Intro letter-July 2011

Reviewing each of the submissions for Soul & Spirit has broadened my intellectual horizons.  For each issue, we are treated to a wide variety of articles submitted by the authors.  The pages of my dictionary are slightly more frayed as my vocabulary expands by reading the authors and having to look up chosen words.  The articles also allow me to conceptually stretch as I think about topics that I have not previously considered, particularly as I have been able to see the implications of those concepts in real life. 

In the present issue, there is again satisfying variety.  On the historical end, Michael Haykin introduces us to Marcius, one of the early church fathers with additional articles to come in the series.  Dennis Morgan discusses John Calvin’s book, Psychopannia and how it relates to the importance of personhood in the therapeutic encounter.   On the more practical end, Fernando Garzon discusses the popular therapeutic concept of mindfulness, suggesting a distinctly Christian alternative.  Phil Monroe writes about how Christian psychologists might respond to trauma, with particular attention to a multicultural context.  Plus, Rick Sholette describes how we might respond to difficult sessions with our clients.  Additionally, Keith Whitfield discusses the concept of goodness as a useful Christian concept to explore.  Finally, Jim Cofield and I each provide book reviews of sorts. 

As we are past summer’s midpoint (at least for those on an academic calendar), I pray that you are all faring well.  I hope that these short articles will challenge your thinking and help you to develop more deeply as a Christian psychologist.

Grace and peace,

Jason Kanz, PhD, ABPP

Marshfield Clinic

The Goodness of God for the Soul of Man: A Reflection on Its Transformative Power

Words are powerful. What we say affects other people, and what we hear affects us. There are words that hurt by cutting, while other words erode confidence by picking, and some construct walls between people by offending. Words can also have a positive effect to those who hear them. They can encourage, strengthen, and invite people into relationship. So much of this happens unwittingly in casual conversations. The truth is, we hardly think about the power of words, except in terms of their instructional value.

Questions to Ask Yourself After a Difficult Session

Have you ever finished a counseling session beset with disappointment, confusion, or fatigue? Confused because the meeting seemed fruitless or counterproductive, disappointed because you were clueless about how to correct the situation or knew you had made mistakes, and fatigued because it seemed like you just emerged from a lost battle? Perhaps you were overwhelmed with the immensity of the issues presented or with the intensity of the interactions experienced or with the intractable personalities involved. In any case you were worn out, with little positive to show for your efforts.

Psychopannychia and the Person in Psychotherapy

The term Psychopannychia triggers our imaginations. We might think of some type of psychiatric disorder, perhaps an anxiety related disorder. Psychopannychia (the soul active all night long) is actually the name of a published work. It was John Calvin’s first written work in which he intended to speak as a theologian (Tavard, 2000, p. 4). He was addressing a 16^th century controversy regarding the soul falling asleep at death and waking up at the final resurrection.  Calvin “…considered it his duty to take up the pen in defense of the true doctrine, namely that the soul neither sleeps nor dies at bodily death, but remains fully alive as it is taken up in the Lord” (Tavard, 2000, p. 1). The term “soul” is actually referring to the person remaining fully alive at bodily death. Could this discussion of the issue be relevant to clarifying how we should regard persons in this life, as we work with them in psychotherapy?

Christian Psychology and Trauma Recovery Efforts

Trauma is a hot topic these days. We live in a world where we are aware of terrible traumas happening around the globe in real time. We hear and see tsunamis unfolding, towns being flooded when dikes are breached, mass shootings, bodies strewn about due to ethnic conflict, houses destroyed by errant bombs, and gender violence in almost every corner of the world. While humanitarian efforts to respond to the physical needs of those in trouble are not new, there is a recent push to have charity workers become “trauma informed” so they can also address spiritual and psychological distress.   

Existing in a distracted reality

As a clinical neuropsychologist, I see patients presenting with a variety of cognitive complaints.  With increasing frequency, adults arrive in my clinic asking to be evaluated for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Adult ADHD is a slippery diagnosis, to be sure, yet the nature of these patients seems to have morphed in the past few years.  What once were patients with a clear developmental history of behavioral and learning problems and persistent difficulties with focus, executive functioning, and mood regulation now are more commonly mothers and fathers in their early 30s who maintain steady employment, but worry about their jobs, yet have no convincing developmental history.  They describe distractibility, forgetfulness, and mental cloudiness.  At home, they feel frazzled, flitting from one task to another, feeling unaccomplished in all of them.  Like many of us, their homes are filled with electronic distractions—Facebook, YouTube, e-mail, text messaging, Internet chat, and television to name a few.  

