Free Online Webinar (Zoom)

Dr. Sarah Colyn is the Executive Director of Ministries of Pastoral Care, which works to equip the church through the cross, so that we might all become mature through union with Christ. She holds a BA from Calvin University, an MA in Christian Leadership and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and is a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington.

An experienced psychotherapist and pastoral caregiver, Sarah has taught and trained pastors and counselors in academic and clinical settings, and is ever intrigued by the pastoral application of true Christian theological anthropology. She grew up in the Christian Reformed Church, has been blessed by gifted mentors in the Pentecostal, Catholic, and evangelical traditions, particularly Leanne Payne, and is a member of the Anglican Church of North America. Sarah and her husband, Mike, have been blessed with three decades of marriage, a growing-up family of three young adults and a teenager, and enjoy life together in beautiful Edmonds, Washington.

Over the past three decades, Christian counseling author Dan Allender and Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman III have shown the fruitfulness that can come from bringing biblical and therapeutic wisdom together to address the big issues of life. Together they have written Bold Love, The Cry of the Soul (on the Psalms), Intimate Allies (on marriage), Breaking the Idols of your Heart (on Ecclesiastes), and God Loves Sex (on the Song of Songs). Join us for a celebration of their unique collaboration.

After telling the story of their friendship and the joys and challenges of uniting two disciplines that seem to so many to be so different, they’ll respond to reflections on each of their co-authored books, given by some therapists and scholars, and wrap up the day with some personal reflections on their collaboration and current relations between American culture and the church.

3 free CEUs are available for the day.

About the Speakers

Dr. Tremper Longman III is Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College.  In addition to his books with Dan Allender, he has written over thirty books, including commentaries on eleven books of the Bible, as well as Confronting Old Testament Controversies: Pressings Questions about Evolution, Sexuality, History, and Violence, The Bible and the Ballot: Using Scripture in Political Decisions, How to Read Daniel, and Revelation through the Eyes of the Old Testament. He was also a senior translator of the New Living Translation of the Bible.

Dr. Dan B. Allender taught Christian counseling for 15 years before co-founding The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, where he has been teaching ever since. In addition to his books with Temper Longman III, he wrote The Wounded Heart, The Healing Path, and To Be Told, and he recently co-authored Redeeming Heartache: How Past Suffering Reveals True Calling, with Cathy Loerzel. Dan has pioneered a unique, Christian approach to trauma, story, abuse therapy, and recovery. and travels extensively to speak on these topics. His weekly podcast with Rachael Clinton Chen has had more than 2 million downloads.

What makes people flourish? Over the past 20 years, secular psychotherapy and psychiatry have been leaning more and more towards Buddhist models of flourishing and mindfulness meditation, and they work. However, Christianity has been helping people flourish for centuries using prayer, contemplation, and distinctly Christian meditation with God at the center of the process.

Joshua J. Knabb, PsyD, ABPP, one of the most prolific authors and productive researchers in Christian psychotherapy and counseling today, will discuss Christian flourishing, and how it differs from contemporary alternatives, and to train therapists and laypeople in the practice of distinctly Christian, evidence-based kinds of meditation. A Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, he is the Director of the Psy.D. program in Clinical Psychology at California Baptist University, as well as the Editor of the Journal of Psychology and Christianity. He has written Faith-based ACT for Christian Clients, The Compassion-Based Workbook for Christian Clients, Contemplative Prayer for Christians with Chronic Worry, Christian Psychotherapy in Context, and most recently, Christian Meditation in Clinical Practice.

Half-day and full-day registration is available for mental health professionals and interested laypersons.

Session Details

Session 1

Flourishing within the Christian Tradition: Communion with God, Christian Contentment, and Christian Gratitude

For over half a century, flourishing has been a focus of interest in psychology. As an example, psychology of religion researchers have often examined spirituality as a correlate of well-being, with findings commonly revealing a positive association (Park & Slattery, 2013). In these widespread efforts, researchers frequently focus on a “universal” approach, that views spirituality outside irrespective of any religious community. Yet, some authors have argued for a more balanced strategy, employing both universal and worldview-sensitive methods for studying the psychology of religion and spirituality (Hill, 2013; Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2005; Kim et al., 2000). In an effort to help rectify the apparent imbalance, this presentation discusses three aspects of Christian flourishing: communion with God, Christian contentment, and Christian gratitude, drawing from the Bible, and other Christian writings (Kim et al., 2006; Pankalla & Kosnik, 2018). A part of the session will review the reliability and validity of three scales that were investigated empirically, and corelated with spirituality and flourishing/well-being.

Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify the similarities and differences between etic and emic approaches to studying the psychology of religion and spirituality.
2. Participants will be able to define and describe the psychometric properties of three emic scales within the Christian tradition—the Communion with God Scale, Christian Contentment Scale, and Christian Gratitude Scale.
3. Participants will be able to explore the role that communion with God, Christian contentment, and Christian gratitude play in the well-being of Christian adults.

