| Abstract [eng] |
In the modern world, it is becoming commonplace to live at a fast pace, people are confronted with everyday and extraordinary events and experiences such as deprivation, disease, war, climate change and so on. All this and more strongly influences not only a person's choices, his quality of life, leisure, physical well-being, but also has a significant impact on emotional health. Human emotional well-being is an extremely important factor in the active and high-quality functioning of today's life. It is gratifying that people are increasingly investing in their emotional health, taking care of it and performing mental hygiene on a regular basis, or are reluctant to seek professional help when needed. Two methods of providing spiritual and psychological assistance have been chosen and discussed in the work, namely spiritual and psychological counseling. A review, analysis, and synthesis of the scientific literature and research, as well as qualitative research, provided an opportunity to present, analyze, reveal, and examine what spiritual and psychological counseling is, how it differs, and what it has in common. It turned out that so far in Lithuania there is little talk about the differences between spiritual and psychological counseling and the points connecting them, the field of spiritual counseling is generally underdeveloped and researched in our country, and it is not clear when and which counseling model to choose better. However, the analysis of the scientific literature and the research carried out confirm that these are two separate and quite different counseling processes, which have their own characteristics, which allow to distinguish these methods of assistance. At the theoretical and practical level, the work considers the differences between spiritual counseling and psychological counseling, their similarity, the description of one or another counseling process, the professional and personal qualities of the provider and the target applicant. Given the paucity of information related to the process of spiritual counseling, updating the concept of spiritual counseling and comparing the two models of assistance may contribute to supplementing the missing information. The following overview of spiritual counseling and psychological counseling models can be useful as a theoretical basis for those working in psychology, spiritual counseling or those who are not fully informed about which type of help to choose. An analysis of the scientific literature confirms that psychological counseling is based on scientifically based methods of providing help, while spiritual counseling focuses on the issue of faith, and help is more understood as accompanying the sufferer, being here and now a difficult episode in life. Psychological counseling places more emphasis on and resolves everyday difficulties, works with a clinically healthy person, the relationship between the counselor and the client is crucial, the chosen way of overcoming difficulties, while spiritual counseling can touch on existential issues, it can be a place to help strengthen or discover relationship with God, and the counselor’s values and chosen work method meet the beliefs and needs of the person seeking help. It is likely that wider dissemination of information about what a spiritual counselor is and can help, and when it is better to seek psychological help, can help people deal more effectively with their emotional experiences and function fully in society. Getting acquainted with the advantages and disadvantages of these counseling methods is likely to lead to a greater understanding of the quality and specifics of the services provided, making it easier for the specialist to differentiate between their target client and the client to choose the right specialist. |
