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Strategic Pastoral Counseling: A Short-Term Structured Model

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1. What are the strengths or weaknesses of Benner's reasons for the five sessions?

Basically, Benner sets up a five session model for counseling any client that is looking for spiritual direction in their life no matter what the problem may be. These five one hour sessions include three basic stages of counseling. The three stages are the encounter stage, the engagement stage, and the disengagement stage. The encounter stage takes one session, the engagement stage takes the next three session, and the disengagement stage take up the final session. The strengths of this time-orientated method are many. First, pastor realistically cannot expend hours upon hours of their day just counseling laypeople. There are many other important duties to attend to, especially if a pastor is in a role as a solo pastor. Second, if extended amounts of time are needed then probably a professional licensed counselor may be needed. Third, the client may get to attached to the pastor becoming a "leach" of the pastor's time, energy, and resources. Fourth, God calls pastors to best utilize their time in a God honoring way. Meeting with one person, once a week, for a year is probably a poor use of that pastor time in that the client may have emotionally attached themselves to the pastor and vice-a-versa. Fifth, it helps to bring closure mentally and emotionally to both parties. This is vitally important to the health of both individuals for the long run. As far as weakness, there is really only one. This is that the counselor and the client may have not found adequate direction while seeking out the real problem at hand. But as Benner mentions in his book, the counseling process must also be directive and intentionally hardworking for all five sessions. A meandering client will not work well in this system of counseling. And, each client has his or her own preference in how they open up internal issues and work through them as well. But Benner states that all this must be mentioned from the beginning of the counseling process. Essentially the client must want to be there, and they must be eager to dig into their life and quickly arrive at some issues to begin the healing process.

2. What goals does Benner have for each session, and what reasons are seen for setting up these goals as they are? The first session is primarily the encounter process. In this session the idea to begin a working alliance. Give the purpose of the meeting form the start and state how long the process will take. Also, let the client clearly state their concerns of why they came. And as well explore the content of these concerns generally. This is a time for the counselor to empathetic and active listener and a time for the client to vent their primary issues in such a way that a general format can be laid for the future four sessions. The second session is a time to explore the clients feelings. Let the client really

express how they feel. The goal here is untangle the web. The web of emotions that lead to confusion in the life of the client are just the first indicator of where the problem lies. To untangle this web and come to the central emotional issues is the first steps toward engaging the patients soul. The third session can be unpredictable and harder to direct as Benner illustrates so well in the case study at the end of the book. However, typically this would be a great time to explore the thoughts behind the emotions. The belief systems that lie beneath the emotions are crucial to understanding why the client feels the way they do. These systems are often corrupt and untangling these can be difficult. Rationalizing these thoughts in relation to their feeling will hopefully help the client to put the pieces of the puzzle together in their mind in such a way that enables them to counter some the issues they are dealing with in their life. The fourth session is the time to explore behavior of the client. Here is where the counselor will attempt to decipher how the client reacts in the face of the mixed emotions and belief systems and begins to identify ways the client can best respond to their life issues at hand. Here the counselor will discover the clients true desire to change or adjust their life. The fifth session is the time of disengagement. This is basically the time of preparation for departure. This leads the client to the end of the path together and onto other resources that can help them on their journey.

3. How do I plan to implement what I have learned from Benner? I can utilize Benner's steps immediately. In counseling the clients I have been working with I can formalize in my mind a definite beginning and prospective goals along the way in realization that I only have so much to make an impact and impart Christ in a special way to the client. This also puts perimeters on the relationship I have with the client especially if that client is of the opposite sex which protects me from any compromising situation or getting too attached in any way. His five session model will help me with clients I have been working for months with, in that they are currently exhausting my time and energy which could better utilized in greater ways to benefit God's people in greater ways.

4. Does his case "Ellen" help to group his approach better?

Yes, at the end of the book is an extensive case study. It contains a hypothetical counseling situation about a woman named "Ellen." Ellen who is a working spouse has recently had an abortion. Upon visiting a prospective church for the first time she expresses an immediate interest in meeting with the pastor to discuss this matter. From the first to the fifth meeting Benner walks the reader through the five session counseling process. Setting the stage for each meeting, including some hypothetical dialogue, and reviewing the session hypothetically help to guide the future counselor in truly discovering the pattern of counseling described in the book. This section is excellent for demonstrating the basics laid out by Benner. Benner does illustrate how the process may not go exactly as planned at times and I am glad he includes this. On the third session, Ellen brings a different agenda than was discussed in the previous meeting. The counselor followed her desired direction especially since some pressing circumstances of her life seemed to be of pertinent issue here. Benner explains that even though the client strayed from the preplanned agenda that five session could still remain the limit. Benner case study was especially helpful as it laid out the last of the five sessions. Closing the fifth session can be difficult, since the desire of the client can be strong in wanting to proceed, but Benner really demonstrates in a caring fashion how to close the fifth session with class and care. This case study was truly profitable here, and an excellent way to close this book.

