Long recognized as the definitive crisis-counseling volume for the active minister, The Minister as Crisis Counselor is now thoroughly modernized to incorporate recent contributions to the field. David K. Switzer offers a comprehensive examination of both the theory and the method of crisis counseling as it relates specifically to active working pastors.

Chapter titles include: The Minister, the Congregation, and Community Crisis Services; Intervening in the Suicidal Crisis; The Minister and Divorce Crises; Intervening in a Pathological Grief Reaction: A Case Study; The...

This book, written by a pastoral theologian with years of experience in counseling gay and lesbian individuals and their families, assist both pastoral caregivers and congregations in examining and enhancing their pastoral care of homosexuals and their families. This thoughtful book provides factual information, theological and biblical insight, and practical counseling skills to help congregations become caring communities for gays and lesbians.

David K. Switzer presents a clear, illustrative and practical manual for pastoral caregivers that covers the entire range of pastoral care emergencies typically faced by clergy, pastoral counselors, and lay caregivers such as Stephen Ministers and Befrienders. The chapters deal with issues such as situational crises, hospital emergencies, ministry to the dying, bereavement, suicide, divorce, domestic violence, substance abuse, and psychiatric emergencies. The question of when and how to refer is discussed in the final chapter. The book is highly practical in approach, but still extremely...