Alternative family structures within the contexts of the Seventh Day Adventist Church : A pastoral approach

Abstract

This study focuses on providing a pastoral counselling approach for Seventh Day Adventist counsellors for supporting non-nuclear families. Alternative family structures, such as stepfamilies, adoptive families, and single-parent households, have been increasing for the last few years and this is no different within the SDA church. Despite this, the SDA church has not provided counsellors with an appropriate approach to support these families. This study suggests that SDA counsellors can support alternative families with the application of Attachment-Based Therapy and Family Systems Therapy. However, before this can be applied, an understanding of both families and marriage in the Bible, as well as, of the alternative family structures, is necessary. This study addresses this by, firstly, discussing what the SDA church considers the ideal marriage and how this ideal was not always practiced throughout the Bible. Secondly, the study discusses a few of the alternative family structures that are common today.