Duane Bidwell
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Empowering Couples : A Narrative Approach To Spiritual Care
$22.00Add to cartEditor’s Foreword: Howard W. Stone
Introduction: Getting Started: A Frame For What Follows
1. Mutuality And Partnership: Theological Norms
2. Destructive Passions
3. A “SMART” Approach To Couples Care
4. Separating People From Problems And Passions
5. Mapping Mutual Influence
6. Attending To Teamwork
7. Reclaiming Partnership
8. Telling A New Story
Epilogue
Notes
ReferencesAdditional Info
Couples can make significant progress toward resolving their own problems when they receive appropriate guidance from a caring person. This book outlines five tasks focused on identity, agency, and meaning that spiritual caregivers can use to empower couples for significant change in just three to five conversations. Critically integrating desert spiritual theology with empirical data about successful marriages, Bidwell advocates for mutuality and partnership within covenanted relationships, which allows partners to create an alliance strong enough to resist the forces that threaten relationships-especially the negative influences of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and withdrawal.Pastors who adopt the approach outlined in the text will “travel lightly” in terms of pastoral power, decentering themselves so that couples can identify and build on their unique strengths and relationship with the divine.
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Short Term Spiritual Guidance
$18.99Add to cartA significant departure from other treatments, this unique resource combines deep appreciation for the great classic discipline of spiritual guidance with a very practical focus on meeting the specific needs of the person seeking direction. Through case studies, sample dialogues, and practical tips for the spiritual director, Bidwell’s lucid work shows what directors can learn from the short-term therapy model, enabling people briefly but effectively to listen for God’s presence and to formulate authentic responses. He also shows how such techniques can be helpfully applied not only to individual direction but to group settings, vocational discernment, and family counseling.