Pastoral Relationship with People with Intellectual ... - Theses

143with whom they engage in caring relationships. He questions the level ofdetachment created between carer and cared generated by means of the accreditedrole of the carer, which tends to negate the individual receiving that which theymay well value from the professional more than anything else, that is, friendship.Whilst still affirming the importance of recognising and implementingprofessional/client boundaries in the caregiving relationship he calls for areconfiguring of what it means to be considered ‘professional.’ He argues that theterm has become too closely equated with the notion of ‘expert’ and ‘problemsolver’ by dint of the role’s alignment with appropriate qualifications. This thengenerates an understanding of the professional caregiver’s role that heightens thedetachment between carer and cared and the potential for a mutually-enrichingrelationship. 392 From an etymological perspective he calls for the term‘professional’ to be reconsidered from the perspective of ‘to profess’ as in itsoriginal sense of commitment to a religious order. This is a notion that has beenlost over time with it becoming more closely aligned with a commitment to moresecular bodies of knowledge such as science and medicine. Consequently, thenotion of profession has lost its sense of commitment to community and has beenreplaced by commitment to a body of knowledge, hence increasing detachment.‘To profess’ also initially meant a permanent commitment ‘to follow,’ toact out of a sense of call from God, to use one’s gifts, to establish “a covenant ofnew bonds other than family or civic status, and a willingness to ‘stand with’others in shared community.” 393 Professional pastoral detachment minimises therole of the professional carer in advocating for and assisting communitynetworking with those for whom they care.Educationist Zana Lutfiyya similarly questions the notion that ‘paidrelationships’ negate the possibility of personal friendship. She asserts thatoccasionally there is a need for the professional carer to move “beyond the staffrole in order to champion the interests of the individual with a disability.” 394392 Gaventa, Bill. "Gift and Call: Recovering the Spiritual Foundations of Friendships." InFriendships and Community Connections between People with and without DevelopmentalDisabilities, edited by Angela Amado, 41-66. (Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.,1993)393 ibid., 57.394 Lutfiyya, Z. (1993). When "Staff" and "Clients" Become Friends. Friendships andCommunity Connections between People with and Without Developmental Disabilities. A.Amado. (Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.), 100.