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.