ather than autonomous. Therefore, what is it that might be expected as a result of the pastoral counselor having dealt with those problems, difficulties, and crises which he has experienced in life?
With respect to the foregoing, Steinhoff-Smith (1992) has pointed out that the key learning needed for pastoral counseling is that those preparing to be counselors learn to care about others; and this learning comes, to some extent for both secular and pastoral counselors, from the counselor dealing with his own pain and suffering. In other words, counselors, be they secular or pastoral need to have experienced the tribulations of life in order to have compassion and understanding for the difficulties which their clients are facing.
However, Steinhoff-Smith also notes that while both secular and pastoral counselors must engage in rigorous self-examination with the aim of personal transformation, it is essential that the pastoral counselor understand that the role is not synonymous with that of a secular psychotherapist. What Steinhoff-Smith means is that, unlike secular psychotherapists, the pastoral counselor deals with his own pain and suffering not only by self-examination resulting in some sort of personal transformation, but also through such spiritual processes such as listening for and following correction from the Holy Spirit and from application of the Word of God to the personal problems and crises that the counselor faces.
The human development needs of the pastoral counselor, according to Craig (1991) must include the resolution of moral dilemmas, especially as these relate to the temptation to form dual relationships (ambiguous relationships in which the goals and boundaries are tailored to meet the needs of the counselor instead of the client).
Craig states that counselors can only avoid forming such relationships if their experiences in life have helped them to understand their degree of vulnerability to t...