The International Council came into existence in 1979 at the first International Congress of reflective practitioners of Pastoral Care and Counselling held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
There had been gatherings from as early as 1972 of various European and American practitioners but Edinburgh 1979, where over four hundred people from all the continents gathered, was a watershed for Pastoral Care and counselling akin to the ecumenical mission and church meetings of 1910 and 1937.

The constitution states:

The ICPCC is an organization of women and men desiring to respond to current needs and situations faced by people and communities in the world through pastoral care and counselling.

ICPCC exists for education and empowerment of persons and groups in the practice of pastoral care and counselling.

ICPCC's mission is
(a) to promote the reflective practice of pastoral care and counselling throughout the world.
(b) to inform, educate and inspire practitioners of pastoral care and counselling in various contexts in the world.
(c) to enable practitioners of pastoral care and counselling to be resources for one another and to learn from each other's cultures, traditions and practices.
(d) to support and advocate for the unique and essential dimension of spirituality in the teaching and practice of pastoral care and counselling.
(e) to develop relevant theories in the field of pastoral care and counselling and to this end to engage in interdisciplinary discourse.
(f) to organize and assist in organizing of conferences, consultations and meetings in various areas of the world.
(g) to support the development of counselling centres and organizations for pastoral care and counselling in various parts of the world.
(h) to increase interaction with other care and counselling organizations.

The ICPCC draws its membership from a diverse movement of persons and communities involved in spiritual, pastoral and religious care and counselling.
The ICPCC organization consists of a Council, Coordinating Committee and Executive as outlined herein.