Pastoral Care and Liberation Theology

Pastoral care in the Northern hemisphere has focused traditionally on the well-being of individuals, and has tended to ignore the social order of which they are a part. In this pioneering book, Stephen Pattison draws on the methods and insights of Latin American liberation theology in order to challenge such narrow individualism, which is blind to matters of inequality and injustice that engender and perpetuate avoidable human suffering. A new vision of socially and politically aware pastoral care is presented as central to developing human potential.

A pioneering study which uses liberation theology to develop a socially and politically committed pastoral care

General editors' Preface; Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction: The challenge of liberation theology; PART 1 - LIBERATION THEOLOGY; 1. The background to liberation theology; 2. The nature and content of liberation theology; 3. The methods of liberation theology; 4. Putting liberation theology to work; PART 2 - THE SOCO-POLITICAL CONTEXT OF PASTORAL CARE; 5. The socio-political context of mental disorder; 6. Who becomes mentally ill?; 7. The historical and social context of the psychiatric hospital; 8. The socio-political order of the psychiatric hospital: the staff; 9. The socio-political order of the psychiatric hospital: the patients; 10. The 'brave new world' of community care; 11. The plight of mentally ill people; PART 3 - THE POLITICS OF PASTORAL CARE; 12. Pastoral care with mentally ill people; 13. Socio-political awareness and commitment; 14. Unction in the function: pastoral care in socio-political perspective; 15. Liberating pastoral care; 16. What is to be done? Towards a socio-politically aware and committed pastoral care; 17. Bringing it all back home? Pastoral care with women; conclusion; Notes; Index.