Pastoral Counseling Reading Seminar

This specialized seminar for advanced academic education in pastoral counseling meets Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm in the main office on Bremo Road.

The training year begins on a Wednesday in early September with a retreat (8:30am through 2:30pm), and is organized in three month seasonal quarters.

Interdisciplinary case conference involves in-depth presentations of a counseling case:
  • detailed write-up and organization of the case,
  • demonstration of counseling skills,
  • theoretical grasp of the psychodynamics of the client and counselor/client interaction, and an
  • understanding of one's pastoral identity.

The Class

Case conference is facilitated by a pastoral counselor with an interdisciplinary consultant (psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or licensed professional counselor).

Small group continuous case conference involves students presenting pastoral counseling audiotapes (or for beginning students, pastoral care verbatims) in order to learn from the specific interactions of providing pastoral counseling. Each in turn presents clinical material from sessions with the same client for several consecutive supervisory conferences. The small group is supervised by an AAPC Diplomate or a Fellow under supervision of a Diplomate.

Potential Applicants

Seminary students who have completed "Introduction to Pastoral Care" are eligible for admission after completing a brief application form.

For students in masters and doctoral level programs of the Richmond Theological Consortium, academic credit is generally available through the institution in which the student is enrolled.

Tuition

Arrangements for tuition payment vary among institutions and should be clarified in writing at the time of registration for a VIPCare class.

Tuition is $550 for reading seminar including case conference.  Auditing is an option for the reading seminar from 10 to noon. Tuition for auditing is $300 per quarter.

Courses may lead to Certified Membership in American Association of Pastoral Counselors, or (with a graduate degree in counseling) to Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor.

Scholarships

Partial scholarships may be available through the William B. Oglesby, Jr. Scholarship Endowment, the Homeward Grant, the Carpenter Foundation Grant, or the Goodykuntz Fund.

Courses

Each class is offered for a 3 month academic quarter. Whether a course is offered depends on sufficient student enrollment. If not offered, a directed study may be available.

Course Descriptions

Winter 2005-2006: DM 701 Practice and Theories of Pastoral Counseling
  • Presents pastoral counseling as a form of contemporary ministry. Familiarizes students with various counseling theories. Emphasizes the application of psychodynamic, solution-focused and family systems theory to work with counselees. Presents case management and record-keeping. Includes small group continuous case conference.
Spring 2006: DM704 Social and Cultural Foundations of Pastoral Counseling
  • Explores impact of race/ethnicity, class and gender on the counseling process. Uses a didactic experiential approach. Presents issues of multicultural counseling. Surveys major issues of class and gender in pastoral counseling, including macroanalysis of economic class, and readings on the psychology and therapy of women and of men. Includes interdisciplinary case conference.
Summer 2006: DM703 Pastoral Counselor Identity Formation 
  • Gives an overview of the history and concepts which influence contemporary pastoral counseling. Considers what is uniquely pastoral in pastoral counseling. Presents the environment of practice today. Orients students to relevant professional organizations' certifications, licenses, and Code of Ethics. Students write a statement of professional direction, including plans for credentials and organizational affiliations. Includes small group continuous case conference.

Fall 2006: DM706 Marital Therapy (Couples Counseling)
  • Offers an introduction to the theory and practice of couples counseling. Gives special attention to the factors contributing to marital disorder and to marital health. Gives an overview of counseling resources. Includes interdisciplinary case conference.

Winter 2006-07: DM705 Appraisal, Evaluation, and Diagnosis: Psychological and Pastoral
  • Gives an overview of the field of psychological testing: basic concepts, ethics, cross-cultural issues, aptitude and achievement testing, interest and personality inventories, and projective techniques as applicable to the task of diagnosis. Focuses on understanding the tests and oneself in light of one's own test results. Requires a final paper that demonstrates ability to integrate psychological tests with one's own developmental history. Includes small group continuous case conference.

Spring 2007: DM707 Theories of Human Behavior & Personality Development 
  • Presents the major tasks of development for each life stage of human growth, resourcing Erikson, Kolberg, Gilligan, and others. Students will state their understandings of how spiritual and psychological development undergirds their pastoral counseling ministries. Explores personality development through the life stages with special attention to the church's role. Presents implications of arrested development for pastoral counseling. Includes interdisciplinary case conference.
Summer 2007: PT653 Substance Abuse Ministry
  • Surveys current knowledge and understanding about substance abuse, chemical dependence and treatment. Emphasizes developing a theological and faith perspective, and a personal view about addiction. Also includes a focus on the role of the pastoral care-giver to those who are becoming, or may be, addicted. Includes case conference.