Pastoral counselling and the healing potential of nature : an exploratory study

Abstract

The research contributes to the field of pastoral counselling by exploring the notion of a collaborative approach between pastoral counselling and ecotherapy. Ecotherapy denotes a field in psychology interested in the healing potential of nature. A collaborative pastoral approach revolves around three movements that entail self-identification, partner identification, and the identification of usable strategies which can then be deployed in a collaborative approach. The investigation is driven by four main questions, namely: - What is the nature and scope of pastoral counselling? - How are the emotional and spiritual healing effects of nature described in ecotherapy? - How does Scripture view the relationship between humans and nature? - How does the possible emotional and spiritual healing potential of nature as suggested byecotherapy and the Scriptures, relate hermeneutically to pastoral counselling in order toinform a possible eco-pastoral approach? The study includes an investigation of Scriptural passages that point to a symbiotic relationship between human beings and nature (Ps. 104; 1 Ki. 19:9-18; Mk. 4:35-41; Rom. 8:18-30) that reminds us of the wholeness of the Trinity. It concludes that ecotherapy indeed offers insights that can be incorporated in what can be best described as an eco-pastoral counselling approach.