These books are not required for any particular course, but instead are a peek into our hearts and minds as we enter this new season.

As you discern what books you鈥檇 like to add to your summer list, we invite you to consult and consider buying a book from a Black-owned independent bookstore.

Community Recommendations
	by Padriag O鈥橳uama听 Recommended by Millicent Haase, MDiv ’21, Admissions Counselor听 From master storyteller and host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound, P谩draig 脫 Tuama, comes an unforgettable memoir of peace and reconciliation, Celtic spirituality, belonging, and sexual identity. 鈥�It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.鈥澨�
	by Cole Arthur Riley听 Recommended by McKenna Hight, MDiv ’24 This quote from the introduction sets the frame: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER: In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the 鈥渘ecessary rituals鈥� that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.听听 鈥淭o be human in an aching world is to know our dignity and become people who safeguard the dignity of everything around us.鈥澨�
	by Dr. Angela Parker听 Recommended by McKenna Hight, MDiv ’24 A challenge to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy that calls into question how Christians are taught more about the way of Whiteness than the way of Jesus.听 鈥淚n essence, If God Still Breathes, Why Can鈥檛 I allows me to hold the idea of Scripture as authoritative while interrogating the doctrines of inerrancy and infallibility as tools of White supremacist thought that promote the erasure of communal memory.鈥澨�

More Community Recommendations:

Cheryl Goodwin, Director of Institutional Assessment and Library Services 听

• by Brian McClaren听

Daniel Tidwell-Davis, Director of Student & Academic Services听

• 听 by Ash Van Oterloo听
• by James Alison听

Jana Peterson, MDiv ’21 & current theology doctoral student at 听

• by Randy Woodley听
• by Steven Heinrichs听
• by Robin Wall Kimmerer听
• by Osheta Moore
• by Jennifer Grace Bird Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture

Dr. Joel Kiekintveld, Adjunct Faculty, Listening Lab Leader听

• by Randy Woodley听
• by Hartmut Rosa听
• by Andrew Root and Blair D. Bertrand听
• by James K. A. Smith听

Katrina Fitzpatrick, Assistant Instructor听

• by Richard Twiss听
• by Kristin Kobes Du Mez听听
• by Randy Woodley and Bo Sanders听
• by Isabel Wilkerson听

Krista Law, MACP ’12 & MATC ’13, Enrollment Manager听

• by Wil Gafney听

Lauren Peiser, Director of Partnerships听

• by Matthias Roberts听

Mackenzie Martin, Academic Advisor听

• by Rebecca Roanhorse听

Dr. Maria Fee, Adjunct Faculty听

• by Willie James Jennings听
• by Courtney Bryant听
• by Patrick Bringley
• by Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt
• by Lucretia B. Yaghjian
• by Madeleine L’Engle

Dr. O鈥橠onnell Day, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology

• by Patrick Casement
• by M Fakhry Davids
• by Narendra Keval
• by Frank Lowe
• by Thomas Ogden听

Dr. Paul Hoard, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology

• by Stephen Mitchell and Margaret Black
• by John Caputo听
• by Resmaa Menakem
• by Richard Mitchell
• by Neil Postman听听
• by Daniel Jose Gaztambide听
• by Emily Nagoski听
• by Slavoj Zizek听
• by Bessel van der Kolk听
• by Julia Serano听

Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture

• by Philip S Gorski and Samuel Perry
• by Andrew Whitehead听
• by Pamela Cooper White听
• by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin JR听听

Dr. Pat Loughery, Affiliate Faculty听听

• by Rob Walker 听
• by Becky Chambers
• by Oliver Burkeman

Jeanette Scott, MACP ’08, Practicum Leader

• by Colin Woodard

We look forward to being in conversation with you about the places your own readings and curiosities take you this summer when we enter into learning together this fall. Until then, we hope each of us can find some good time in the sun.

The post What to Read Before September appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Many of you have been drawn to this learning community at 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology by the conviction that the fullness of your being should be heard, met, and taken seriously. Along with this conviction comes a core belief that you yourself are one of the most valuable and important assets of any work that you step into. 天美视频 community honors the personal labor of formation and becoming just as much as the academic development of critical engagement and practical skill (which are both a part of formation as well). Who you are matters. As we like to say it, you can only accompany people as far as you have been willing to go yourself.

Formation is at the very heart of 天美视频 curriculum and experience, and we believe that you also need to be pursuing growth outside of our learning community鈥損erhaps through participation in a faith community or perhaps through interactions with friends and family. In whatever ways you choose to lean into formation, may it be grounded in strong rhythms of self-care.

