Page 39 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 18

My Master’s Degree was in psychology with a Why would you call yourself a Chris�an
clinical emphasis (New Mexico Highlands Uni-
versity). I pursued courses in intelligence tes-
�ng and personality assessment. At the same
�me, I was wan�ng to understand basic psy-
chological processes such as cogni�on. My the-
sis was an a�empt to be�er understand the
physiological basis of memory. I worked in the
lab with rats and injected them with glucose to
learn how glucose might serve as a modulator
to the forma�on of memory in a learning task.
Though the research was interes�ng, it seemed
God’s leading was more toward helping people
through psychotherapy than through the labo-
ratory.
I eventually pursued a Master’s Degree in Mar-
riage and Family Counseling. This was through
a seminary where I could more fully explore
both counseling and the Bible. The focus in
marriage and family was also important to me
as by this �me I had come to see the importan-
ce of rela�onships, both in terms of our health
and our pathology. My study was completed at
Southwestern Bap�st Theological Seminary. I
would eventually go to a sister ins�tu�on at
New Orleans Bap�st Theological Seminary
where I competed a PhD. The degree focus was
in transforma�on while I was at New Orleans.
Originally, the focus was in psychology and
counseling, but I ended up with a focus in coun-
selor educa�on.
My disserta�on, was in the areas of a psycho-
logy of religion. I studied emerging adult men,
ages 18-29, and their a�achment levels to their
fathers. I was exploring the defec�ve father hy-
pothesis as proposed by Paul Vitz. My research
suggested that those with an avoidant a�ach-
ment toward their fathers were more likely to
abandon their religious belief systems than
those who had secure a�achments with their
fathers. This was consistent with the defec�ve
father hypothesis. Also of interest was the fact
that par�cipants who reported more personal
misfortune and pain in their lives were less apt
to be secular. In my sample, secure a�achment
was related to a father who modeled a rela�-
onship with God.
39
psychologist?
Technically, my license to prac�ce mental he-
alth is in marriage and family therapy. Howe-
ver, on the academic side of my life, I am an as-
sociate professor of psychology at Hannibal-La-
Grange University in Hannibal, Missouri. I con-
sider myself a Chris�an therapist and professor
because of my rela�onship with Jesus. I believe
that God is the author of truth. My role as a
Chris�an behavioral scien�st is to a�empt to
understand human psychological func�oning
as designed by God. Understanding humanity
through this lens helps me know how humans
are designed to func�on and this leads to app-
lica�ons in the counseling office as well.
What are you actually doing? Tell me about a
li�le bit about your experiences.
For most of my professional career, I have
taught full-�me as a professor in psychology
and have worked as a therapist part �me. This
past year, I reversed this ra�o. I am now enga-
ged full-�me in my clinical prac�ce and teach
part �me as a faculty member at Hannibal-La-
Grange University. I see children, adolescents,
and adults in my clinical prac�ce. I am more of
a generalist with regard to mental health issues
but a significant amount of my work is with
people in rela�onships. I especially enjoy wor-
king with couples helping them to overcome
their struggles and foster deeper levels of in�-
macy. I believe we are designed for in�mate re-
la�onships because we are made in the image
of God. This informs much of the work I do. I
find the combina�on of clinical and academic
work to be complimentary. One informs the
other.
As a professor, I have had great opportuni�es
to help students grow and develop as persons.
Watching persons develop and find their passi-
ons for life and God is a joy. I have also had the
experience of taking students on interna�onal
trips. Through the experience of traveling ab-
road I have helped them learn about a cross-
cultural perspec�ve in psychology.