Pastoral psychology was established in 1937 by a group of pioneering clergy and psychologist, under the guidance of Dr. Carl G. Jung to encourage the study of psychology among the clergy and other spiritual leaders.

But first, a little about the individual behind the movement. The first career choice of Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychologist, was archeology, but later decided to work under the infamous neurologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing, who introduced him to psychiatry and ultimately to Freud.

What attracted Jung most to this field was that it seemed to combine what were his two greatest interests, science and spirituality. It is because of this that Jung devoted his life to the study of the occult, religion and the nature of God. This included the ancient mystics and metaphysicians. His work enabled him to address the spiritual needs of his patients. Today, this movement has led to such fields as therapist as life coaches. A good example would be the popular radio host, Dr. Laura. Most people are aware that she is Jewish, but the majority of her listeners are Christian. Still, she is able to give advise about uniquely Christian traditions, such as godparents.

Jung believed that “an understanding heart is everything in a teacher and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”

Jung has in fact made friends and enemies within the church. But it’s what he has brought to the rest of the masses that is of significant note. It’s the understanding of the nature of anxiety, for example. The personal hell we create within our lives that becomes more then we can handle on our own. The decisions we make that eventually haunt us in life, which lead to our psychosomatic illness that requires the understanding of the underlying cause. The beliefs we are taught in Sunday school, subconsciously intermingle with the subliminal teachings of Hollywood. Thus, the confusion.

Another aspect of attending to the sick can be found in the professions of medicine and the clergy. When it comes to attending to the sick, doctors and ministers implemented the house call. Also found at the bedside in most hospitals is the chaplin, who has an office and chapel. Spiritual needs and medicine have enjoyed each others company throughout history.

Biblical medicine: According to Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary was born in a cave near the Bethesda pool (the miraculous and healing waters of the sheep gate) where her son Jesus would one day perform miracles. The sheep gate was also a grotto that was used as a maternity grotto and which later became the crypt of St. Anna Church (dedicated to Mary’s mother). The sheep gate was so named for it was where lambs were brought to the temple for sacrifice.

The Original House Call: As it goes, Jesus was either entering or leaving the temple, went into the garden surrounding the pool situated near the city gate called the sheep gate. Jesus found a great number of sick people, blind, lame, all begging for alms, though they were there in the hope of something better. They hoped for a cure. Jesus offered them this. One man in particular, he offered to heal, said: “Arise, take up thy bed and walk.” The man, conscious that he was cured, picked up his pallet and went away. The short life of Christ is filled with medical miracles and ministering to the sick.

Ministering to the sick has been the chief nature of Christian miracles, the cure of incurable disease has dominated when one is considered for sainthood. St. Blase, for example, patron of those with throat disease, had initially devoted his study to philosophy and medicine. Eventually, he was ordained to the priesthood and made bishop of Armenia. Yet before the end of religious persecution in Europe, St. Blase was arrested. On his way to prison, St. Blase cured a child of a disease of the throat. Today, it is a Catholic ritual to give the blessing of St. Blase through holding two candles in the form of the cross to the throat, while reciting the prayer of intercession.

Another medical miracle of note is that attributed to Joan of Arc during the blessing of the sick. At the first invocation to St. Joan was over Therese Belin, whom spontaneously opened her eyes, sat up and declared she had been cured. Her medical diagnosis was peritoneal and pulmonary tuberculosis, complicated by an organic lesion of the mitral orifice. Basically she had tuberculosis of her lungs and abdominal cavity that was complicated by an organic lesion of her mitral valve of her heart. Other miracles attributed to St. Joan are ulcers of the leg, cancer of the breast, cancer of the stomach and perforated foot.

In conclusion, I’d like to go back to that pool near the sheep gate. In 1187, Jerusalem was ransacked by Saladin (the Muslim general opposite King Richard the Lion Hearted), during which St. Anna’s Church was converted into a Quran school and named Salahiyeh. During the Muslim occupation of Israel, Christian pilgrims had to pay a fee in order to be permitted inside the grotto. Considered one of the finest examples of Crusader architecture in the land of Israel.

It’s also of interest that our nation’s presidents routinely visit the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. On the occasion of President Ronald Reagan’s assassination attempt, he was treated at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Dr. Thomas Coffman is the medical director of the British Clinic Health System, host of Integrative Medicine Radio, and author of four books on homeopathic psychology, ancient Egyptian medicine, and managing the spectrum. Coffman lectures for the British Institute of Homeopathy in the United States and England.