The Extended Subjectivity of Pastoral Counseling: Focusing on the Non-human Turn

Key Points

• The study aims to reflect on the limitations of traditional human-centric pastoral counseling by incorporating non-human elements.
• Theoretical exploration of non-human turn concepts like object-oriented ontology and actor-network theory.
• Reconstruction of counseling subjects as heterogeneous networks including both human and non-human entities.
• Analysis of technical, material, ecological, and ritual objects in counseling spaces.
• Revealed that objects in counseling are active agents influencing clients' emotions and spirituality.
• Proposed a shift in counselors' roles from mere therapists to mediators facilitating coexistence between human and non-human entities.
• Theologically reframed God as relational to all entities, suggesting a holistic model of care for creation.

Abstract