Counseling and Pastoral Care in African and Other Cross-Cultural Contexts

The coming of Colonization and Christianity to Africa and other indigenous cross-cultural contexts was a ""mixed bag"" of pros and cons. The impact of the advent of the two has had a lasting effect being felt even today. It created issues of bi-culturalism and bi-religiousness in personal and religious identities that counselors and the church need to address when working with people from these contexts. There is the existence of deep cultural trauma (including psychological and spiritual scars) needing healing for those living in most of these post-colonial contexts. The Western counseling approaches and Christian rituals need contextualization. A counselor or pastoral caregiver with an integrative consciousness is required to address the psychological and religious identity conflicts existing in African and other indigenous cross-cultural contexts. ""Mucherera has identified counseling and pastoral care issues within the African Shona and other indigenous contexts with which individuals and families are struggling after generations of the advent of Christianity and colonization. His analysis of the impact of colonization and Christianity in post-colonial indigenous contexts is one of the best I have read. . . . In his book, Mucherera offers clear guidelines for counselors and pastors struggling with, and needing insight in, providing counseling and care. A must read for those serving individuals and families from and/or in post-colonial indigenous contexts."" --Bertha M. Mucherera, Director of Kids Parenting Forever ""Since I met Tapiwa Mucherera while he was in seminary, he has been fascinated with the idea of how western healing therapeutic practices could be suited to an African context. Due to his interest as a scholar and practitioner, he has found a way to contextualize western healing therapeutic practices with African cultural healing practices. His work represents how cross-cultural pastoral therapeutic and healing practices can work together to facilitate therapeutic and healing practices in an African context."" --Edward P. Wimberly, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling Tapiwa N. Mucherera is Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of Meet Me at the Palaver and Glimmers of Hope. He is editor of Pastoral Care, Health, Healing, and Wholeness in African Contexts: Methodology, Context, and Issues, and has also contributed chapters to several academic books. An ordained United Methodist Church (UMC) pastor, he has served several churches in Zimbabwe, Iowa, Denver, and Kentucky. Mucherera is serving on the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Florida UMC Annual Conference, and serves on the ACPE National Board.