Do ministers and priests actually have any psychology or counseling backgrounds?

Question

It seems to me that a lot of Chrisitan counseling has very little to do with psychology or counseling -- but more to do with how clergy people (often men) interpret the scriptures as far as they apply to our daily lives. Can pastors do more harm than good in certain instances? Can they brainwash their flock?

Answer 1

It is a shame that Ministers and Priests or those who do counseling in the religious mainstream, should have more than what they do, I have had some, and I feel inadequate, and will have more in the future - the bottom line to all counseling sessions - is know your limitations! You know when you are not qualified to speak on a given subject. Yes there needs to be more done today than they have in the past, due to the difficulties people are facing today. We as ministers and priests, should recognize where we are and are not qualified on that subject and draw the line in the sand, be honest with the counselee I am not qualified to go any further and then refer them to those we know have the necessary qualifications. We need to be more truthful with ourselves and those who come to us for help. Its just not enough to know when you are in over your head, it is also your responsibilty to send that person to the right person - not just to unload it on someone else.

Harm is always there, good is always there, we should be careful that the line we draw in the sand is wide and strong enough to stop us from exceeding our boundaries and we need to realize no matter who we are - we all have them!

Unfortunately brainwashing does occur - simply because Christians do not daily search the scriptures to make sure what ministers are saying to them!

Answer 2

Larka1,
That is a great question!

The short answer is yea, most ordained and seminary trained pastors and priests have had at least a few basic courses in counseling. Many of us continue our education throughout our life by attending classes and seminar to better equip us to be pastors and counselors.

Many pastors and priests are ill-equipped or not gifted by the Holy Spirit to be counselors, and it is best for each of us to know our limitations and refer folks to others for counseling.

All of that said, no human is truly ever equipped to be a counselor to another human being. The best they can do is to be a conduit for the Holy Spirit, who is also known as The Counselor.

In answer to your follow-up questions - pastors are human, and like all other humans can make mistakes - doing more harm than good, even brainwashing God's flock.

Peace & Shalom

Answer 3

Depends on the denomination to which they belong. My father was a minister and had to complete a BA in counseling. Other churches do not require that. But reguardless of their education, of course their counseling is going to be influenced by the scriptures. As that is the source of truth for them, they will normally look there first for their understanding of things like forgiveness, marriage, finances, family relationships, child raising, sexual morals, and more. They are all issues explained in the scriptures.

Answer 4

Christian here> Yes your right..few pastor or clergy are equipped to do serious counseling...but that doesn't seem to stop them. In the past few years many Churches have hired trained professional pastors for that very reason. We hired a growth & healing pastor 10 years ago and he has a full time staff of 8 people..and they train others. They mostly are involved with people coming into the church who have been wounded in some area of their life, divorce, loss of a child, abuse of all kinds...and it's all free to anyone! That's what the Church is...a army, a hospital it's a staement of faith

Answer 5

Most seminaries require some pastoral counseling coursework, and some seminaries offer pastoral counseling as a major for certification. However, the counseling that you recieve at church is not like the counseling that you would go to a therapist for. At church they are counseling your spiritual side, or soul, and not your life situation, family, drug addiction, etc. Most churches have resources for those problems though that they can refer you to.

Answer 6

Some do take psychology courses , but all counseling is scripture backed .
Brainwashing is the only way to keep the believers .
Religion is based on fear, guilt and the need to be loved .
If you do as I say - I will love you .if not you are condemned not to be loved .

Answer 7

maybe...not as a rule. if you go to a priest or minister for counseling, that's the type of counseling you're going to get. if you want to hear about psychology, go to a psychologist. (really they're just as disappointing when it comes to counseling, in my opinion) brainwash? well, by definition your local used car dealer is brainwashing people into buying cars every day. i really don't think that's their intention.

Answer 8

Brainwash in what manner. Believing in a scientific "theory" of genetic mutation of the complex species seems like brainwashing to me.
I guess its all relative.

Answer 9

I believe you raise a very scary observation. I believe attendees should take counsel and then use their own hearts and minds to make decisions, for some advice is just that, biased advice.

Answer 10

Here is a site of a ministry couple (husband & wife ), both with a masters in psychology who are against psychology in ministry; they have some interesting reasons why they are opposed to it: www.pamweb.org
PS, make sure you go to .org and not .com or you'll get Pam Anderson's porn site.