The Contemplative Counselor

A Way Of Being

The purpose of this book is two-fold. First, it examines critically how the field of pastoral counseling has responded to the resurgence of interest in issues of spirituality, particularly the appropriation of various texts on spiritually-oriented psychotherapies in counseling. Second, moving beyond description, the book addresses the need to re-define the identity and practice of pastoral counselors as contemplative healers by appropriating insights from the rich tradition of contemplative spirituality, theology, and psychology, and to integrate this identity with professional standards and practices.