Relevance of Pastoral Counselling in African Culture
RELEVANCE OF PASTORAL COUNSELLING IN AFRICAN CULTURE
PART ONE
Introduction
Pastoral and spiritual work is rooted in a history and tradition that dates back to one of the oldest forms of care for individual in need. The different faith communities have always endeavored to take care of members and people in need. A study of the religious documents of major faith traditions also reveals a particular sensitivity to and focus on the poor, suffering and marginalized, as well as situations of social injustice (http:\www.pastoral therapy\preamble.htm)
Traditional healing practices have existed in many or most cultures since their beginnings as a culture. However, some of these practices were forced to become hidden during colonial times. Today, traditional healing practices are being practiced alongside contemporary Western forms of counseling and healthcare. These forms of traditional healing generally include a system of classifying and explaining illness and distress, as well as ideas about the best treatment for particular problems and how to overcome grief. Evidence suggests that traditional healers are visited by people both from their own cultural/ethnic communities and from other cultural groups. Members of certain communities may seek help from traditional healer instead of seeing a pastor, doctor or counselor for certain illnesses/problems.
There are many reasons that a member of an ethnic community might opt for traditional/cultural healing instead of a pastor, doctor or counselor. For instance, Western mental health practices like therapy might be seen as ineffective or not suitable for particular types of problems as per the community culture and values. A person might be intimidated or mistrustful of Western practitioners, or there may be no services offered in his/her community or in his vernacular language. Traditional/cultural healing is qualified and legitimate within communities and sometimes it’s the first or only resource to which many turn for
PART ONE
Introduction
Pastoral and spiritual work is rooted in a history and tradition that dates back to one of the oldest forms of care for individual in need. The different faith communities have always endeavored to take care of members and people in need. A study of the religious documents of major faith traditions also reveals a particular sensitivity to and focus on the poor, suffering and marginalized, as well as situations of social injustice (http:\www.pastoral therapy\preamble.htm)
Traditional healing practices have existed in many or most cultures since their beginnings as a culture. However, some of these practices were forced to become hidden during colonial times. Today, traditional healing practices are being practiced alongside contemporary Western forms of counseling and healthcare. These forms of traditional healing generally include a system of classifying and explaining illness and distress, as well as ideas about the best treatment for particular problems and how to overcome grief. Evidence suggests that traditional healers are visited by people both from their own cultural/ethnic communities and from other cultural groups. Members of certain communities may seek help from traditional healer instead of seeing a pastor, doctor or counselor for certain illnesses/problems.
There are many reasons that a member of an ethnic community might opt for traditional/cultural healing instead of a pastor, doctor or counselor. For instance, Western mental health practices like therapy might be seen as ineffective or not suitable for particular types of problems as per the community culture and values. A person might be intimidated or mistrustful of Western practitioners, or there may be no services offered in his/her community or in his vernacular language. Traditional/cultural healing is qualified and legitimate within communities and sometimes it’s the first or only resource to which many turn for
Bibliography: Augsburger, David. (1981) Pastoral Counseling across Cultures. Philadelphia: Westminster. Hsu, Francis L.K. (2007) Kinship and Culture. Chicago: Aldine. Federschmidt, Karl, Klause Temme, and Helmut Weiss. (2004) Workbook on Intercultural Pastoral Care and Counseling (English Translation). Noss, David S. and John B. Noss. (1993) A History of the World’s Religions. NY: Macmillan. Richardson, Ronald. Creating a Healthier Church. Society for Intercultural Pastoral Care and counseling (http://www.ekir.de/sipcc/ ) – http://www.ekir.de/sipcc/index_english.htm.