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Believable Visions of the Good: an Exploration of the Role of Pastoral Counselors in Promoting Resilience

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Abstract

Although adjustment after trauma is often positively associated with meaning, some studies challenge this connection (Bonanno, Memory, 21(1), 150–156, 2013; Silver and Updegraff 2013). In this article we elaborate on the relation between existential meaning and resilience. First, we conceptualize existential meaning—searching for and finding meaning in life—in terms of “orienting in moral space”, using the philosophical ideas of Taylor (1989), the psychological meaning-making model of Park (Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257–301, 2010), and existential theory. We argue that orienting systems in moral space are “believable visions of the good”. We then search recent literature on resilience—in particular literature in which the connection with meaning is challenged—for indications of a connection with existential meaning. We conclude that resilience necessarily comprises a “moral dimension” that is an adaptive process of (eventually) finding meaning in life. Finally, we discuss implications for the role that pastoral counselors, as professionals in the domain of existential meaning, may play in promoting resilience in organizations where employees regularly face existential issues like violence, suffering, and death.

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Notes

  1. The considerations on existential meaning in this article might also be understood in terms of spirituality, since the experience of meaning in life is often associated with spirituality. We choose to stick to the term “existential” instead of “spiritual” as spirituality is often related to religion and we want to include nonreligious pastoral counselors (for instance, humanist chaplains) in our considerations.

  2. Strongly valued goods are, in the terminology of Taylor (1989), goods “that demand our awe, respect, or admiration” (p. 20). Strongly valued goods are not just desirable goods but the goods that function as standards in judging our choices, desires, and actions.

  3. When we perceive the ultimate good that we orient towards as sacred, searching for existential meaning may be understood as a spiritual quest (Pargament 2007).

  4. Bonanno et al. (2011) warn against stigmatizing people who experience mental health problems after trauma as a potential unintended effect of preventive resilience training.

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  1. Department of Globalization and Dialogue Studies, University of Humanistic Studies, Kromme Nieuwegracht 29, 3512 HD, Utrecht, the Netherlands

    Carmen M. Schuhmann & Wendy van der Geugten

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Correspondence to Carmen M. Schuhmann.

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Schuhmann, C.M., van der Geugten, W. Believable Visions of the Good: an Exploration of the Role of Pastoral Counselors in Promoting Resilience. Pastoral Psychol 66, 523–536 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-017-0759-z

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