1
NAME:
COURSE: Advanced Certificate of Spiritual Care
PERSONAL VERBATIM :
This particular pastoral encounter occurred on …../…../2012
The institution where it occurred was ……………
Within the institution, the location was …………..
The name I am using to conceal the identity of the person I visited is ………..
This particular pastoral encounter took roughly ……..minutes
I wrote down my recollection of the conversation on…..
I began the Analysis etc on ………….
I completed the Verbatim on ………..
I spent roughly …… hours on it.
This is my …st/nd/rd/th Verbatim
I have taken this particular pastoral encounter to my prayer (meditation)
never
once
…. times
frequently
PRELIMINARY DATA
I had / had not encountered this particular person before. The circumstances
were as follows:
I knew the following things about this person before I visited them:
Name: (use alias)
Age:
Marital Status:
Declared religious affiliation:
Place of residence:
Reason for being in this institution:
Length of stay (this time) in this institution:
This data was made available to me via:
I did / did not get additional information from (ward nurse, other Chaplain,
teacher, counselor, etc):
Basically, s/he told me that ………….
This visit was / was not a “cold call” and I was making it because …..
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PASTORAL GOALS
My pastoral goals for this Semester are:
1. to get into the habit of using Advanced Accurate Empathetic Responses
2. to assess “on then run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the
other person seems to be within Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
3. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Kubler Ross’s Loss & Grief Cycle
4. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Wordens four tasks of mourning
5. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Erikson’s stages of human development
6. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Fowler’s stages of faith development
7. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) what might be the
other person’s spiritual issue(s)
8. to assess ‘on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) within which of the
three basic spiritual anthropologies the other person’s spiritual resources might
reside
9. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) the applicability of
Karl Rogers’ suggestions about the circumstances where gentle confrontation
may be warranted
I had additional pastoral goals for this person. These were ……
Because …………
IMPRESSIONS
Mention if anyone else was present with this person when you first approached
her/him and whether they stayed or left.
My first impressions of …….. when I encountered her/him were:
Physical features (size, complexion, hair, eyes, etc):
Clothing:
Pose (sitting, standing, walking, lying down, etc):
Composure (asleep, relaxed, alert, in an agitated state, etc.) :
My first impressions of their environment were:
Ambience:
Noise level:
Things immediately adjacent to them:
Things in their wider space:
They responded to my approach:
With welcome/wariness
With interest/indifference
By ignoring me and watching TV
By being startled from sleep
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PASTORAL CALL
Mention that you are recording below what actually transpired between you and
……. during the pastoral encounter and mention whether you are recording the
interaction in full or in part. If in only in part, explain why.
C1 ….
X2….
C3….
X4…
C5….
X6…
C7 ….
X8….
C9 ….
X10
Etc
ANALYSIS: the encounter itself
How was I feeling at the start of the pastoral encounter?
I was apprehensive/unsure of myself/nervous/tonguetied/cheerful/confident/pushy/stiff/ condescending/etc
How was I feeling by the end of the pastoral encounter?
I felt that I was left to do all the talking/ I felt that I couldn’t help interrogating
…./ I felt frozen out/ I felt I was dismissed/ I felt that my overture was politely
sidestepped/ I felt that …. was aggressive towards me/I felt that I was made
welcome/I felt buoyed that I had been of some help to ………
How was I responding to what was happening during the pastoral
encounter?
I was too stunned by the extent of ….’s losses and grief/ I was tongue-tied/I
asked too many Closed Questions/ I was so nervous that I missed the
significance of what was being said to me/ I went off at a tangent/I talked about
myself the whole time/I just kept reassuring … that everything would be OK/ I
treated … as if I were her/his mother/ I found myself lecturing …. about what
s/he should do/I couldn’t wait to get out of there
How did …. respond to me?
