Constructivist Methods in Pastoral Counselling and Marriage and Family Therapy

This course will seek to integrate pastoral and family systems theory and practice with a focus on six of the most significant constructivist perspectives used in contemporary counselling. Three experiential schools: Symbolic-Experiential, Human Validation, and Emotionally-Focused paradigms, and three postmodern schools: Narrative, Solution-Focused, and Collaborative Language Systems, will be explored. Theological and pastoral integration of current research and practice will be synthesized. Lectures, discussions, experiential exercises, video materials, reflection papers, final paper.