Carrie Doehring, Ph.D.

"Spiritually-Oriented Approaches to Psychotherapy: The Dangers of Theological Naiveté"

Carrie Doehring, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Iliff School of Theology, is also ordained in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., an AAPC Diplomate and a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts and Colorado. In the area of pastoral care and theology, Carrie Doehring currently is articulating a contextual theologically-based approach to pastoral care that draws upon postmodern approaches to knowledge, (The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Postmodern Approach, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2006). As a feminist pastoral theologian, she focuses on sexual and domestic violence and clergy sexual misconduct, (Taking Care: Monitoring Power Dynamics and Relational Boundaries in Pastoral Care and Counseling, Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1995). A feature of her work is the use of films and novels as case studies. On Saturday morning, Dr. Doehring will present her plenary, “Spiritually-Oriented Approaches to Psychotherapy: The Dangers of Theological Naiveté.” In the past decade there has been a growing interest in spirituality among therapists. An appreciation for the multi-faceted complexity of a client’s cultural identity has led therapists to see religion and spirituality as an important theme in a client’s narrative. While a cross-cultural approach can help therapists attend to the role of religion and spirituality in a client’s life, therapists who rely solely upon psychological approaches to knowledge may not know how to identify the embedded theologies inherent in how their clients make sense of suffering. In addition, therapists who operate without any sense of their own embedded theologies may be unaware of how these embedded theologies shape their understanding of suffering. They need to be theologically educated, so that in their theological naiveté they do not inadvertently impose their theologies upon their clients, and their theological education must include postmodern approaches to religion and theology.

Postmodern approaches to knowledge have helped therapists appreciate how knowledge is socially and politically constructed how truth claims are provisional and contextual, and how truth claims made by those in positions of authority may contribute to abuses of power. How can postmodern approaches to religious knowledge be helpful in working with clients who use predominantly premodern approaches to religion and spirituality?

Therapists wanting to draw postmodern approaches to religious knowledge can use the metaphor of trifocal lenses to see how their clients may be using premodern, modern, and postmodern approaches to religion and spirituality as they cope with and make sense of crises. This metaphor of trifocal lenses may also help religiously and spiritually committed psychotherapists assess the embedded theologies inherent in their approach to psychotherapy. They can appreciate how they draw upon religion and spirituality to cope with stress and make sense of their work, and their postmodern approaches to knowledge can help them not impose their own embedded theologies upon clients and be alert to potential abuses of religious knowledge. A book signing will follow the address.

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