Reading Marcius: Introducing an Ancient Christian Author

“I read Macarius and sang,” so wrote John Wesley in 1736 upon his discovery of the Ancient Church author whose writings have been transmitted under the name of Macarius. The major themes of those texts of Macarius available to Wesley nicely dovetailed with the Methodist leader’s interests, for in them Macarius especially set forth the biblical dimensions and theological implications of the salvific work of the Holy Spirit and explored the experience of the believer, who, though indwelt by the Spirit, nevertheless battles indwelling sin.

While there is much that is unclear about Macarius, he appears to have been especially active between the 380s and the first decade of the fifth century. He had strong ties to Syrian Christianity, although his mother tongue was most likely Greek. He would thus have been very comfortable with the theological ambience of Greek Christian life and piety. His ministry seems to have been situated on the frontier of the Roman Empire in upper Syria and in southern Asia Minor, where he was the spiritual mentor of a number of monastic communities. There are also indications that he was known to and even friends with two of the great Cappadocian Fathers, Basil of Caesarea (c.330–79) and Gregory of Nyssa (c.335–c.395). In fact, Gregory of Nyssa so admired Macarius that he incorporated holus-bolus significant portions of one of Macarius’ works into one of his own theological treatises!

Macarius’ deeply realistic approach to the human condition, his emphasis on the vital necessity of the Holy Spirit to effect eternal transformation, and his desire to take seriously human responsibility reveal him to be a thinker worthy of attention in our day that is also marked by a fascination with spirituality and a passionate interest in what it means to be truly human. In the two articles that follow, we shall explore what this Ancient Christian author can teach us about the nature of being human and what it means to be filled with the Spirit.

Michael Haykin, PhD

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Mindfulness and Christian Devotional Meditation

Psychotherapy reminds me of the fashion industry. In fashion, a new style is introduced, becomes “hot”, and then fades to the status of regular clothing (or worse) over time. One of today’s most fashionable treatment interventions involves Buddhist-derived mindfulness meditation. Many Christian therapists have training in mindfulness meditation through their knowledge of Dialectical Behavioral Training, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. A growing empirical literature supports each of these (e.g., Baer, 2006). Strikingly, many Christian clinicians know more about mindfulness than Christian devotional meditation forms. What’s wrong with this picture?

Around the Web-July 2011

The lack of church support or awareness for individuals with mental illness was the focus of a recent Science Daily article.  The Science Daily writers featured a research study conducted by a Baylor University psychologist that demonstrated that although mental illness was quite prevalent among 6000 participants (27%), churches were ill-equipped to deal with the challenges these congregants brought.  As Christian psychologists, many of us are aware that we are not only surrounded by hurting people in our churches, but that our churches do not always address the issues well.  Hopefully, as Christian psychology continues to mature, we will be better positioned to help churches address these often difficult challenges. 

On his blog, Phil Monroe wrote of the conflict that often seems to exist between the various schools of Christian counseling, whether they be biblical counseling, Christian psychology, integration, or a host of other labels.  He provides wise counsel about how we might more winsomely interact with one another and with our clients by building one another up.  This article in many ways seems to get at the heart of what Christian psychology is seeking.  

Michael Ruse wrote a rather scathing essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education directed at Calvin College and their upholding of the historical Adam and Eve in the censure of religion professor John Schneider (Schneider has since left). Ruse wrote, “if your religious beliefs conflict with science—deny absolutely and completely basic claims of science—and if you insist on the religion over the science, then don’t expect respect from the rest of us.”  I am including a link to this article in Soul & Spirit because, whatever one’s perspective on evolution, it demonstrates one of the challenges Christian academics face.  The pursuit of developing a distinctly Christian psychology must keep in view the modal perspectives of secular academe in the 21^st century.