Strategic Pastoral Counseling describes and examines the SPC Model of David Benner. The SPC Model is described as a brief, structured counseling approach that is explicitly Christian and that appropriates the insights of contemporary counseling theory without sacrificing the resources of pastoral ministry. It is designed to meet the needs of pastors for a counseling model. The book examines the subject of pastoral counseling and then introduces the SPC Model. Finally there is a case study that depicts how the model works. All that the pastor is able to accomplish in the five-session case study seems exaggerated but the case study is effective at portraying SPC in action. I would recommend this book to pastors looking for a realistic counseling model for church ministry or desire input for improving their current model or creating a new model. Below I have briefly outlined the SPC model.

There are six characteristics of Strategic Pastoral Counseling (SPC). 1. It is brief and time-limited, working within a suggested maximum of five sessions. Both the pastor and the parishioner are forced to work continuously at maintaining focus and direction. To accomplish this objective the counselor must be active and directive. The counseling relationship must be a partnership and concentrate on one central and specific problem. Also the time limitation must be maintained. 2. The use of written materials is at the heart of SPC. The Bible as well as a variety of other devotional, inspirational, and practical books are assigned to the client. The literature should be integrated within the counseling session, not simply offered as a supplement to them. The books must be compatible with the pastor's counseling philosophy and integral to the work with the parishioner. It should serve as a support and extension of the counseling. 3. Short-term counseling should be wholistic. It must be responsive to the behavioral (action), cognitive (thought), and affective (feeling) elements of personal functioning. 4. Fourth, short-term counseling is generally more structured. Each of the sessions has a clear focus and each builds upon the previous ones in contributing to the accomplishment of the overall goals. The structure is responsive to the tasks of conducting an initial assessment, developing a general understanding of the problem and of the person's major needs, and selecting and delivering interventions and resources that will bring help. 5. SPC is spiritually focused. The Counselor listens to and enters into the experience of the parishioner as the parishioner relates his or her struggles and hear the story of the persons spiritual response to the experience. 6. SPC is Explicitly Christian. It begins with a focus on spiritual matters understood broadly, but its master goal is to facilitate the person's awareness of and response to the call of God to surrender and service. Ultimate wholeness cannot be found apart from a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ. SPC utilizes Christian theological language, images, and concepts and the religious resources of prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments. It also encourages reliance on the Holy Spirit. Recognizing that all healing and growth are ultimately of God, the pastor can relax in the work of pastoral counseling. The ultimate responsibility for the person lies with God.

Strategic Pastoral Counseling involves three stages. 1. The encounter stage, where boundaries are set, the central concerns and history are explored, a pastoral diagnosis is conducted, and a mutually agreeable focus is achieved. 2. The engagement stage, where the problem is explored wholistically and resources are identified for coping or change. 3. The disengagement stage, where progress is evaluated, concerns are accessed, referrals are arranged, and counseling is terminated.

