The Minister as Diagnostician: Personal Problems in Pastoral Perspective

by Paul W. Pruyser

In this book, Paul Pruyser explores the first step in the helping process: the diagnostic assessment. He develops a set of guidelines for conducting pastoral-diagnostic interviews that acknowledges the pastor's professional uniqueness and meets the parishioner's expectations.

Genres: Counselling

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have read this book years ago. Pruyser takes much of what passes for “pastoral counseling” and stands it on its head. Be prepared to rethink how you counsel people on spiritual matters. Be prepared to put to practice what you learn from this book. Highest recommendation!

[Robert Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A landmark book in many ways for pastoral care... challenging ministers to take seriously "cure of the soul" without embracing only the language and symbols of the social sciences. Pruyser makes a strong case that ministers have specialized training and resources to address many needs of parishioners and clients. He provides a seven category model for pastoral diagnosis.

The main concern with the book is that it doesn't really giving provide a process for utilizing these categories in diagnosis. Perhaps that is too much to ask for a small book -- especially a book that is a preliminary consideration of this topic. Overall, it is a MUST READ for ministers... especially those who are involved regularly with pastoral counseling.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise and ideas in this book more than 3-stars might indicate. I love getting such a perceptive analysis of pastoral counseling from a non-pastoral clinician. Pruyser does provide some excellent insight, and particularly his chapter on "why people turn to pastors" really impacted my thinking.

The reason the review isn't higher is because I struggled with the style and flow of the writing, and I felt the book was a bit too short and underdeveloped. I would still recommend this for pastors, especially those of us in "low church" settings, as it provides some needed clarity and provocation for a much-misunderstood aspect of our work. Pruyser's perspective is worth wrestling with and listening to.

[Elizabeth Rickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pruyser's foundational work establishes basic categories of spiritual assessment upon which many theories of spiritual assessment are built. I read it in my 3rd Unit of CPE, Fall 2015, as we spent the entire unit exploring different models of spiritual care.

[A.L. Stumo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Problematic juxtaposition of therapy and counseling. Good advice on how to diagnose spiritually, though could be more practical.