Clinical Pastoral Supervision and the Theology of Charles Gerkin

Chapter 2. Three Approaches in the Praxis of Clinical Pastoral Supervision

Chapter 2 Three Approaches in the Praxis of Clinical Pastoral Supervision Sally has been working in congregational ministry for eight years. She is an ordained minister in her denomination. In her seminary training, Sally did one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education and found it helpful. She has sought out a clinical pastoral supervisor to help her with some pastoral situations. In her congregational ministry, Sally inherited a program to train lay persons for visitation with the sick. These lay visitors are over sixty years old and want help from Sally about what to say and do in their visits. Sally feels adept at helping these lay visitors with theological issues. She feels inadequate with supervision theory and helping the lay visitors with intervention skills. Her praxis of ministry has taught her much and yet she is not able to develop it into a coherent theological theory. Sally wonders how she can develop the skills and theory of supervision and integrate these into her praxis of supervi­ sion of lay visitors. She also wonders about her theological method. Sally's questions about how to supervise in a theological context relate to the focus of this chapter. It analyzes the texts written on the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision and seeks their theological method. This analysis produces three approaches: the social sciences approach, the hermeneutical approach and the special interest approach. Approach is used rather than model or paradigm because these three do not have a well­defined theoreti­ cal base. The concept of approach connotes a clinical orientation with some conceptual understanding. In this research, 298 texts are examined. While this number is compre­ hensive, it is not exhaustive. The texts are analyzed using the following crite­ ria: a) the standpoint of the text as it is expressed in the dominant language and concepts, including assumptions and values; b) the method of theology used in the text; c) the outcome of the text regarding what it advocates for an adequate praxis of clinical pastoral supervision and what it says about the distinctiveness of the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision. Investigating and analyzing these texts is similar to a building inspector investigating a building once it is completed. A building inspector prefers to be present as the build­ ing is being constructed. If a building is complete, however, the inspector has a more difficult task. In such a case, the building investigator must look at the site selection, the foundation, the design of the building, the materials used in the construction, the plumbing and electrical work embedded in the walls and compare it to other buildings in the area. These texts were not written to specifically answer the three questions raised in the introduction. Yet, these texts do have something to say about these questions. This chap­ ter is interested in how the text is constructed in terms of its method in the­ ology. Unfortunately, only the finished product is available. Much time, therefore, is spent in examining footnotes, the authors' other works, sources 23 24 Clinical Pastoral Supervision for the texts and the assumptions, values and standpoint of the text, and comparing it to other texts on the same topic. The social sciences approach appears most often in the texts analyzed. It appears in 144 texts, or 48 percent. The hermeneutical approach is pres­ ent in ninety­eight texts, or 34 percent of the total. Last is the special interest approach which appears in forty­five texts, or 12 percent. There are eleven texts, or 6 percent, that could not be classified with these categories. Distri­ bution of texts in the three approaches is contained in Table 1: Table 1 Three Approaches in the Texts of Clinical Pastoral Supervision N=298 Approach Social Sciences Hermeneutical Special Interest Uncertain Number of Texts 144 98 45 11 Percentage 48.00 34.00 12.00 6.00 This review also shows that in the last fifteen years, texts with the hermeneutical and special interest approaches have increased greatly. These three approaches to theological method are presented with a critical analysis of six texts or more. The analysis is based on the criteria outlined at the be­ ginning of the chapter. Social Sciences Approach The greatest number of texts on the praxis of clinical pastoral supervision use the social sciences approach. This approach utilizes interpretations based in psychiatry, psychology, social work, education and marriage and family therapy. The concepts and language of the social sciences approach interpret from a different standpoint than those from the...