Benner begins this book by discussing the context in which Pastoral Counseling is to take place. He maintains that the challenge for pastors has "been to find a model of counseling that is both distinctively pastoral and psychologically responsible" (p. 13). This is so because Pastoral Counseling (counseling which is genuinely pastoral) must be subsumed under the general rubric of the Pastoral Ministry. In other words, the pastor is not a clinical psychologist and he should not counsel like one. He is a pastor and he must counsel those in his congregation with the selfless, caring nurture which is to characterize those who are responsible to look after the spiritual well-being of Christ's flock.
In the chapter entitled The Uniqueness of Pastoral Counseling, Benner provides what I believe to be the most useful information in the entire book. Here, in addition to defining what he means by Pastoral Counseling, he explores the training, the role, the context, the goals, and the resources of Pastoral Counseling. As I will only be able to touch on one of these elements, let it be known that Benner remarks that "pastoral counseling is unique in its use of religious resources. Prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, anointing with oil or laying on of hands, and devotional or religious literature are all...available as potential resources for the counseling process. The failure ever to employ any of them suggests an erosion of the distinctively pastoral aspects of one's counseling" (p. 29). Lest there is any question of Benner's commitment to Christianity, see his comments under the heading, Explicitly Christian Counseling, on pages 57-61.
It is obvious that Benner wants to be able to provide real-life pastors with a Pastoral Counseling model that will work in real-life situations. In fact, this seems to be the main thrust behind the whole idea of a strategic short-term model. He realizes that most pastors are either too busy, or not properly equipped to undertake a massive, long-term counseling approach. Besides, he explains that a counseling session need not be excessively long in order to be effective. A key to undertaking the short-term approach is for the pastor to be up front with the parishioner about the nature of the counseling model. Benner suggests that an individual be seen over the course of five sessions..."The limit of five sessions should be communicated no later than the first session and preferably in the prior conversation when the time is set for the first session" (p. 45). This is absolutely crucial to the short-term model.
The body of the short-term model is composed of three stages, each with their respective tasks (see Table 4, p. 64). In the encounter stage (1 session), the boundaries of the sessions are set, the central concern and any relevant history is explored, a pastoral diagnosis is conducted, and both the Pastoral counselor and the parishioner agree upon a focus for the counseling. In the engagement stage (3 sessions), the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of the parishioner are examined. As well, resources for coping and/or change are sought after and explored. In the disengagement stage (1 session), the progress of the meetings is evaluated and any remaining concerns are assessed. At this time, a referral is given (if one is needed), and the counseling session is terminated. It must be kept in mind, as Benner points out, that "the person seeking help may be back again at some point in the future for further help. There is no assumption that Strategic Pastoral Counseling fixes people up for life" (p. 45).
Towards the end of the book (chapter 5), Benner provides a case study where we are given opportunity to see this short-term model in action. This is valuable in that it provides opportunity to see this model fleshed-out. The Appendix includes the results from a survey of Pastoral Counseling practices giving opportunity to see the pulse of those involved in counseling.

After reading quite a lot of material on pastoral care, I picked up this book. The content focuses mainly on how to do short-term pastoral care/counseling in a way that respects the time of the pastor, and in a way that encourages the client to either grow on their own, or realize that their needs require a professionally trained therapist.

The book deals with a "standard" model of one-on-one care that occurs in 5 meetings between the pastor and client. Additionally, it deals with pastoral counseling that occurs in only one session. The book provides case studies for each model, to help the reader understand how to do what the book describes. All in all, this short book is surprisingly informative about HOW to do short term counseling and establish the proper boundaries between pastor and parishioner.

My only complaint about the book is that the case studies tend to be trite. For instance, one case study has to do with a woman who had an abortion and now can't have children, and is traumatized by this turn of events. To me, this case is the stereotypical case Christian pastors think they might be dealing with. Instead, I would have rather seen case studies dealing with harder and more nebulous topics, like what to do about wayward children, issues of identity such as homosexuality, or issues of death and dying such as whether or not to remove the feeding tube from a parent in a vegetative state.

All in all, however, I found this book quite helpful, and a quick and easy read.

Dr. David Benner presents the case for his short-term, five-session model for pastoral counseling with succinctness, clarity, fairness, and sound argumentation. In addition, he goes to great lengths to explain how such a model could work effectively within a church setting. The last three chapters are especially practical in their step-by-step presentations of the strategic pastoral counseling model and two well-presented case studies. His discussion of the inherently spiritual nature of many life issues (pp.62-67) is a very helpful and profound elucidation of the pastoral counselor's role. I highly recommend this volume to all pastors of local churches and all practicing or aspiring Christian counselors.

Strategic Pastoral Counseling: A Short-Term Structured Model is a very good book to have in your library. The book gives you a clear definition of the terms. It also provides short skits of counseling scenarios Christian Counselors may be faced with. I recommend you purchase the book for your own personal use. But, It does not align with the course taught at Andersonville. The pages the instructor is teaching from differ form the book.

This book was assigned reading for a seminary class called "Introduction to Pastoral Care." I'm not sure that I would have finished the book if it hadn't been assigned to me, as it was very dry and tough to plow through to the end. However, it offered a very helpful model for pastoral counseling that offers some hope to pastors who are overwhelmed by the reality or the prospective of indefinite counseling with congregants.

The basic premise of Benner's book is that pastoral counseling, if done strategically and intentionally, can and should be accomplished in five sessions or fewer. And he provides a very specific framework to get it done, which seems feasible. He concludes the book with two case studies, one a five-session counseling relationship with a woman who had an abortion and the other a one-session arrangement with a man suffering from some career frustrations.

