After an AAPC Conference by Christiane Depestre

I had the privilege of attending the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC) Conference, whose theme was Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction: Convergence & Divergence.  

The first presentation was on Presence and Relationship.  From that we found out how and why spiritually grounded care enhances the work of spiritual direction, and identified the essential components and qualities of a transformative healing relationship.  

We looked at Spirituality & Religion, the importance of Connection and Relationship, Spiritual Experience.  We were given the opportunity of Sharing in Pairs.  I quickly share an experience with a ministerial student the story of someone I provided care to and how I helped the person and I was feeling joyously transformed.  Similarly, the student shared a story with me also. 

The notions of Transference, Counter-transference and Co-transference were discussed.  This was particularly helpful to me and here are the clearest definitions, I have found:   

Transference refers to the fact that we act towards people in the present based on our experiences from the past, particularly with our parents while we were growing up. In other words, we repeat patterns of behavior in the present that we learned in the past. Transference occurs all of the time. An example might be of a patient who was always criticized by and disproved of by their parent with the result that they constantly expect the therapist to be critical and disapproving. (The relationship between the client’s unconsciousness and the companion’s ego) 

Counter transference refers to the fact that the psychotherapist also has feelings in reaction to the patient. The therapist's reactions to the patient could be based on things that happened in his own past or might be in reaction to the way a patient is behaving. For example, if a patient has a transferential feeling of sexual attraction towards their therapist, the therapist might find himself having a counter transference sexual feeling towards the patient. (The relationship between the companion’s unconsciousness and the client’s ego) 

Co-transference is described as being the relationship between the client’s unconscious and the therapist’s unconscious.  It is a process that is unconscious but has yet to work itself through, and will only do so if the appropriate attitude is adopted by therapist and client, and for want of a better phrase, God willing. (The relationship between the client’s unconsciousness and the companion’s unconsciousness) 

The second presentation was on Vulnerability and Suffering:  We watched a video of Brene Brown on The Power of Vulnerability.  This showed how our own vulnerability and suffering influence our capacity to provide professional care when confronted with the patient’s vulnerability and suffering.  Brene Brown is the author of The Gifts of Imperfection:  Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are 

Connection, Wholehearted life, Spiritual Direction… these words some of the key items discussed: how sharing one’s story within community enhances trauma healing, how safety is a basis for exploring vulnerability and healing. 

An interesting form of devotion: Taizé is a monastic community located in Taizé, France, founded in the 1940s by a Swiss named Roger Louis Schütz-Marsauche, familiarly called Brother Roger. The “brothers” of Taizé have taken a vow of celibacy and are committed to a lifetime of simplicity, service, and community. There is an ecumenical emphasis at Taizé, as expressed in their official website, which says the community “wants its life to be a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.” Brother Roger was especially eager to bring Catholics and Protestants together. 

A Taizé worship service involves sung and chanted prayers, meditation, a period of silence, liturgical readings, and icons. There is no preaching. The style of prayer practiced at Taizé has attracted many worshipers from around the globe and from many different denominations. The prayers consist of “short chants, repeated again and again,” according to an introduction in a Taizé songbook. “The words are sung over many times.”  

We visited the Clark Art Museum in Williamstown. The collection of the Clark Art Institute features European and American paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. The collection is especially rich in French Impressionist and Academic paintings, British oil sketches, drawings, and silver, and the work of a few famous American artists Winslow Homer, George Inness, and John Singer Sargent. Based on the founding gift from Sterling and Francine Clark, the collection has expanded over the years through numerous acquisitions as well as significant gifts and bequests. 

At the conference, there was a great variety of books on display for purchase. So, did I have fun picking up books!!!  The best for me was “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown.  It speaks of compassion, connection and courage, encouraging to let go of who we think we are supposed to be and embrace who we really are.  In summary, to live life wholeheartedly.  I bought the books right after watching a TED talk by the same author entitled “The Power of Vulnerability”. 

After the Conference, the Pastoral Care Specialist Program became even more meaningful to me.  I got a clearer sense of my calling to become a certified Pastoral Counselor. This was time well spent, not to mention the quality time spent with my faculty members, other Pastoral Counselors and my classmate Joyce.  I felt uplifted and empowered.  I now look forward to the completion of my training, and to the next AAPC Conference.