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METHODS OF TREATMENT
his consciousness. Nor is the difference in a certain formality
of procedure or the observance of a simple ritual; though, for
many people, the solemnity of an act of confession is deepened
by such conditions and they prefer to observe them, while
others are disconcerted by them. Personal preferences of this
kind must be respected. The crucial difference between the
Confession and the Interview is in the nature and purpose of
the confessional act. A spiritual interview becomes a confession
when the confidant makes an admission of sin, desiring the
spiritual adviser to tell him what are the conditions of
forgiveness, and to give or mediate absolution.
3. Sustained Treatment. Here the interview is not a detached
‘conversation or an occasion for the exchange of thoughts about
spiritual matters. It is part of a sustained effort to help, having
a well-defined aim. This aim is not to give the solace of religion
to a person temporarily in distress, nor is it solely to give him or
her an opportunity to talk about sins and failures. It is to
provide treatment, spiritual in the deepest sense, for people who
have not found their way into religious experience, who have
been spiritually bruised by the environment they have lived in,
are poorly adjusted or are inwardly torn by emotional conflicts.
This treatment is given in a series of consultations at intervals
of time, and each interview is logically related to those
preceding and following it as part of a continuing act of co-operation
between the confidant and the spiritual adviser. This method is
the principal one used—because it is the most thorough and
constructive—in the practice of pastoral psychology and the
contemporary care of souls.
Steps to be Taken in the Care of Souls
No two human beings are alike in their needs or in the
circumstances with which they contend. People cannot all be
treated in the same way when they are suffering from spiritual
distress or illness. Consideration must be given to the nature of
the problem a person is struggling with and to the conditions in
which they occur. It is therefore necessary to employ different
methods of treatment to ensure that each person is helped in the
most fitting and expeditious way to come to the root of his
difficulties and overcome, them.
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