A few critiques relate to Benner's sources. He constantly refers to his own books, something that I find to be rather annoying and self-promoting. Also, he seemed to refer to more sources from the 1960's than the 1990's, indicating a failure to stay current with research in his field.

Overall, this book was not particularly engaging, but it was still helpful. Benner managed to use language that makes sense to pastors, rather than getting lost in "psychobabble." And the model that he proposes is very appealing with its finite nature and manageable goals. I suspect that many pastors would be well-served to read this relatively short but useful model for how pastors can appropriately manage counseling requests while still helping people in significant ways. I'm sure that I will apply some things that I learned from this book in the future.

Benner provides an excellent model for counseling with just enough counseling content and technique to communicate how it would work.

From the back cover, Benner (Ph.D., York University) is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Spirituality at the Psychological Studies Institute (Atlanta) and a practicing clinical psychologist. The author or editor of over twenty books, he is the founding director of the Institute for Psychospiritual Health.

Benner's preface to his first edition (1992) defends the need for a new book on pastoral counseling, specifically the need for an approach to counseling that is explicitly Christian, holistic, pastoral, fruitful, disciplined, well-founded, and workable. His preface to the second edition (2003) highlights improvements over the first edition. The first chapter locates pastoral counseling in the context of Christian community. The second chapter focuses on how pastoral counseling differs from other kinds of counseling. The third chapter describes Benner's three-stage model for strategic pastoral counseling: encounter, engagement, and disengagement. The last two chapters provide cases studies. An appendix addresses ethical concerns in counseling.

If all knowledge were organized into the categories of (1) revelation (religion), (2) speculation (philosophy), (3) investigation (science/wisdom), and (4) mystification (mysticism), then Strategic would fall squarely within the wisdom category since it is largely grounded in and directed toward how pastors, parishioners, and churches can function more wisely. Wisdom is therefore in the forefront. People need counseling (wisdom) because (1) they have made unwise choices and need to recover from them or (2) they are reacting unwisely to situations not of their choosing and need to learn how to react more appropriately.

Pastors also need wisdom to know how to counsel more effectively. More specifically, they need a "wise" model for counseling. They need to know their limitations as counselors. They need to know the unique advantages and disadvantages inherent to pastoral counseling. And last but not least, they need to know how to counsel.

Benner provides help for all these needs. That help involves a mix of biblical and secular wisdom -- (1) secular wisdom in terms of understanding the interplay of the social self, psychology, and sociology and (2) biblical wisdom in terms of evaluating and applying secular wisdom in counseling to help Christians facing problems. Biblical and secular wisdom, of course, can be brought to bear in many different venues. Benner is helpful in identifying those venues and in distinguishing pastoral counseling from other places of Christian help, such as Christian friendship, pastoral care, and spiritual direction.

Secular wisdom is prominent but religious considerations are primary. Benner affirms Christian values as the overarching context for counseling. His use of scripture, however, is sometimes superficial in playing off biblical quotations without regard to their original meanings. For example, the Holy Spirit's help in knowing what to say in times of crisis (John 14:26) has nothing to do with pastoral counseling.

Much of Benner's religious message though is grounded in a value system that is simply "humane" rather than explicitly Christian. For example, Clinebell's criteria for healthy religiosity (which Benner apparently approves) include 20 questions, none of which necessarily demands a uniquely Christian response. Such observations are not so much criticisms of Benner as they are a reflection of how difficult the task of Christianizing the secular substitute for religion (i.e., psychology) can be.

Benner emphasizes spirituality in terms of three components: thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Although Benner identifies spiritual growth as the main and unique goal of pastoral counseling, the word "spiritual" is notoriously slippery. Apart from its mystical aspects, spirituality is most appropriately anchored in emotionally and behaviorally charged propositions about the meaning of things. Although spirituality is rooted in propositions, it is not merely cognitive because it does have behavioral and emotional components in addition to its mental aspects. None of this analysis of "spirituality" is necessarily Christian, but it is consistent with a Christian understanding of spirituality.

Nor should any of the above diminish enthusiasm for Benner's book. His approach is well-suited and much needed by pastors. The notion of a religious status assessment is powerful. The discipline and practice of taking a person's religious history should be a mark of competence. The relative attraction of hurting people to pastoral counseling and the relative success of pastoral counseling compared to other sources should encourage those who practice it. The greater return on investment from short-term counseling (vis-a-vis long-term counseling) is counter-intuitive and Benner provides a necessary and worthy defense. Benner's observation that "people see what they are looking for" explains the blinding effects of both secular and religious professionalism. Secular counselors mostly see the distorting effects of religious beliefs -- hence their generally negative view of religion. If they are any negatives to posit about Benner's presentation, they generally lie in the inherent difficulty of contextualizing a secular discipline within a biblical worldview.

