Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care
COVID-19 has had severe consequences for congregants worldwide. During the period of lockdown regulations, congregants were isolated from pastoral care when such care was most needed. Social distancing, wearing masks, and other regulations changed how we worshiped, fellowshipped, discipled, counsell...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/477 |
| _version_ | 1797603662926708736 |
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| author | Janice K. Moodley Rabson Hove |
| author_facet | Janice K. Moodley Rabson Hove |
| author_sort | Janice K. Moodley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 has had severe consequences for congregants worldwide. During the period of lockdown regulations, congregants were isolated from pastoral care when such care was most needed. Social distancing, wearing masks, and other regulations changed how we worshiped, fellowshipped, discipled, counselled, comforted, and loved those in our care. The role of pastoral care as a pillar of mental well-being became overwhelmingly evident as the dying, the grieving, the physically and mentally ill, the abused, the starving, the destitute, and the vulnerable were isolated and alienated. The pandemic has had untold consequences on congregant mental health, especially in resource-poor contexts in South Africa, where adequate psychological services cannot cope with needs. This article uses the narrative approach to explore the possible role pastoral care can play in addressing the exacerbation of mental health issues post-pandemic in South Africa. The state of psychological services in South Africa is explored in order to contextualise the need for innovative ideas to address the complexity of mental health issues in South Africa. Recommendations are made for how pastoral care may be utilised to alleviate the mental health crisis that has emerged following the pandemic at an individual and community level. Hopefully, this article will foster critical dialogue between theological and psychological scholarship for the purposes of alleviating the complex mental health issues that persist in South Africa and have been exacerbated by the pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:35:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9cc7f9f287294e629260144feacdb069 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:35:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-9cc7f9f287294e629260144feacdb0692023-11-17T21:08:51ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-04-0114447710.3390/rel14040477Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our CareJanice K. Moodley0Rabson Hove1Department of Psychology, University of South Africa, City of Tshwane 0002, South AfricaPractical Theology, Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South AfricaCOVID-19 has had severe consequences for congregants worldwide. During the period of lockdown regulations, congregants were isolated from pastoral care when such care was most needed. Social distancing, wearing masks, and other regulations changed how we worshiped, fellowshipped, discipled, counselled, comforted, and loved those in our care. The role of pastoral care as a pillar of mental well-being became overwhelmingly evident as the dying, the grieving, the physically and mentally ill, the abused, the starving, the destitute, and the vulnerable were isolated and alienated. The pandemic has had untold consequences on congregant mental health, especially in resource-poor contexts in South Africa, where adequate psychological services cannot cope with needs. This article uses the narrative approach to explore the possible role pastoral care can play in addressing the exacerbation of mental health issues post-pandemic in South Africa. The state of psychological services in South Africa is explored in order to contextualise the need for innovative ideas to address the complexity of mental health issues in South Africa. Recommendations are made for how pastoral care may be utilised to alleviate the mental health crisis that has emerged following the pandemic at an individual and community level. Hopefully, this article will foster critical dialogue between theological and psychological scholarship for the purposes of alleviating the complex mental health issues that persist in South Africa and have been exacerbated by the pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/477COVID-19mental healthpandemicpastoral carepost-pandemicpsychology |
| spellingShingle | Janice K. Moodley Rabson Hove Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care Religions COVID-19 mental health pandemic pastoral care post-pandemic psychology |
| title | Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care |
| title_full | Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care |
| title_fullStr | Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care |
| title_short | Pastoral Care and Mental Health in Post-Pandemic South Africa: A Narrative Review Exploring New Ways to Serve Those in Our Care |
| title_sort | pastoral care and mental health in post pandemic south africa a narrative review exploring new ways to serve those in our care |
| topic | COVID-19 mental health pandemic pastoral care post-pandemic psychology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/477 |
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