BACKGROUND

“ANTON T. BOISEN (1876-1965) :BREAKING AN OPENING IN THE WALL BETWEEN RELIGION AND MEDICINE” by Robert Charles Powell is the 2nd volume of an (ultimately) seven volume set on Anton Boisen and the beginnings of the Clinical Pastoral Movement. The series is all written by Powell and published by CPSP Press and includes as follows:

• Volume One: Clinical Pastoral Training, Education, and Transformation The First Fifty Years of Learning through Supervised Encounter with “Living Human Documents” (1925-1975)”
• Volume Two: “Anton T. Boisen (1876-1965): Breaking an Opening in the Wall Between Religion and Medicine”
• Volume Three: “Anton T. Boisen (1876-1965): Cooperative Inquiry Amid the Complex Entanglements of Actual Life”
• Volumes Four and Five: Not yet published, but are also on the life and work of Anton T. Boisen.
• Volumes Six and Seven: Not yet published, but are on the life and work of Helen Flanders Dunbar

Review of Volume One has been done previously, CLICK HERE.

Robert Charles Powell is a psychiatrist as well as a historian. His website is http://www.robertcharlespowell.com/

REVIEW OF VOLUME TWO

For me a good swimming pool has two ends. One end is good for young children, as well as adults who just want to “hang out in the shallows.” The other end is set up for those who want to dive in deep.

The book “Anton T. Boisen (1876-1965): Breaking an Opening in the Wall between Religion and Medicine” is a second volume of what will ultimately be a seven volume set by Robert Charles Powell on Anton Boisen and the early days of the Clinical Pastoral Movement.

Powell describes Boisen as “The founder of a clinically trained, educated, and transformed chaplaincy.” (Part III of book). Boisen was a complicated person whose writings and insights were deeply connected with his life and relationships. As the title of this volume suggests, This book focuses on aspects of Boisen’s life that inform his interest in bridging the gap between Religion (and Theology) and Medicine (and Psychiatry/Psychology).

The swimming pool mentioned above is an appropriate analogy for this book. If one simply wishes to know about aspects of Anton Boisen’s life, the book is relatively short and an easy read. However, if one wishes to dive in deeper, the book has considerable endnotes that in many areas become articles in themselves. The book was meticulously researched, utlizing numerous unpublished works (including personal letters) as well as early versions of works that were later published by Boisen. As such, the book is good for one with a general interest in Boisen and the Clinical Pastoral Movement, as well as serious researchers.

The book, much like Volume One, shows its complex origins, being originally a booklet, but then with multiple iterations of additions, as well as a couple of additional short articles.

Those in clinical chaplaincy, clinical pastoral education/training, and clinical pastoral counseling should understand the roots of their movement. This book is strongly recommended for them, and I look forward to seeing the rest of the seven-volume set being published in the near future.

<Review by Robert H. Munson, Bukal Life Care>