Initial pastoral visits and communication in depth.

Area of Science:

• Pastoral care and counseling
• Psychology
• Communication studies

Background:

• Anniversary grief is a complex emotional response to loss.
• Pastoral care often involves home visitation for congregational support.
• Understanding grief requires examining interpersonal communication dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore anniversary grief through direct pastoral engagement.
• To analyze communication patterns in conversations with grieving individuals.
• To apply Winnicott's theory of communication to pastoral counseling.

Main Methods:

• Conducted systematic home visitations as part of pastoral research.
• Recorded and analyzed three verbatim conversations with church members.
• Utilized Winnicott's theory of communication for interpretive analysis.

Main Results:

• Pastoral visits provided a unique learning experience for the pastor.
• Conversations revealed specific manifestations of anniversary grief.
• Winnicott's theory offered a framework for understanding the communication during grief.

Conclusions:

• Home visitation is a valuable method for pastoral research on grief.
• Anniversary grief is intricately linked to communication processes.
• Further research can explore Winnicott's theories in pastoral contexts.