Where contextualization is not possible, Benner usually comes down on the right side in such things as the rejection of a therapeutic approach to sin. He is also right in rejecting the compartmentalization of humanity that is so characteristic of secular approaches to counseling. The human mind understands itself in terms of a personal narrative, so many people can be greatly helped simply by "re-storying" themselves. Dysfunctional behavior does have payoffs. Counseling is a roller coaster -- up after the first visit and down after the second once the hard work begins. Values become destructive when they are elevated above their rightful place. Pastors should find all of these insights helpful.

Sometimes though, Benner misses the mark a bit. Assessing an individual, for example, in terms of "how well faith is serving him" is too utilitarian to be biblical. Expressions of emotion can be cathartic, but they can also make individuals more practiced in inappropriate expressions.

Benner provides an excellent model for counseling with just enough counseling content and technique to communicate how it would work. Practitioners will have to fill in the gaps with their own practices and understandings of biblical and human nature. Some things I would add would include more attention to the problem of pride. Pride often surfaces in unexpected ways -- low self esteem may be traceable to self-punishment arising out of a prideful self-understanding of oneself. Use of emotional energy for positive purposes would also be powerful. Humans need emotional energy for motivation; and ironically, they get more energy from negative experiences that positive ones. Wisdom is needed to know how to use that energy in constructive ways. Gender counseling to address the distortions inherent to an increasingly androgynous culture would also be an intriguing approach to the problems of many people. Finally, special attention to the function of conscience in demanding confession, justification, reconciliation, and atonement may be one of the most unrecognized dynamics in counseling.

As previously noted, Benner's intent in writing Strategic Pastoral Counseling was to produce a book on counseling that is explicitly Christian, holistic, pastoral, fruitful, disciplined, well-founded, and workable. He achieves those goals in a concise, readable way.

-- Bill Brewer
http://historeo.com/web/?p=112

Dr. Benner notes that 87% of surveyed pastors wished they had more pastoral counseling training, and that they thereby regard themselves as unprepared for counseling circumstances they encounter, despite seminary training and a large number of books published on the subject. This sense of pastoral inadequacy has spurred Benner to write Strategic Pastoral Counseling, which hopes to address the lack of practical pastoral counseling guides by providing busy pastors with a framework or methodology for effective counseling.

While most books can take on an overly theoretical tone, Benner has intended that his book, while theoretically sound, should act as a very practical sourcebook for pastors, providing them with a schema or algorithm for managing their counseling challenges. Benner briefly surveys the history of pastoral counseling, ***although limiting himself to the last century of thought***. This done, he reviews the range of counseling forms offered within the church, from formal discussions with the pastor to simple forms of friendship among church members. He also notes the unique nature of pastoral counseling and the unique but perhaps insufficient qualifications that pastors possess by virtue of their specialized education. Lastly, before detailing his pastoral schema, he reflects on the goal of effective pastoral counseling, spiritual growth in a Christian context.

Benner's methodology, what he describes as "strategic pastoral counseling", is "brief and time-limited, holistic, structured, involves assigned work between sessions, and is church-based, spiritually focused and explicitly Christian." Benner works out each of these characteristics in some detail, and then turns to a practical discussion of how these various qualities can be achieved with a particular conversational methodology, involving "encounter, engagement, and disengagement". Benner helpfully suggests a maximum of 5 visits with counselees to bound the scope of counseling discussions and safeguard the busy pastor's schedule.

Benner concludes his presentation with two representative case studies which illustrate his recommended strategy in practice. These case studies survey the range of pastoral counseling commitments: one a five-week engagement with a very difficult counseling situation, and another single-visit circumstance. In both case studies, he provides representative dialog along with a running commentary on how his strategy is worked out in practice.

Strategic Pastoral Counseling contains a few regrettable references to women pastors, and has few roots in Scriptural observations, but nonetheless provides some useful considerations for pastors or prospective pastors who are wondering how to effectively counsel the members of their spiritual community amidst a busy schedule.

Overall, points subtracted for failing to spring from a historically informed view of the Church and her activities, especially a familiarity with the old post-Reformation pastors of the soul. For example, why is no one asking why pervasive professional "counseling" only appeared relatively recently among us? Are we the best and brightest generation? Were the old guys just dolts? What were they doing with those under their care? Worth some thought, but few are inquiring...