervi­ sion is its emphasis on narrative and hermeneutics. The narrative of the su­ pervisee, the supervisor, the client/patient and the various cultural, family and institutional narratives are central items. These narratives are also em­ bedded in a hermeneutical framework. Clinical pastoral supervision needs to focus on how these narratives are interpreted by the various people involved in the praxis of ministry. How are the people served and not served by the various interpretations? Gerkin's theology and the special interest approach emphasize this narrative hermeneuticalelement. A fifth distinctive element in clinical pastoral supervision is its connec­ tion to the wider ministry of the church. Clinical pastoral supervision is edu­ cation for ministry. This education for ministry can also be described as for­ mation. As formation for ministry, the education requires connection to an ecclesial community. Supervision in a theological clinical context is under­ stood as handing on the traditions of the ecclesial community and the tradi­ tions of Clinical Pastoral Education, as well as offering skills and interpreta­ tions from the social sciences. This connection to the church also includes the rich heritage of sacramental ministry, preaching, education, administra­ tion and spiritual direction. In some ways, the supervisor acts in an episcopal role in overseeing the...