Pastoral theory

[Postulare42]

Q. Are the "Harm Reduction" and "Incremental Improvement" models workable within a Christian pastoral framework ?

[Postulare42]

Not an interesting topic?

[David Kone]

Q. Are the "Harm Reduction" and "Incremental Improvement" models workable within a Christian pastoral framework ?

These are really great subjects for discussion. If I had more time I would like to place these two functional methods of behavior modification into a pastoral context of "Attachment Theory". My belief and hope is that some day wise religious institutions will accept their natural role of parentis universalis and behave like a good parent to those children of faith who need a secure base from which to explore and grow. The church like the parent is in the position to model ideal behavior. When either of them demonstrate undisciplined behavior such neurotic expressions of their own insecurity in the form of raging, shaming, excessive control etc. then they are failing in their charge to produce securely attached children.

I assume that "Incremental Improvement" is another expression for the tool of the behaviorist, “successive approximation”, which is how most of us have learned basic skills since we were babes. Harm Reduction is not only effective, I know because my wife is involved at a very deep level in this field, but it is the most ethical in that it offers a realistic approach to the reality of addition and additive like behaviors.

Perhaps we can make this discussion less cerebral by citing examples how rigid authoritarian control has not worked but how we have witnessed positive change due to good Christian patience, perseverance, and tolerance. When my wife and I first got married we took in a severely emotionally disturbed seven year old foster child. The very first thing he did was threaten to kill me. He was off the charts hyperactive. His parents could not handle him. He was too disturbed to be kept in a group home. His next stop, if nothing could be done, was a permanent residence in the state mental institution. He was so bad that any adult that spent more than five minutes with this kid would be quite literally a nervous wreck, no exaggeration! My wife, an expert in cognitive psychology, put him on a behavioral plan. Me, I am an expert at raising kids but not this kind of kid. The next many months tested every parental skill I had and plus those I had to invent. Between the behavior shaping that my wife instigated, the fine tuning of medications by a really great doctor, a saintly special education teacher, and my tolerant fatherly oversight this hopeless kid was able to be placed back with his parents six months later. We did not make him perfect but we did reduce the kinds of harm that he was doing both to himself and others enough that he did not become a “lost cause”. His parents had tried the traditional discipline approach, it did not work and in fact it only exacerbated the situation. One of the things that we had to do is reeducate the parents to get them out of the cycle of punishment, guilt, and the subsequent over compensation in the form of expensive gifts which he routinely tore into pieces anyway. Last we were informed he made it into adulthood and is part of his community.

[Postulare42]

A shepherd is firm-yet-gentle with members of the flock. Nurturing.

It has seemed to me that to minimise the greatest harmful factors may allow a proactive, nurturing approach to those qualities which might ultimately crowd out undesirable factors. A sort of nurturing of hardy flowers to slowly displace the weeds.

I have often also wondered if the winnowing of the "judgement" might not be within the individual as much as between individuals.