Pastoral care

Pastoral care refers to the emotional, physical, and spiritual duties that a pastor supplies to their community. This practice exists in many spiritual and religious faiths and is often considered inclusive of religious and non-religious forms of support. It is found in both secular and religious communities.

Pastoral care as a contemporary term is no longer an exclusively religious term and is therefore distinct from its historical context of religious community or ministry, which is historically tied to Christian beliefs. Modern institutional pastoral care departments in Europe are increasingly multi-faith or secular and can be inclusive of non-religious, humanist approaches that provide support and comfort. These include counseling, live coaching, meditation and psychological forms of therapy. In some cases, clients can request the form of care they prefer to access.

Just as the theory and philosophy behind modern pastoral care is not dependent on any one set of beliefs or traditions, pastoral care itself is guided by a broad framework. This involves personal support and outreach and is rooted in a practice of relating with the inner world of individuals from all walks of life.

Pastoral care typically involves the practitioner and client sitting together, with the client sharing personal details. The practitioner listens attentively, keeps the information confidential, and offers guidance and counsel. This is often closely aligned with the psychological practice of "holding space."

In many private schools in Australia, usually historically Christian schools, homeroom is referred to as "PCG" (pastoral care group), "pastoral period", or simply "pastoral", where the teacher is called a "PCA" (pastoral care advisor). In Romania, a 'PCA' also performs the role of a counsellor. Pastoral care can also be associated with palliative care, depending on the provider.

Pastoral Care is a Christian approach to improve mental distress and has been practiced since the formation of the Christian Church. It is an easy and often preferred contact point for religious people seeking help with psychological problems or personal issues. This model for pastoral care is based on the stories about how Jesus was healing people.

In the early church the term 'Poimenic' was used to describe this task of soul-care. In the New Testament, the interactions that are described with the term "pastoral care" are also described with Paraklesis (Greek: παράκλησις paráklēsis) which broadly means "accompaniment", "encouragement", "admonition" and "consolation" (e.g. Romans 12:8; Philippians 2:1; 1 Timothy 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Pastoral care occurs in various contexts, including congregations, hospital chaplaincy, crisis intervention, prison chaplaincy, psychiatry, telephone helplines, counseling centers, senior care facilities, disability work, hospices, end-of-life care, grief support, and more.