Ministers and the ’Helper Syndrome’ Cover Image

A lelkészek és a helfer-szindróma
Ministers and the ’Helper Syndrome’

Author(s): Béla Botond Jakabházi
Subject(s): Psychology
Published by: Erdélyi Unitárius Egyház
Keywords: Wolfgang Schmidbauer; mental health; pastoral counseling; Helper Syndrome; Burn-out Syndrome.

Summary/Abstract: In companies, institutions and organizations the health and well-being of the workforce is very important for overall success. This is even more so in the case of churches, where the well-being of the ministers is one of the many reliable signs of how the institution is functioning. Focusing on protecting and enhancing the health of ministers in the church leads to a more successful and authentic way of spreading the good news and helping people in distress and crisis. Ministers encounter many pitfalls in their work of pastoral counseling and pastoral care in general, as does any other mental health professional. Wolfgang Schmidbauer (1941–) coined and defined the term Helper Syndrome, which can be summarized as an attitude of – in this case – a minister who selfishly tries to exercise selfl essness. This paper presents the personal traits of someone with the Helper Syndrome (hidden narcissistic traits, rejection in childhood, indirect aggression, avoiding reciprocity, fear, powerlessness, selfishness) and the direct connection between the Helper Syndrome and the Burn-out Syndrome.

  • Issue Year: 121/2015
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 225-242
  • Page Count: 17