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Caring for ClergyA Psychological and Spiritual Growth Group
Clergy--rabbis, priests, ministers, and others--are spiritual leaders, helpers, and counselors of others. Yet where can they go when their own faith is shaken, when a call to ministry is thrown into doubt, or when personal or professional crisis or chronic stress threatens their well-being? Where can they go to address both the psychological pain and spiritual yearning in their lives? What support is available to help prevent burnout? Where can they find quality mental health care for depression or find guidance through a "dark night of the soul?" In a prayerful and confidential setting, with a facilitator who is trained both as a spiritual director and a counseling professional, group members can look honestly at questions of discernment in their lives and in their ministries, away from family or congregational pressures. The orientation of the group draws from many sources but is limited by none. Through the mysterious and graceful process of discovering and following the promptings of the Spirit and the Deep Self, psychological healing occurs, although the group is not merely a psychotherapy group. Members grow in sensitivity to their inner lives and to those of the people in their care, although the group is not a sensitivity group. Members deepen their understanding and facility in responding to staff, pastoral, and congregational dynamics, although the group is not a case conference, organizational development, nor supervision as such. Members often are drawn into a fuller awareness of the movement of the Spirit in their personal and vocational lives, yet the group is not identical with classic group spiritual direction. Through all these processes, toxic stress in the clergyperson’s life is reduced, although the group is far from a typical stress management group. What then is the purpose of the group? It is to support each clergyperson along his or her journey with God toward health and wholeness, both as an individual and as a minister to God’s people. Format
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Facilitator: This specialized program is provided by Dr. John Becker. John is a licensed clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, spiritual director, and retreat leader with special expertise in the care of clergy. He brings to his work over 35 years of post-doctoral clinical experience in a wide range of clinical settings. John is a graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation's Spiritual Guidance Program and has served on Shalem's Program Staff, where he has led groups in "The Clergy and Contemplative Prayer, "Healing," and "Contemplative Presence in Health Care Ministries."
