The Harding Sanitarium, in association with the Seminary, conducted a four-day institute on pastoral care from November 28 to December 1 inclusive. This meeting came into being in response to a growing need expressed by Seventh-day Adventist teachers, pastors, and chaplains for an opportunity to study, in collaboration with Seventh-day Adventist psychiatrists, how to understand people better and how to establish and maintain a healthy spiritual and emotional level in the church at large.
Each day's session began with a devotional period. The subjects were an integral part of the whole plan: "Love," "Guilt," "Worry and Anxiety," and "Fear." The opening meeting began with a talk entitled "The Pastor Looks at Mental Hygiene." This topic received first attention to set the tone for the institute.
The subjects covered in the four-day program were:
"Viewpoints of a Seventh-day Adventist Psychiatrist"
"Basic Concepts of Psychiatry"
"Mental Mechanisms"
"Personality Development"
"Interview Techniques"
"Counseling and Psychotherapy"
"Emotional Problems Sometimes Unrecognized by Ministers"
"The Pastor's Own Reactions to People" "What Is the Psychiatric Team?"
"Survey of Treatment Methods in Psychiatry"
"The Community Pastor and the Psychiatric Hospital"
"The Minister as a Referral Agent" "Community Resources and How to Use Them"
General discussions followed each talk, and often there were questions during the presentations. In addition, interview technique was demonstrated in motion pictures and "live" by some institute members. The sanitarium staff also arranged for the group to be present at a hospital staff conference and case presentation, and at a planning and intake conference.
The session concluded with a panel discussing "Mental Hygiene, A Denominational Challenge." This crystallized the thinking of the participating members and gave opportunity for expressing appraisals of the institute itself. Since this had been arranged as a pilot affair—to find out whether such meetings would be considered worth having—a free expression of opinion was invited. Because of the excellent spirit present in the meetings, members spoke their minds freely. The net conclusion unanimously agreed to was that such meetings should definitely be planned for the future. An interim committee was elected to bring in recommendations. The members are: L. Harold Caviness, M.D., to represent the Harding Sanitarium; C. E. Wittschiebe, to represent the Seminary; and T. E. Unruh, to represent the ministry in the field.
The final session reflected the appreciation of the members and their deep sense of brotherhood. One minister said it frightened him to think how close he had come to not being there. Another minister expressed happiness in feeling the strong spiritual pulse in the sanitarium. A psychiatrist stated that he had gained new strength in sensing his oneness with his ministerial brethren.
The main burden of the planning was carried by Dr. Caviness. Lodgings were provided at minimum cost, and so far as food was concerned, the members were the guests of the sanitarium. The consensus of opinion was that the sanitarium staff had shown themselves to be ideal hosts.