Played dumb/grudgingly answered my questions/took over the
conversation/turned the conversation back to me all the time/remained very
wary/seemed interested in talking to me/became very agitated/ran out of
energy to continue talking/s/he wouldn’t let me go/
What was happening between us? (use an analogy to describe the dynamics of
the interaction)
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We got on like a house on fire/we were like ships passing in the night/ I jumped
tracks/ ….dumped on me/…used me as punching bag/I was put in my place
ANALYSIS: my strengths
…. understood who I was from the way I introduced myself (C1)
… clearly understood why I was there …….. (X2)
I positioned myself according to the SOLAR principles
My opening remarks (C3) were an Open Question
I asked other Open Questions: (list them)
My Primary Accurate Empathic Responses were: (list them)
My Advanced Accurate Empathic Responses were: (list them)
I worked out “on the run” where they were within Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
and fed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response (list
example)
I worked out “on the run” where they were within the Loss & Grief Cycle and fed
this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response (list example)
I worked out “on the run” where they were within Worden’s four tasks of
mourning and fed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic
Response (list example)
I worked out “on the run” where they were within Erikson’s stages of human
development and fed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic
Response (list example)
I worked out “on the run” where they were within Fowler’s stages of faith
development and fed this back to them via an Advance Accurate Empathic
Response (list example)
I worked out “on the run” within which of the three categories of spiritual
anthropology their spiritual resources might reside and fed this back to them via
an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response (list example)
I worked out “on the run” what their spiritual issue was and fed this back to
them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response (list example)
I used the Pastoral Resource of Facts by allowing …. to tell her/his story (list
example)
I used the Pastoral Resource of Feelings by encouraging …. to express her/his
feelings (list example)
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I used the Pastoral Resource of Faith by exploring ….’s spiritual resources (list
example)
I used the Pastoral Resource of Freedom by encouraging …..to transcend her/his
circumstances. (list example)
I offered the Pastoral Function of Sustaining by explaining to …. that I was there
for them and by being present for …….. to converse with me, by engaging ….. at
the emotional level, by encouraging … to express how they were feeling about
their circumstances, and by feeding back to …. what her/his needs were at this
point in time. (list examples)
I offered the Pastoral Function of Healing (“bringing brokenness to wholeness”)
by feeding back to …. where s/he was in the Loss & Grief Cycle and encouraging
them to be patient with themselves and others in this difficult period of
adjustment. (list examples)
I offered the Pastoral Function of Guiding by gently suggesting that ….. had
options and by encouraging her/him to consider and articulate her/his options.
(list examples)
I offered the Pastoral Function of Reconciling by feeding back to …. that s/he had
a situation or a loss or another person to be reconciled to [or had to be
reconciled with themselves] (list examples)
I offered the Pastoral Function of Nurturing Spiritual Growth by feeding back to
… her/his spiritual issue, by getting … to talk about her/his spiritual resources,
by encouraging … to plumb her/his spiritual resources, and by concluding the
pastoral encounter with a prayer and a blessing. (list examples)
Which of my nine Pastoral Goals did I discharge?
1. to get into the habit of using Advanced Accurate Empathetic Responses
(list where)
2. to assess “on then run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the
other person seems to be within Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
(list where)
3. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Kubler Ross’s Loss & Grief Cycle
(list where)
4.to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Worden’s four tasks of mourning
(list where)
5. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Erikson’s stages of human development
(list where)
6. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Fowler’s stages of faith development
(list where)
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7. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) within which of the
three spiritual anthropologies the other persons’ spiritual resources seems to
reside
(list where)
8. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) what might be the
other person’s spiritual issue(s)
(list where)
9. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) the applicability of Karl
Rogers’ suggestions about the circumstances where gentle confrontation may be
warranted
ANALYSIS: my weaknesses
…. did not understand who I was from the way I introduced myself (C1). What I
should have said was ……
… clearly did not understand why I was there …….. (X2). What I should have said
was ………..
I did not position myself according to the SOLAR principles. What I should have
done was ………
My opening remarks (C3) were not an Open Question. What I should have asked
was ………….
I asked Closed Questions: (list them and then recast them as Open Questions)
I did not give Primary Accurate Empathic Responses at: (list where this should
have happened and what you should have said)
I did not give Advanced Accurate Empathic Responses at: (list where this should
have happened and what you should have said)
I did not work out “on the run” where they were within Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs nor did I feed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic
Response (list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not work out “on the run” where they were within the Loss & Grief Cycle
nor did I feed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response
(list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not work out “on the run” where they were within Worden’s four tasks of
mourning (list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
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I did not work out “on the run” where they were within Erikson’s stages of
human development nor did I feed this back to them via an Advanced Accurate
Empathic Response (list where this should have happened and what you should
have said)
I did not work out “on the run” where they were within Fowler’s stages of faith
development nor did I fed this back to them via an Advance Accurate Empathic
Response (list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not work out “on the run” within which of the three spiritual anthropologies
their spiritual resources appeared to reside (list where this should have
happened and what you should have said)
I did not work out “on the run” what their spiritual issue was nor did I feed this
back to them via an Advanced Accurate Empathic Response (list where this
should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not use the Pastoral Resource of Facts, viz., allowing …. to tell her/his story
(list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not use the Pastoral Resource of Feelings, viz., encouraging …. to express
her/his feelings (list where this should have happened and what you should
have said)
I did not use the Pastoral Resource of Faith, viz., exploring ….’s own spiritual
resources (list where this should have happened and what you should have said)
I did not use the Pastoral Resource of Freedom, viz., encouraging …..to transcend
her/his circumstances. (list where this should have happened and what you
should have said)
I did not offer the Pastoral Function of Sustaining, viz., explaining to …. that I
was there for them and by being present for …….. to converse with me, or
engaging ….. at the emotional level, by encouraging … to express how they were
feeling about their circumstances, or feeding back to …. what her/his needs were
at this point in time. (list where this should have happened and what you should
have said)
I did not offer the Pastoral Function of Healing (“bringing brokenness to
wholeness”), viz., feeding back to …. where s/he was in the Loss & Grief Cycle, or
encouraging them to be patient with themselves and others in this difficult
period of adjustment. (list where this should have happened and what you
should have said)
I did not offer the Pastoral Function of Guiding, viz., gently suggesting that …..