Session 2

Christian Meditation in Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Four-Step Model for Anxiety and Depression

In the last few decades, researchers within the clinical psychology literature have increasingly investigated a variety of mental processes associated with anxiety and depression (transdiagnostic processes, e.g., repetitive negative thinking, distress intolerance, behavioral avoidance, perfectionism, impaired mentalization) and interventions (e.g., mindfulness meditation, loving kindness meditation) for treating clients in counseling and psychotherapy. One popular intervention, Buddhist-influenced mindfulness meditation, helps practitioners to develop present-moment, non-judgmental awareness, relating differently to unpleasant inner experiences in the process. Yet, some Christian clients in counseling and psychotherapy may prefer to draw from their own spiritual heritage, which offers many psychospiritual practices that are more consistent with the spiritual goals of Christianity. Certainly, several recent empirical studies in the psychology literature have elucidated that Christian meditation may hold promise as a Christian alternative to the abundance of Buddhist-inspired approaches currently promoted in counseling and clinical circles. Drawing upon his recently-published workbook with InterVarsity Press, the presenter offers a theoretically-grounded, four-step Christian meditative process for Christian clients in counseling and psychotherapy, helping Christians in therapy to target a variety of mental processes associated with anxiety and depression in counseling and clinical practice. In addition, participants will be guided in the therapeutic practice of Christian meditation in the workshop.

Objectives

1. Participants will be able to describe the burgeoning clinical psychology literature on mental processes associated with anxiety and depression (transdiagnostic processes, e.g., repetitive negative thinking, distress intolerance, behavioral avoidance, perfectionism, impaired mentalization).
2. Participants will be able to describe a four-step, theoretically-grounded Christian meditative model for working with Christian clients in counseling and psychotherapy.
3. Participants will be able to describe several specific Christian meditative interventions for targeting transdiagnostic mental processes when working with Christian clients in counseling and psychotherapy.

Paul C. Vitz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychology at New York University, one of the most original contributors to Christian psychology over the past 40 years, is the author of a number of seminal Christian psychology books, including Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship, a devastating critique of humanistic psychology, and Sigmund Freud’s Christian Unconscious, a Christian psychoanalysis of Freud that turned his avowed explanation for religion on its head, by demonstrating his public ambivalence towards God was rooted in the complexity of his family-of-origin, especially his poor relationship with his father. Since retiring from NYU, he has taught at Divine Mercy University, a Catholic graduate school of psychology, while working on, with the help of his colleagues there, A Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person: Integration with Psychology and Mental Health Practice, one of the few, distinctly Christian models of therapy ever developed.

Watch the Webinar (Part 2)

Watch Part 1 of the Paul Vitz webinar.

Watch the Webinar (Part 1)

Watch Part 2 of the Paul Vitz Webinar.

Watch the Webinar

Sandra Wilson is a speaker, former therapist, now a spiritual director, and a renowned author of three Christian psychology/counseling classics: Released from Shame, Hurt People Hurt People, and Into Abba’s Arms. For those who register before Friday, December 3, we’ll send a copy of one chapter from each book, since we’ll be discussing her books, as well as her more recent work as a spiritual director.

The Psalms invite us to put our most difficult experiences into words and share them with God. Research on therapy has found psychological benefits from journaling and talking with others who are safe and empathic. During this two-track conference, we heard from therapists, pastors, theologians, and sufferers speak about addressing sin and suffering by talking with God and others. Speakers and attendees will be able to attend in-person or online.

Conference tracks:

1. Therapist Track: Four sessions on Fri afternoon, Oct 29, starting at 12:30pm, & Friday evening at 7pm with singer/songwriter Andy Gullahorn and Christian mental health advocate, Kay Warren.    $100 includes 3 CEUs
2. Laypersons/Ministers Track: Friday evening at 7pm, Oct 29, with Andy Gullahorn and Kay Warren, & four sessions Sat morning, Oct 30, starting at 8:30am.    $25

Students can attend the entire conference for $25.

The Friday evening concert and talk only, with Andy Gullahorn and Kay Warren, is just $10.

Presented by Dr. Eric Johnson, 2021 AACC Waymaker World Conference

Christianity is a religion of the heart. In this workshop, we will consider how the heart can be understood as a psychological construct similar to, but different from, the mind and the focus of activity in psychotherapy and counseling when working with emotions, relationships, and the unconscious. Part of our time together will be spent practicing techniques that take people into their hearts.

Learning Objectives
Participants will:

• Articulate a Christian framework for licensed mental health professionals and psychologists working with the emotions, desires, thoughts, behaviors, and interpersonal experiences of Christian clients, rooted in their identities as adopted children of God
• Utilize distinctly Christian techniques for modifying the emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and relational patterns of Christian clients, including empathic attunement, self-differentiation, distress tolerance, and emotion detachment
• Distinguish features of therapy that work with the mind and the heart, according to recent research on both psychological constructs
• Analyze the stories of Christians in light of the narrative structure of Christianity to promote emotional and relational change