Читать книгу Clergy Sexual Misconduct - John Thoburn Thoburn - Страница 19

Recovery and restoration require a comprehensive approach to intervention and treatment. As a point of reference, Patrick Carnes’s task-based treatment model entails a three- to five-year time frame to meaningfully integrate the multiple components of recovery to achieve lasting change (1991; 2005). All parties involved need to be aware of the necessary commitment of time, energy, and resources for treatment. It is also important to do a thorough evaluation to determine if the pastor’s treatment recommendations are within the congregation’s available resources. All impacted parties’ openness to care and intervention also need to be thoughtfully considered in this determination.

An effective comprehensive approach to treatment encompasses the following three dimensions for the pastor who has acted out sexually:

1.Behavioral relapse prevention. This includes monitoring the pastor’s sobriety regarding the problematic sexual behavior or addiction and other interactive or concurrent addictions. Healthy self-care interventions need to be proactively put in place to monitor the problematic behavior or addictive cycle. This component also provides the grounding essential for deeper healing work.

2.Resolution of personal core issues, including building healthy esteem and resiliency. This component includes treatment modalities for resolving trauma, loss, and corresponding underlying shame issues that often originate from dysfunctional family-of-origin dynamics. Significant emphasis is placed on integrating spiritual formation and restoration.

3.Relationship healing and reconciliation, including the development of healthy relationship competencies. This segment addresses reconciliation of the person’s marital and family relationships. Attention is also devoted to repair and restoration with the Church.

These three components are accomplished optimally in appropriate treatment contexts specifically designated to address the issues of problematic sexual behavior or addiction and recovery. Appropriate therapy contexts can include group treatment and support groups as well as individual, marriage, and family therapy under the care of experts. In some instances, inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment may be appropriate (see chapter 4). Such environments and approaches need to be grounded in both truth and grace. These treatment or therapy modalities must accommodate the pastor in stopping his denial and honestly acknowledging his poor choices and behaviors. A shame-reduction treatment approach is important, because shame, often rooted in trauma, is the driving force behind sexually problematic or addictive patterns. Effective treatment environments address problematic behaviors and mind-sets with effective intervention and accountability measures, while not attacking the person. Meaningful shifts in the pastor’s mind-set and behavior involve understanding, acknowledging, and perhaps appropriately grieving his inappropriate and harmful choices and behaviors. Then, he can be guided in how to make appropriate shifts that encourage healing and progressive growth. Such goals for recovery and restoration are best accomplished within safe individual and group treatment dynamics, most often facilitated by a trained professional. These contexts can provide the relationship and bonding experiences essential to healthy development that was often missing in the person’s family of origin (Carnes, 2005.)

A care plan that attends to the needs of the pastor’s spouse and family can be provided by experienced practitioners as well (see chapters 7–10 for more information). Their losses are profound and often traumatic. Appropriate trauma and loss therapy is vital for those impacted by the pastor’s sexual misconduct. In terms of restoring the clergy marriage, it is important to evaluate and determine an appropriate care plan early on, once each spouse’s specific care plan has been initiated. From this foundation, they have more of the grounding that is essential for thoughtfully addressing the dynamics of their marriage relationship. A conjoint marital therapist, in coordination with the team therapist, can evaluate the status of the marriage, clarify the couple’s goals, and develop a care plan accordingly.