had options or encouraging … to consider and articulate her/his options. (list
where this should have happened and what you should have said)
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I did not offer the Pastoral Function of Reconciling, viz., feeding back to …. that
s/he had a situation or a loss or another person to be reconciled to [or had to be
reconciled with themselves] (list where this should have happened and what you
should have said)
I did not offer the Pastoral Function of Nurturing Spiritual Growth, viz., feeding
back to … her/his spiritual issue, or getting … to talk about their spiritual
resources, by encouraging … to plumb their spiritual resources, or concluding
the pastoral encounter with a prayer and a blessing. (list where this should have
happened and what you should have said)
Which of my nine Pastoral Goals did I NOT discharge?
1. to get into the habit of using Advanced Accurate Empathetic Responses
(list where this could have happened)
2. to assess “on then run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the
other person seems to be in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
(list where this could have happened)
3. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Kubler Ross’s Loss & Grief Cycle
(list where this could have happened)
4. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Worden’s four tasks of mourning
(list where this could have happened)
5. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Erikson’s stages of human development
(list where this could have happened)
6. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) at what stage the other
person seems to be within Fowler’s stages of faith development
(list where this could have happened)
7. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) in which of the three
basic spiritual anthropologies the other persons spiritual resources appear to
reside
(list where this could have happened)
8. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) what might be the
other person’s spiritual issue(s)
(list where this could have happened)
9. to assess “on the run” (during my pastoral encounters) the applicability of Karl
Rogers’ suggestions about the circumstances where gentle confrontation may be
warranted
(list where this could have happened)
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THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
In which of the following three basic spiritual anthropologies, do you think ……’s
spiritual resources reside:
1. Mankind is damaged goods in need of restoration
(show how you came to this conclusion)
2. Mankind is basically good but frustrated from achieving self-fulfillment by
poor life-choices or by the actions of others
(show how you came to this conclusion)
3. Mankind, like everything else, is part of the eternal cycle of birth, death,
and regeneration of the Universe
(show how you came to this conclusion)
What spiritual issue(s) (viz., which problems in the area of the three theological
virtues) came up in this pastoral encounter?
Lack or Loss of Faith: (show where this issue came up)
Lack or Loss of Hope: (show where this issue came up)
Lack of Love or being loved: (show where this issue came up)
What passage of Scripture (from your own religious tradition) comes to your
mind regarding this spiritual issue? (don’t just give the reference, write out the
relevant passage in full)
What connection are you making in your mind about this Scripture passage and
the spiritual issue that came up in this pastoral encounter? (explain)
Which of the four Pastoral Resources (Facts, Feelings, Faith, & Freedom) were
relevant to the spiritual issue(s)? [nominate which one(s) and explain why]
How effective do you think you were in the use of these Pastoral Resources in
this pastoral encounter?
What lessons for your praxis are you taking away from this experience?
What are you now going to take to your Spiritual Journal?
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PASTORAL OPPORTUNITIES
If I were to see …. again, I would address her/his spiritual issue(s) by opening
the pastoral encounter with the following words:
Last time we met I recall you telling me that you were concerned about ………I have
been thinking about what you said and praying that ……………… Am I right in
thinking that you are still grappling with this issue? What are you thinking now?
Which of the following theories would I use to try to understand where …. might
be on her/his life journey?
Needs (Maslow)
Loss & Grief Cycle (Kubler-Ross)
Tasks of Mourning (Worden)
Stages of Human Development (Erikson)
Stages of Faith Development (Fowler)
Source of Spiritual Resources within the three Spiritual Anthropologies
Gentle Confrontation (Rogers)
Which of the five Pastoral Functions would I try to offer …..?
Sustaining
Healing
Guiding
Reconciling
Nurturing Spiritual Growth
My particular Pastoral Goals (in addition to the eight generic ones) for …….
would be as follows:
1.
2.
3.
I would try to engage …… by using the following Pastoral Resources
Facts: (explain how)
Feelings: (explain how)
Faith: (explain how)
Freedom: (explain how)
How would I assess whether my pastoral encounter was helping …….?
What am I now going to take to my Spiritual Journal?