Spiritual Counseling

Spiritual care and counseling with couples and families requires a spiritual caregiver to be attentive and adaptive. Spiritual counseling is a ministry that intends to integrate critically
and skillfully therapeutic resources with theological understanding in order to facilitate healing and justice for individuals, relationships, and communities (Ramsay, 2004). Throughout conversations, readings, and resources, I have been exposed to multiple viewpoints on how to best provide care to the care seeker, identified subject, and the community around them. When approaching spiritual care and counseling, I think that my approach to spiritual care and counseling is greatly influenced my understanding of faith. I do not directly call attention to

the fact that I am a Christian unless it is necessary in the conversation. I view my faith as permeating everything that I do and influencing my actions. I value the practical, lived experience that each of us carry.
The first spiritual caregiver I spoke with was Teresa Sciara, a family counselor specializing in trauma in the family.

She follows the communal-contextual paradigm of spiritual caregiving. While she has her own counseling center, she also works within the church as a correspondent and guide for churches to be inclusive and prepared for family issues. Teresa meets with individuals from diverse religious traditions and sees herself as someone who can navigate the various ways each tradition views families and expectations. Her goal or aim in counseling with couples and families is to empower children and families for hope and healing. In her own words, she seeks to " specialize in providing a warm therapeutic environment that cultivates safety and trust for children to find the strength within to manage their emotions, behaviors, or other challenging transitions or life situations and guide children and their families to improve overall functioning and growth toward healing, hope, peace and enjoying life together." Counseling is to be inclusive and inviting in order for restoration after the problems are addressed. Her approach to providing spiritual care and counseling is influenced by the call to a neutral

