This case study highlights the effectiveness of pastoral counseling in treating severe depression and prolonged grief disorder, suggesting a pivotal role for the church.
This paper is a case study that examines the role of pastoral counseling in dealing with a 56-year-old woman who experienced Major Depressive Disorder, Severe with Psychotic Features and Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) due to the loss of her husband and children, as well as experiencing social and spiritual alienation. Using qualitative methods, data were collected through interviews, observations, and psychological assessments, indicating the presence of chronic and complex severe depressive symptoms. Pastoral counseling is positioned as an integrative approach that bridges medical, emotional, and faith needs, emphasizing the restoration of relationships with God, self, and others. This study confirms that the church has a strategic role in providing a safe and loving space of recovery, where suffering is not simplified, but rather understood in its entirety as part of the healing process in the light of God's grace.
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Iskandar et al. (2025) studied this question.
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