Page 104 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 22

Michael A. Stra�ng, Ph.D., C.Psych.,
Assistant Professor of Psychology,
Redeemer University, Ancaster, ON
Michael A. Stra�ng
(Canada)
"Why would you describe yourself as a Chris�an psychologist?"
Ques�ons to Michael Stra�ng (Canada)
May I first ask how it came about that you
studied psychology?
As a teenager, I was unsure what my strengths
and interests were and I was very anxious and
uncertain about what career God was calling
me to. I knew that I enjoyed math and the sci-
ences and I liked the idea of being able to walk
alongside people in their suffering. This led me
to seek undergraduate studies in biology at a
secular university with vague aspira�ons of be-
coming a general physician. However, over the
course of the first year, I began to feel that the
biology program seemed not to be as good of
a fit for me personally as I had an�cipated it
being.
Meanwhile, I had been intrigued by a philo-
sophy course that I completed in high school,
so I also took a couple of elec�ve courses in
philosophy and psychology during my first and
second year of university. At the �me, I took
these courses purely for interest’s sake, assu-
ming that these courses were – at most – tan-
gen�al detours on my career path. However, as
I became more uncertain about the biology
program, I contacted my high school philo-
104
sophy teacher to ask for his feedback about a
poten�al transi�on into a philosophy program.
I told him that I didn’t want to be limited to te-
aching and wri�ng books for a living, so he as-
ked me if any other subjects had caught my
a�en�on and I began to reflect on psychology.
At the �me, I had never met any psychologists
or counsellors in my own church community,
so I was unsure whether or not psychology
could be compa�ble with a Chris�an world-
view. As we talked, he helped me to ar�culate
two significant insights. First, I began to see
psychology as a discipline that is interested in
the ques�ons of philosophy, which it a�empts
to answer using scien�fic methods, thereby
connec�ng these two areas of personal inte-
rest. Second, I realized that I was most interes-
ted in suppor�ng individuals at a personal and
emo�onal level, rather than a medical level per
se. Psychology seemed to be a natural fit.
This was the moment when I first began to
discern God’s providen�al hand guiding me to-
ward a career as a clinical psychologist. I began
my journey into psychology with the discovery
that God had already placed me on this path
before I even realized that He did. Soon a�er-