perspective, provide professional understanding, and make an impactful change in the lives of care seekers. One thing that was stressed in our conversation was that spiritual care and counseling is a process and takes time, there is no way in her eyes to heal someone in one meeting or session. Every situation is different, though as a caregiver, one should have a set of skills and boundaries that they use in providing care and guidance. During counseling, when building a strong therapeutic relationship, she stressed looking at behavior patterns, thought patterns, emotions and situations that cause distress, or situations that the care seeker may have difficulty embracing. She seeks to have a committed and consistent approach in caregiving in order for there to be positive change for healthy, balanced emotions and overall health. Teresa seeks to provide and foster skills for youth and adults to recognize and manage their own emotions and conflicts in order to grow.
Teresa's common clients are children who have experienced trauma and their families. Many of these families are struggling to balance their identity along with social responsibilities, including their religious tradition. By trauma, the working understanding is violence, hatred, tragedy, loss, and bias experienced through family, school, church, sports, extracurriculars, work, etc. Families bring their children in for counseling and she attempts to have the support systems as active participants in the treatment. The primary focus in her counseling practice is on the child and the goals established for the child. However, children flourish most when they are fully supported by their loved ones, and it is important for the parents/guardians to be a part of the process. Family Therapy may be a necessary part of the process and if adults need individual counseling, she has a list of referrals available. She recognizes that she is not trained to counsel adults in depth and therefore limits her practice to children and youth. The services she offers include youth individual and family counseling, play therapy, parent coaching, and group therapy for children. Teresa utilizes evidence based treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Systems, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness Techniques, and Play Therapy, from a holistic attachment-based perspective. One specific program she utilizes is Godly Play, a curriculum of spiritual practice exploring the mystery of God’s presence in our lives. The Godly Play approach helps them to explore their faith through story, to gain religious language and to enhance their spiritual experience though wonder and play.
In the spiritual care and counseling that Teresa provides for couples and families, she holds the view that seeking out counseling is not weakness or brokenness, but rather that it is a step in taking care of oneself. The ultimate aim for her counseling practice is for parents to be comfortable talking with children at an age appropriate level about trauma and to cultivate an emotionally safe environment. Contrary to popular belief, she advocates for authentic affection, being truthful and open at age appropriateness levels, and validating and empathizing the feelings of children. She called into attention how the experience of a caregiver or guardian of emotion directly affects how children experience their emotions. Children learn cues from others and adults and learn to cope and manage stressors by watching others. In the same manner, if a guardian is not willing to have open communication with a child, children will gather information from other places and sources.
Teresa's counseling is done off-site at a formal counseling center office. People come to her for counseling for child behavior management and emotion regulation, Autism Spectrum Disorders and other Neurodevelopmental concerns, Anger and Stress Management, Anxiety
Child Abuse Survivors and Domestic Violence, Depression, Grief and Loss, Foster Care Placement (Kinship and Agency) and Adoption, Life Transitions, Parent Coaching, Blended Family Issues, and Communication Skills. The symptoms that lead people to bring their children in for counseling include irritability, explosive anger, inattentiveness, out of character behaviors, somatic complaints, difficulty sleeping, lethargy, withdrawing, and risky behavior.
The greatest social forces driving people to seek out counseling in her setting are the violence occurring in the world, children attempting to navigate the ever changing world. Issues with boundaries and communication, modeling what is appropriate, mental and emotional health stigmas, and the challenges that come with raising kids, including bullying, self-harm behaviors, social media issues, academic and interpersonal challenges. Due to the numerous stages of life that occur in infants to young adults, Teresa focuses upon individual treatment plans that are a collaboration between her assessments, parents/guardians, and the child, if appropriate. She spoke about the differences between young children and teens and the parenting challenges that gaining independence and outside knowledge brings to relationships. The treatment shifts from the input of parents to the subject's input as the client ages due to gaining autonomy.
The second spiritual care and counseling caregiver I spoke with is Reverend Mindy Fugarino. She follows a clinical-pastoral paradigm approach to counseling. She is both an associate minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination and a federal prison chaplain. Mindy primarily provides care and guidance to male felons within a specialized rehabilitation program preparing for successful re-entry into society. She occasionally also meets with family members of the imprisoned. Mindy meets with parishioners of her church when needed, though the senior minister is the primary pastoral caregiver in that setting. Mindy finds her calling to spiritual care and counseling to be taxing yet extremely rewarding to see the growth and healing that is possible.
The prison chaplains facilitate religious worship and sacred scripture studies across faith lines in addition to providing pastoral care, spiritual guidance, and counseling. The individuals who seek out guidance from Mindy are usually experiencing immense levels of stress and conflict and are in search of liberation and healing. These individuals who are incarcerated are struggling with broken family ties, substance abuse, domestic violence, legal issues and limitations, mental health concerns, and many other issues that are affecting the ability to be a whole person. Individuals self select in order to enter into the spiritual rehabilitation program that Mindy co-leads. It is an 18 month faith-based commitment to examining the self and fostering methods of empowerment and change that aim to stop recidivism.
"The Life Connections Program (LCP) and Threshold Programs offer inmates the opportunity to improve critical life areas within the context of their personal faith or value system. LCP is a multi-faith residential reentry program that is available at five sites across the country at low, medium, and high security levels. It is an intensive, multi-phase program which instills values and character through a curriculum of personal, social and moral development. The LCP program utilizes various faith communities nationwide who serve as support group facilitators or mentors at program sites and release destinations to enhance community reintegration. Reentry preparation for inmates not eligible for the residential LCP is also offered through the Threshold program that also seeks to strengthen inmate community reentry. Threshold is a non-residential condensed version of LCP that is active in institutions throughout the agency." ("Federal Bureau of Prisons")
Mindy's role within the program is to meet with inmates either one on one or in small groups to converse about the obstacles that are self identified in order to create a transformation in viewpoint and restoration after addressing the problems that led to incarceration, especially the perceived issues that may occur at re-entry into mainstream society. Theses issues include custody agreements, legal separation from family, struggles getting and keeping jobs with criminal records, maintaining sobriety, addiction, therapy needs, medical needs, and the need for a supportive community.
Mindy meets both with the inmates and also their spouses and families in order to guarantee that best chance at successful re-entry post-prison. It is important that all parties involved in the inmates re-entry are prepared and knowledgeable about how to best adjust to life with limitations. There are many questions and concerns about how to navigate the world of corrections and post-incarcerated life that Mindy has become skilled in addressing in language that is understandable for most people. There are questions on the effects on the quality of life, if patterns will return, accountability, perceived lack of resources, and impact on relationships.
In the church setting, many of the individuals who seek out counseling from Mindy are generally females or families with young children. This attraction is most likely due to the fact that Mindy is a woman and mother of a nine year old. The individuals who she counsels come to her with concerns about transitions, violence, concerns, navigating life, the parents' beliefs and values, the personalities of all family members, and the influence of the extended family. Any change in one member of the family affects both the family structure and each member individually.
As a spiritual care and counseling provider for couples and families, I want to work to bring understanding, empowerment, and growth for those who seek out guidance. I view care for couples and families to be care for the entire family, not only the identified "ill" person. I have come to view any problem in one member as a symptom of change or conflict in the group. Couples and families struggle with the shifting roles that they inhabit, understanding the diverse world that they live within, dealing with conflict, and communicating effectively. This is not an exhaustive list, yet highlights many of the most common issues. Many individuals struggle to navigate what society reinforces and says that you need to have and accomplish and how to remain true to one's religious tradition. With all of the conflicting theologies and interpretations of religious texts and practices, religious followers struggle with how to best live out their faith while abiding by the societal expectations that people judge others upon. There are also so many conflicts within families that arise especially in merging families and adding new members to the family while adjusting to the changing needs of those around you.
I view spiritual care and counseling as guiding the unit towards healing and reconciling, as opposed to focusing solely on the identified ill subject. If able, I want to assist in teaching people how to have healthy, functional relationships that support and nurture one another. As a counselor, one must help to identify conflicts and anxieties and helps the family develop strategies to resolve them. I view my role as ultimately inviting couples and families to learn and implement skills that strengthen relationships and handle conflict and change in a non-destructive manner. It is important that all members take responsibility for the problems. When in spiritual counseling, I commonly seek out level appropriate spiritual resources that meet people where they are and want to move towards. It is important to assess the developmental and mental levels of couples and families in treatment so that healing and empowerment may be fostered. This creates common ground and understanding from which to grow.
I understand that I am in a constant state of learning and gaining knowledge.

Therefore in counseling, I need to self evaluate and reflect on what is occurring, especially in theological and contextual background. Life does not happen in a vacuum. Human beings are influenced by social issues, social roles, the communities that they are a part of, and their relationships. I strongly agree that we must locate the person within the family system and relationships, as people are comprised of loyalties, commitments, roles, expectations, unwritten rules, and so much more. The role of the counselor is to guide individuals in balancing the various parts and expectations that create tensions. I am not as interested in why problems are occurring, but rather how can be manage the issues in order to resolve and heal from them. We must understand the past in order to move

forward.