Good Shepherd - 5 Competencies

INTRODUCTION:

At this year’s 2020 Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference, Dr. Anthony Isacco, a psychologist from Pennsylvania, asked priests of his diocese, “What would you like a mental health professional to know about clergy health?” The response received entailed the primacy of each priest maintaining a relationship with God through prayer. In addition to a healthy prayer life, Dr. Isacco identified 5 competencies that, when practiced regularly, will help priests live their vocation with greater fulfillment, emotional health, and holiness.

1. VOCATIONAL RESILIENCY: This competency will focus on how to help priests stay committed to their vocation by developing the emotional and psychological chutzpah to face and manage everyday challenges. 
   
   
2. POSITIVE FRATERNAL CONNECTIONS: This competency will focus on encouraging fraternal time with brother priests as something that is constructive, healthy, and supportive. 
   
   
3. SUSTAINING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: This competency will focus on practical suggestions that will help priests manage and foster emotional maturity and guarding against burnout. 
   
   
4. SECURING AN IDENTITY OF SPIRITUAL FATHERHOOD: This competency will focus on empowering priests to become more committed, accessible, and engaged in their role as spiritual fathers to their parishioners in a healthy and sustainable manner.
   
   
5. EXPANSION OF SKILL SET: This competency will focus on a priest’s commitment to be a lifelong learner. Seeking to expand their vocations beyond the limits of theology, priests will be encouraged to pursue excellence in business management, human resources, and pastoral counseling. We will explore what is needed to help priests manage these varied responsibilities.

In the following issues of Good Shepherds, the therapists with Holy Family Counseling Center will present each competency and expound upon them. With each competency, our goal is to provide priests with additional skills and resources that will foster happiness/fulfillment, emotional health, and holiness. With the goal of empowerment, we hope to help priests recognize God’s presence in their lives while acknowledging gifts and weaknesses, renewing a sense of community, and developing a deeper understanding and love of their vocation.

Each newsletter will be followed up with a video conference meeting where our therapists will facilitate discussion on the content of the monthly Good Shepherds newsletter and/or other topics of interest to the presbyterate. These sessions will be nonintrusive and will simply be an opportunity for discussion.

With the sincere desire to address the concerns and needs of our presbyterate in a secure and private manner, we welcome your feedback and suggestions at this secure email address:  GOODSHEPHERDS@HOLYFAMILYCOUNSELINGCENTER.COM All correspondence will be received by a member of our Good Shepherds Wellness Council team and will be held in the strictest confidence. We will use this information to provide future content for the newsletter.

Provided by the therapists of Holy Family Counseling Center. This newsletter and follow up video conference are meant as a resource to assist our beloved clergy maintain their emotional health and holiness as servant leaders of the Church. Our sincere and prayerful desire is to assist our priests to stay happy, healthy, and holy.