A Place for the Church within Professional Psychology (original) (raw)
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Psychology and the church: An exemplar of psychologistclergy collaboration
Professional …, 2000
Despile the increasing attention being given to clergy-psychologist collaboration, many psychologists may wonder what clergy-psychologist collaboration looks like in actual practice. The authors describe an example of clergy-psychologist collaboration involving a careful needs-assessment phase followed by the development of a wide spectrum of preventive, consultative, and direct services. Current challenges include funding, establishment of trust, and the integration of psychology and spirituality. Implications for professional psychologists are discussed. Some psychologists may be persuaded by recent Professional Psychology: Research and Practice articles that too little attention has been given to psychologist-clergy collaboration (Weaver et al., 1997) and that collaborating with clergy holds promise as an emerging area of professional work (McMinn, Chaddock, Edwards, Lim, & Campbell, 1998). Those articles provide helpful information from national survey research and systematic analyses of American Psychological Association journals but may leave the typical reader of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice wondering what clergy-psychologist collaboration looks like in actual practice. Three of us (Mark R. McMinn, Amy W. Dominguez, and Daniel C. Aikins} are involved in a research program that has become KATHRYN M. BENES received her PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1990. She is the clinical director of Catholic Social Services in the diocese of Lincoln, NE. Her professional interests include school psychology, pastor-psychologist collaboration, and organizational consultation.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2001
Church-psychology collaboration is gaining attention among professional psychologists, but few training or practical research opportunities are available for those interested in collaborating with religious leaders and organizations. The authors introduce the Center for Church-Psychology Collaboration (CCPC), with its mission to make sustained and relevant contributions to the research literature in psychology, train doctoral students in effective means of collaborating with religious organizations, and provide service to religious communities throughout the world. Domestic and global implications are discussed. Several articles regarding church-psychology collaboration have recently appeared in
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1997
To better understand the role of clergy in relation to the practice of psychology, a systematic review of research on clergy in 8 major American Psychological Association journals was conducted. From 1991 to 1994, 4 of 2,468 (0.02%) quantitative studies considered clergy in their data. This examination of the literature suggests that psychology lacks an original empirical literature that can enable a scientific evaluation of the beneficial or harmful effects of clergy involvement in mental health care. Professional psychology should give greater consideration of and collaboration with clergy. One of the most creative and promising directions that professional psychology has taken is an increased interest in multidisciplinary collaboration (Hinshaw & DeLeon, 1995). Examples of professional collaboration have been noted between psychol-ANDREW J. WEAVER is a United Methodist minister and clinical psychologist at Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and is a member of the clinical faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii. His research interests include the role of clergy in mental health and the psychological dynamics of religious coping.
2000
This article explores the relationship of theology to psychology in the formation of the Christian life in the church. What authority do we give to psychology versus preaching in the church and how do they function in relation to each other? Postmodern hermeneutics has revealed the power position of the therapist versus the preacher to interpret our lives. Psychology is an interpretation of our lives as powerful as Christianity and it can diverge from Christianity in many ways. The article explores this and the ways Jungian psychology and Christian faith can produce two totally different types of person in character and experience. It is therefore imperative for the church to understand where they may be different and make psychology the servant of the church and subservient to the preaching of the cross.
Christian Psychology in an era of Openness1
I am delighted to be with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Though we are separated by culture and language, yet we have a common faith. Your desire to be theologically faithful in the midst of your culture echoes the yearning of my own heart.
2005
Some clergy and psychologists are willing to collaborate in providing for people under their care and some are reticent. The purpose of this research is to see if clergy are more likely to collaborate with psychologists of a particular sex or training background Six groups of clergy were given written descriptions of a psychologist that varied on these two dimensions-the institution from which the psychologist received training and sexand were then asked to rate how likely they would be to participate in 7 collaborative scenarios with the psychologist. No group differences were found Furthermore, clergy characteristics were not significantly related to their likelihood of collaborating with psychologists. Differences were observed among the 7 collaborative scenarios, suggesting that clergy are more interested in some forms of collaboration than others. It appears that idiographic relational factors are ultimately more important than general demographic categories in establishing clergy-psychologist collaboration. Religion plays a vital role in the lives of many Americans. In fact, 3 out of 5 Americans consider religion to be very important to their Jives (Gallup and Lindsay, 1999). Not surprisingly then, many individuals, couples, and families are inclined to seek help first from clergy rather than from a professional psychologist. Clergy are the frontline mental health workers in the United States (Weaver, Flannelly, Garbarino, Figley, and Flannelly, 2003), with somewhere between 25% ("Mental Health Patients," 2004) and 40% of counseling Clients (Meylink and Gorsuch, 1988) seeking help of clergy first when facing troubles. For example, people grieving the death of someone close have reported nearly five times the likelihood of seeking the aid of a clergyperson than all other mental health sources combined (Veroff, Kulka, and Douvan, 1981).
Attitudes of religious leaders toward integrating psychology and church ministry
Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 2020
Although psychology and religion deal with overlapping subject matter, the relationship between psychology and the church has a tumultuous history. The current study examined religious leaders' attitudes toward integrating psychological science into church ministry. Religious leaders (N ϭ 394) completed measures of (a) congregants' mental health and social concerns, (b) attitudes toward psychological science (i.e., perceived barriers of integration, compatibility with church ministry), and (c) hypothesized predictors of attitudes toward the integration of psychology and church ministry (i.e., political conservatism, intratextual fundamentalism, religious intellectual humility, emotional intelligence). Overall, religious leaders expressed both positive and negative attitudes toward psychology. Conservative political orientation and intratextual fundamentalism were associated with negative attitudes toward integration, whereas religious intellectual humility and emotional intelligence were associated with positive attitudes. We conclude by discussing limitations, suggestions for future research, and practical applications for psychologists and church leaders.
What Evangelical Pastors Want to Know about Psychology
Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2001
Increasing attention has been given to psychologist-clergy collaboration in mainstream psychology journals, yet much remains to be considered regarding how these collaborative relationships will benefit the work of pastors and Christian congregations. The purpose of this research was to evaluate clergy perspectives regarding what psychologists can offer to facilitate the ministry of the church. Various methods of assessment were used, including a survey of evangelical pastors, responses to an open-ended question via electronic mail and in person, and a focus group of Christian mental health practitioners. Respondents indicated an interest in the relationship of sin and psychological disorder, interventions particularly related to marriage and family counseling, understanding of diverse personalities in dealing with church conflict, understanding of psychological disorders, and methods of caring for their personal needs as pastors. Recommendations are offered for those interested in ...