Howard John Clinebell (June 3, 1922 – April 13, 2005) was a minister in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

and a professor in

pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis, priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans ...

. He pioneered a counseling approach that combined

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

and religion.

Life and career

Howard Clinebell was born in Springfield,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, on June 3, 1922, to Howard J. and Clem (Whittenberg) Clinebell. He "graduated from

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and Garrett Theological Seminary in Illinois. He earned a doctorate at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

." In addition he studied psychotherapy at the

William Alanson White Institute The William Alanson White Institute (WAWI), founded in 1943, is an institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists that also offers general psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is located in the Clara Thompson building of the Upper We ...

in New York City. In the mid-1950s Clinebell joined the staff at the First United Methodist Church in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

. He went on to become counselor at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. In 1959 he joined the Claremont faculty as a professor of pastoral psychology. Clinebell retired in 1988. Clinebell is author or co-author of more than 20 books of which the most influential are "Understanding and Counseling the Alcoholic Through Religion and Psychology" (1956) and "Basic Types of Pastoral Counseling" (1966, revised edition "Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling" 1984). With his book on counseling of alcoholics Clinebell introduced the concept to view alcoholism as a disease rather than a character deficiency in religious circles. As one of the fathers of the pastoral counseling movement Clinebell was an early advocate of training in psychotherapy for seminarians aiming to work as counselors. He was a founding member of the

American Association of Pastoral Counselors The American Association of Pastoral Counselors was a professional organization of pastoral counselors from a variety of religious and psychological traditions. In 2019, AAPC consolidated with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) ...

. Besides pastoral counseling Clinebell addressed topics like personal problems in the context of relationships, the effects of social systems on individual lives, and the relationship of human beings to the environment. Clinebell died April 13, 2005, of complications from Parkinson's disease at Vista del Monte Retirement Community in Santa Barbara.

References

Works

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External links

Howard John Clinebell papers, 1949-2002
at Pitts Theology Library,

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinebell, Howard 1922 births 2005 deaths Alcohol abuse counselors American United Methodist clergy Deaths from Parkinson's disease in California 20th-century American Methodist ministers