An exploration of the differences and similarities between Counselling and Confession, as experienced by Counsellors who are, or have been, Catholic Priests.

This research sought to examine the question, “what are the similarities and differences between counselling and Confession?”, by exploring the experiences of five Catholic priests, who are also qualified counsellors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five participants, who each have a minimum of five years of experience in both counselling and the Catholic priesthood. The data was analysed using Thematic Analysis. The research found that there are some similarities between the sacrament of Confession and the practice of counselling. These are that both practices involve being empathetic, unconditional, non-judgemental, keeping confidence, and careful listening. There are also clear differences between the two practices, the main differences being their intention and faith context. Both counselling and Confession deal with similar ‘human’ struggles, are understood using different languages (theology and psychology), have a different intention, but contribute much comfort to many who are seeking peace.

Citation

Devassia, J., & Gubi, P. (2022). An exploration of the differences and similarities between counselling and confession, as experienced by counsellors who are, or have been, Catholic Priests. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 25(3), 263-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2021.1999399

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Journal

Mental Health, Religion and Culture

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10034/626949

DOI

10.1080/13674676.2021.1999399

Type

Article

Description

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Mental Health, Religion and Culture on 22/11/2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2021.1999399

ISSN

1367-4676

EISSN

1469-9737

Additional Links

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13674676.2021.1999399