Christian Divorce Counseling in West Africa: Seeking Wholeness Through Reformed Theology and Jungian Dreamwork

Abstract

In traditional West African contexts, divorce entails the separation of both two people and two extended families, including ancestors who guard the families spiritually. Hidden psychodynamic factors can also frustrate the work of pastoral counseling at the time of divorce. Pastoral approaches that interweave conservative theology, cultural norms and African worldviews can be detrimental to couples and women. These dynamics are illustrated through the stories of two West African women as viewed through the lenses of Reformed theology and Jungian psychology.