"Pastoral crisis intervention": toward a definition

The pastoral community represents a large and often untapped resource in times of crisis. It possesses a unique aggregation of characteristics that makes it uniquely valuable amidst the turmoil of a psychological crisis. In critical incidents such as terrorism, mass disasters, violence, the loss of loved ones, and any events wherein human actions result in injury, destruction, and/or death, the pastoral community may possess especially powerful restorative attributes. Unfortunately, heretofore, there has existed no generally recognized and accepted manner in which the healing factors inherent in pastoral care have been functionally integrated with the well-formulated principles of crisis intervention. This paper represents an initial effort to elucidate how the principles of pastoral care may be functionally integrated with those of crisis intervention. The amalgam shall heretofore be referred to as "pastoral crisis intervention" and is defined herein.