Theologians for Psychologists: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Speaking figuratively, the study of theology often produces overgrown youths whose internal organs have not correspondingly developed. This is a characteristic of adolescence. There is actually something like theological puberty.

Clinical integrative practitioners (CIPs) face numerous challenges. Not only must they master one or more clinical theories, and stay current on the latest-greatest evidence-based practices, they must also recognize and account for how their theories and work are historically, culturally, and politically situated. As if this was not enough, CIPs implicitly, and/or explicitly, proport to integrate all the above with faith, religion, and/or spirituality. Ostensibly there is a deeper theological foundation inspiring, undergirding, and informing their work. Yet, despite all their good intentions, many CIPs may be overwhelmed with the task of being “good enough” clinicians, and over time lose their first language of faith/theology and become solely or primarily steeped in an acquired second language of psychology (Dueck & Reimer, 2009). Can anything be done to help?

In Thinking for Clinicians: Philosophical Resources for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and the Humanistic Psychotherapies, Donna Orange (2010) noted a similarly complex process at work for contemporary therapists (minus the theological piece). Her answer to the dilemma was for therapists to (a) acknowledge their lack of knowledge and (b) improve their knowledge through thinking well. To aid clinicians in thinking well, she turned to philosophy. Orange persuasively argued that therapists were, in part, practicing philosophers, that is, there are philosophical assumptions and commitments which undergird many contemporary therapeutic approaches although most therapists remain unaware of this reality. ¹ Therefore, she posited that clinical work would be enhanced by using philosophy to think deeply about these implicit philosophies and their significance for clinical practice. In her book, Orange introduced five different philosophers, their personal histories, the major themes of their work, and connected these to the clinical practice of therapy.

Orange’s (2010) argument that philosophy deeply underlies and impacts clinical work resonates with integrative religious writers such as Browning and Cooper (2000) who submit that psychotherapy theories are in fact religio-ethical-systems or practical moral philosophies. Therefore, to be genuinely integrative, it is essential that CIPs put their theories into critical conversation with one or more theologies. To move out of theological puberty as Thielicke (1959/1962) notes in the epigram above, will require that CIPs continue to explore various theologies. To maintain and not lose one’s original language of faith and theology, one must continue to grow in thoughtful and purposeful ways. What would it mean to begin the integrative conversation with theology rather than psychology?

Whereas Orange (2010) focused on why it was important that clinicians engage with philosophers, we suggest that it is similarly important for CIPs to engage overtly with theologians for four primary reasons. First, while there are many CIPs in the field, many of them feel frustrated that they cannot overtly connect their clinical work to theology. Exposing oneself to a variety of theological perspectives may help clinicians feel more knowledgably grounded in their work as a theological enterprise and enhance their interventions in theologically informed ways.

Second, being exposed to a number of theologians may help CIPs resist becoming stuck in one approach or theological school. As will be seen in this volume, reading a variety of theologians and diverse theologians (e.g., female, theologians of color) may expand one’s thinking and approach. This may be particularly important when patient and therapist are disparate on a number of diversity issues, including theology.

Third and related, reading various theologians may help CIPs listen differently so that they might hear and notice what they miss from their own theological tradition. This may assist CIPs question their presuppositions, check their automaticity, and create greater openness to the other.

Finally, reading a variety of perspectives can foster creativity. Reading widely may assist CIPs with the task, noted above, that therapists must acknowledge the reality that one’s theories and theologies are historically, culturally, and politically situated. Enhancing one’s intercultural and religious sensitivity through widening exposure to various theologies may lead to greater clinical creativity in both conceptualization and intervention.

This special volume of JPT was first conceived as a symposium at the conference Psychology & the Other in Boston, MA (Wright et al., 2013) and discussed four theologians: Brueggemann, Moltmann, Hauerwas, and Smith. In this volume, the guest editors invited a more diverse group of authors and encouraged them to select theologians representing a variety of diversity issues. Contributors were asked to historically situate the theologian, highlight major themes of the theologian, and demonstrate how these might enhance their work in psychology. Our hope is that this volume will inspire others to explore other diverse theological perspectives and engage in the on-going conversation.