Why Pastoral Logotherapy?

What is Pastoral Logotherapy? I think the best response to this question is to say that Pastoral Logotherapy (PL) describes the implementation of the techniques and philosophy of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (LTEA) in caring for the members of a local faith community or spiritual setting.

LTEA is a more holistic approach to the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Many Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs train clergy in techniques and schools of thought that do not include (recognize) the human spirit as a dimension of the person. This makes them less useful for situations where a person may be experiencing a crisis of meaning, or a type of noögenic (spiritual) disorder (neurosis).

As a psychological approach, LTEA is not exclusive or territorial, but rather, works with and is compatible with other approaches. The difference is that LTEA seeks to supplement other approaches that fail to address the human spiritual dimension. It is important to realize, therefore, that if a person is experiencing a spiritual crisis, treating it as a psychological problem, and perhaps, adding antidepressants, do not lead towards healing, but only mutes the distress. By contrast, LTEA teaches that the human spirit (nous, noëtic core) is a source of health and healing if it can be accessed. The body (soma) and the mind (psyche) may get sick, but the human spirit (nous) does not. It can only be blocked or repressed. Clergy who implement integrate LTEA into their pastoral care practices may discover, as I have, that it is effective in helping people to access their noëtic core to address noögenic issues.

LTEA’s anthropological view that humans consist of body, mind, and spirit is compatible with many religious traditions. But as a psychology, LTEA is expounded in scientific and ecumenical terminology. Therefore,

  • LTEA is intended for a broad range of interdisciplinary applications.

  • Anyone who utilizes LTEA for spiritual or religious purposes should proceed with caution, taking care to identify where differences exist and not to force one to comply with the other.

A note regarding specific religions and LTEA:

  • Similarities in agreement with the principles of LTEA between the modern rabbinic Judaism and Christian denominations is due to their origins in a common, second Temple Judaism milieu and their acceptance of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament as sacred scripture. From the first century on the two have become very different religions. The similarities should be appreciated but not overstated. General agreement on a shared anthropology must leave room for theological differences between the two religions.

  • LTEA is also accessible to people who are spiritual but not religious.