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There are also some human experiences that are treated proven, since they remain outside the scope of empirical
by secular psychologists as ta-boo. Until recently, these inquiry) in favor of those of secular psychology. Thus, the
included the sense of guilt or the question of forgiveness. synthesis attained in Christian psychology must lead to
However, experiences of sin, fears of damnation, grace, both a coherent system of knowledge and its practical ap-
and salvation still continue to be taboo topics. A parti- plication in therapy.
cularly significant issue is the existence of God. It is of In the process of integrating psychology and Christianity,
paramount importance in the con-text of interpretation one must begin with the Christian standpoint and exa-
of religion as interpersonal communication. If God does mine the psychology in light of its assumptions in order
not exist, then every mystical experience, revelation, or to discern what is compatible with the faith from what is
ecstasy should be interpreted as a hallucination, while not. The compatible elements should be adopted, while
prayer and other acts of worship may be at best treated the fundamentally incompatible ones should be adapted
as self-therapeutic techniques rather than as interperso- if possible (Johnson & Jones, 2000, p. 172). This process
nal experiences of encounter between a human being and will reveal theses which are both consistent with Christi-
God. Saints would be thus perceived as disordered indi- anity and fully supported by scientific research.
viduals, and people in prayer or meditation as al-ienated
from the real world. Verification of Christian Psychology through Christian
Considering psychology from a Christian perspecti- Psychotherapy and Pastoral Counseling
ve, we do not mean to suggest that all knowledge co- An assessment of various modern schools of psychology
ming from sources other than the Bible should be seen from the Christian perspective will discover both strong
as antagonistic to the faith. Rather, Christians believe and weak points. Each modern psychological model has
that scientific data and the certain elements that are
Christian worldview are consistent with the faith
comple-mentary. This point Romuald Jaworski, Poland, dr. and are thus attractive
has been well-made in John hab., psychologist, psycho- to the Christian psycho-
Paul II’s encyclicals “Verita- therapist, supervisor, catholic logist. Each model also
tis Splendor” and “Fides et priest, professor at the Cardi- has some elements that
Ratio.” nal Stefan Wyszynski Univer- are incompatible with bi-
The problem is that some sity in Warsaw, president of blical faith and give rise
empirically unverifiable the Association of Christian to inconsistencies, wea-
theses are taken by some se- Psychologists (ACP) in Po- knesses, and problems.
cularists to be dogmatically land. He is the author of se- Most modern psycho-
true. One of the assump- veral books and articles in the logical theories and re-
tions of modern science is field of psychology of religion search will capture some
naturalism or material-ism, valid aspects of human
according to which no non- and pastoral psychology. life and experience.
material phenomena exist. romualdjaworski@wp.pl Theories may also be ve-
This position cannot be rified in the therapist’s
proven; it can be at best only assumed. Still, when one ob- office. A non-Christian therapist ignores the afterlife and
serves human beings from the psychological perspective focuses his efforts on the worldly wellbeing of man. Such
- mental processes, consciousness, emotions, or morality an attitude is limiting its clinical perspective on human
– I think it seems un-likely that these phenomena could existence to one’s earthly life. Shortterm help aimed at
be explained in a purely naturalistic manner. Even more alleviating painful distress does not necessarily promo-
problematic is the question of spiritual experiences, and te long-term fullness of life. It should be remembered
especially mystical ones. Are they only products of the that many crises, conflicts, neuroses, and depressions are
human brain, or perhaps the brain serves as a tool for caused by the fact that people do not understand their
the human spirit (cf. D. O’Leary & M. Beauregard, 2007). roots and the purposes of their lives. If psychology is not
The danger that the psychologist must reckon with while to usurp the place of religion (cf. Vitz 1994), it should
pursuing Christian psychol-ogy is the blurring of the di- humbly acknowledge that it is not competent to provi-
stinction between the natural and supernatural orders. de answers regarding the meaning of life, suffering, and
The guidelines contained in “Fides et Ratio” (John Paul death.
II, 1998) allow one to discover truths about man and his The Christian psychologist helps people who are suffe-
nature, without reductionism and without confusing dif- ring, hurting, and seeking deeper and more integral de-
ferent orders of knowledge (Porczyk, 2000, pp. 3–5). As velopment through psychotherapy and counseling. The
all philosophical assumptions in psychology are adopted distinguishing features of Christian psychotherapy are
a priori, before scientific inquiry begins, the decision to that it is based on both scientific psychological founda-
adopt a particular position may seem arbitrary. However, tions as well as a theology of spiritual life; it takes into
Christians believe that their philosophical assumptions consideration the existence of God and His influence
are based on revealed TRUTH, and therefore they are jus- on humans; it assumes the biopsychospiritual unity of
tified in preferring them over those of secular psychology. human beings and the fact that they are called by God
This of course gives rise to the current conflict between to fullness of life; and it uses all psychotherapeutic tech-
academic psychology and Christianity. niques that are compatible with Scripture. The therapist’s
It would be unreasonable for Christians to reject the en- personal relationship with God (humilty and openness
tire body of secular psychological study, which is largely to the gifts of the Holy Ghost) is taken to be of impor-
based on scientific experiments and empirical research. tance for the effectiveness of therapy. When necessary,
It would be equally unwarranted for Christians to reject the Christian psychologist may work with other pro-fes-
their Christian philosophical premises (which cannot be sionals, including clergymen (priests, spiritual directors,

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