ABSTRACT
Sigmund Freud encouraged Pfister's expanding of the scope of psychoanalytic inquiry, and in turn, Pfister wholeheartedly adopted Freud's method of psychoanalysis as the best and deepest approach to pastoral care and counseling. He remained a loyal champion of Freud's theories all his life. Pfister is considered by many historians to be the first pastoral counselor and pastoral theologian. In 1902 Pfister was called to serve as pastor of the Zurich Predigerkirche, a post he kept until 1939. For Pfister, Seelsorge was at the heart of the pastor's mission, and psychoanalysis was in his view simply the deepest and richest source for effective practice. Pfister regarded the parishioner-patient's idealization of the pastor as a positive aid to care, mobilizing the energy of love as a shield against fear. Pfister may not have fully appreciated Jaspers' situation, since as a Christian pastor in neutral Switzerland he did not fear for his own personal safety.
