Does pastoral counseling work? A pilot study of delinquent boys

This is a study of the relationship between pastoral counseling interventions and recidivism in a small sample of 16 delinquent adolescent males in residential treatment programs where such interventions were routinely available. One or more of three pastoral counseling protocols were utilized with the youths who were assessed as demonstrating one or more of the spiritual needs addressed by the protocols and who were open to the intervention. Analysis showed a significant Spearman correlation (r = .588; p = .008) between pastoral counseling and low recidivism (measured as re-arrests since discharge at the time of the follow-up contact) suggesting that the pastoral counseling may be a contributing factor to successful treatment.