SPIRITUAL DIRECTION VS. PASTORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
Spiritual direction may look like pastoral counseling or therapy. We may talk about the same life experiences. The stories may be the same. But the focus is different. The focus of spiritual direction is always the relationship with God and the movement of Spirit through those life experiences. We look for the presence of God in the human story.
How is God communicating with us through the relationships/jobs/events that are actually happening in our lives? Spiritual direction helps put us in touch with a Transcendent Reality. It changes our filter in how we view what is happening in our lives from a wider, broader and deeper perspective.
Pastoral counseling is a shorter term process, related to a specific problem or event – the counselor helps us chart a course of action to address or resolve the problem. Pastoral counseling applies the principles of a specific religious tradition to life’s issues and events. Spiritual direction is about the direct relationship with God, not limited to a faith tradition, theology or belief system.
Psychological counseling is oriented toward therapeutic goals with attention on emotional distress, the need to resolve conflicts and learn better ways of coping with our problems. We learn how to better manage our emotional responses. Spiritual direction is about a relationship with the Divine rather than an actual goal.
Spiritual direction is not a crisis ministry, but a long term process of change and conversion. It does not focus on problem solving. We aren’t trying to “fix” anything. Rather we focus on God’s movement through all of our life experiences, even when painful. We believe that a loving God is tangibly present in all human experience.