Journal of Psychology and Theology

The theology and psychology “conversation” is currently constrained by a series of seemingly intractable difficulties, ranging from competing methodological commitments to assumptions about theological projects not being vulnerable to empirical verification or falsifiability. This article suggests that a thoroughgoing experimental theology has the capacity to move beyond a conversational paradigm in ways that current approaches simply do not allow, especially as it concerns an interdisciplinary understanding of what it means to be human. It suggests that Experimental Theology (ET) conceives of “conversation” only as a starting point for interdisciplinary projects; grounds theological theories empirically; and advances both psychological and theological research in new and substantive ways, and toward new ends.

Pastoral ministry is a demanding and stressful vocation, and the empirical and anecdotal literature on ministry has often emphasized this negative outlook. More recent work, however, has shifted toward a more positive emphasis on personal characteristics that might help pastors be more resilient. The present study examined the interplay of identity demands, social support, and self-regard in accounting for both positive (positive affect and life satisfaction) and negative (negative affect and burnout) outcomes. Self-compassion, which was measured using the short form of Neff’s (2003) Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF), was herein reconceptualized as being comprised of two types of self-regard: self-compassion and self-criticism. Regression analyses with data collected from 200 United Methodist pastors indicated that social support and self-compassion (in descending order of importance) explained a significant proportion of the variance of the positive outcome, while self-criticism, social support, demand, and gender explained the negative.

Parents of preterm infants often experience high levels of stress resulting in feelings of trauma after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, post-traumatic growth can occur after a stressful incident resulting in more favorable individual outcomes. One predictor of post-traumatic growth that has not been studied in relation to the NICU is parents’ religiousness and spirituality. This study focused on filling this gap in the literature by conducting a pilot study comprised of 25 parents’ reports on their experiences of post-traumatic growth post-NICU discharge. Specifically, we explored associations between parents’ reports on religiousness and spirituality through measures of parent–child sanctification, religious coping, and spiritual disclosure in relation to parents’ distress and their post-traumatic growth. We found that parents who sanctified their parent–child relationship experienced higher levels of post-traumatic growth even in the presence of stress. Parents who reported increased use of positive forms of religious coping and open spiritual disclosure with their spouse/partner also reported higher levels of post-traumatic growth. Results support a continued focus on family-centered NICU care during and after discharge with the caveat of also considering parents’ spiritual and religious worldviews.

This article considers what integration efforts in psychology would look like if informed by a trinitarian account of creation. Further theological reflection about the doctrine of creation reveals four key conclusions that are valuable for conceiving the relationship between theology and psychology: (1) The goodness of the created realm establishes the investigation and exploration of human nature through science and psychology; (2) Human nature can be explored through psychology because God’s providential care allows a certain “order” of creation to be preserved despite the reality of sin; (3) God endows humanity with creative abilities to discover and develop the created realm and culture through the science of psychology; (4) God’s trinitarian relations with the world establishes the theological basis for the social, embodied, and relational aspects of human nature that are able to be discerned through the study of psychology. The implications that these four key conclusions have for psychological research and clinical psychology will also be discussed.

The overarching goal of this article was to practice a faith-integration process focused on an empirically supported, family-based treatment approach for adolescent depression, Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT). First, we describe the ABFT treatment model and evaluate the extant empirical support for its use. Next, using the theological framework by Balswick and Balswick (2007), we investigate a scriptural understanding of healthy family functioning. Finally, we engage in a dialogical process that includes a critical evaluation and constructive modification of ABFT, based on the previous investigation of empirical, theological, and scriptural sources of knowledge. We found that the goals and treatment approach of ABFT are consistent with biblical and theological notions of healthy family functioning, and we suggested two modifications that might enhance services to Christian populations. Thus, we provide specific recommendations for accommodating a particular treatment (ABFT) to Christians, and, at a general level, we encourage Christian mental health providers to engage in their own process of practical integration, such as demonstrated in this article, to inform their clinical use of interventions supported by clinical psychological science.