MACP Students

A significant part of your training and development as a therapist will happen outside 天美视频, as a client in a therapeutic relationship. 天美视频 requires that you, as an MACP student, complete 40 sessions of psychotherapy with a licensed therapist to deepen your own self-understanding and spend time pursuing the work you will be asking of others. You鈥檒l learn more about this in the weeks ahead, but know that this rhythm of self-care is intentionally woven into the MACP curriculum because we deeply value your journey.

MATC Students

In our degree programs at 天美视频, we are forming leaders and practitioners who are relationally mature, growing in awareness, and courageously compassionate. So we highly encourage MATC students to find a therapist or spiritual director to journey with you through this formative time. During graduate school, you will be asked to reflect deeply on your story and how this has impacted your relational style. A gifted sojourner can come alongside you and help you do this work well.

Beyond Therapy and Spiritual Direction

We hope the rhythms mentioned above will be a meaningful part of your self-care as a student. We also know that holistically caring for ourselves is about much more than a task list or how we fill our calendars. In this, we鈥檝e been inspired by the training and resources coming out of 天美视频鈥檚 . identifies three streams of resilience鈥攑eople, practices, and purpose鈥攖hat are crucial to meaningful self-care. We pray that, in addition to the practice of therapy, spiritual direction, and self-care routines, you will also experience care through the people in this community, and through stepping closer to your future purpose as you equip yourself for it through learning and formation.

Seek out the ways you can care for yourself well, and know that they are likely as nuanced as your own story! Some of you may already have a good sense of this, while others may spend three to four years learning what self-care even is, and what the particularities of good self-care are for your personhood. We invite you to be always practicing. After all, learning at 天美视频 takes your whole body.

The post The Role of Self-Care in Formation appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Video Transcript

What is a group interview for grad school? What questions are you likely to be asked? And why would a school do a group interview in the first place?

My name is Ben Oldham. I’m the Director of Enrollment at the 天美视频 of Theology and Psychology, and I’m here to answer your questions about group interviews and more.

So, what is a group interview at 天美视频 and why do we ask you to do it?

At 天美视频, when we conduct group interviews, it is different than what you have likely experienced in the corporate world.

Group interviews for 天美视频 are not competitive. A lot of my personal experience in doing group interviews applying for a job is that there are five of us in a room competing for one or two positions. That鈥檚 not the case at all for us. In our group interviews, we want to understand who you understand yourself to be.

Your group interview will be comprised of yourself, your interview facilitator, and four or five others who are applying to one of our degree programs. Your interview facilitator will introduce themselves, will give you a chance to get to know each other, and then they’ll prompt a conversation. Regardless of the prompt, all we ask in the group interview is that you bring yourself and the authenticity of who you are.

At the core of who we are at 天美视频 of Theology and Psychology is that we are a relational learning community. We take who you are seriously. We want to hear you relate to others. We want to hear how well you are able to listen to another person. We want to be able to understand how you engage others who are different from you are, whether that is a difference of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, socioeconomic status, political belief, or theological belief.

We want to know that you are able to listen deeply to another human being and are willing to be changed by them. In short, we鈥檙e wanting to hear how well you understand yourself in relation to others. Whether you’re training to be a therapist, a pastor, or a practitioner in another field, we believe that the greatest efficacy that you will have as an agent of change is who you are.

What are you likely to be asked in a group interview?

Your interview facilitator may prompt conversation with a quote that’s important to them. The interview facilitator may choose a prompt of a recent national or political event. Your facilitator may choose a single word to prompt conversation. That word may be something like, 鈥渂ody.鈥�

Why would a graduate school do group interviews?

So, now you know what a group interview is. You know what questions are likely to be asked. But why would a grad school do group interviews instead of one on one interviews? At 天美视频, the group interview process relates right back to our pedagogy. Our pedagogy at its core is relational.

Our core values at the 天美视频 are . When we speak of formation, we are asking you, who you are forming to be? Who do you know yourself to be, and who is shaping that formation? We believe that who you are matters. Who you are matters not only in your relationships with others and in your self-understanding, but it matters in your practice.

In the end, through our group interview, you will experience what it is like to be a . If you want your graduate study to include the kind of deep listening that our group interview requires, then head to www.theseattleschool.edu. We would love to connect with you, get to know you, and ultimately see you apply.

Visit our Applying for School page to learn more about the application process at 天美视频.听

The post What Is a Group Interview for Graduate School? appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

鈥淚 will always be studying and knowing and growing because God is so much beyond my own intellect. This is the place where our knowing can expand beyond the small ways that maybe we have been taught. In order for people to step into healing, we need a renewed imagination that steps beyond what we鈥檝e known before.鈥� Dr. Chelle Stearns

Students at 天美视频 learn to encounter and sit with stories鈥攊ncluding their own. How we were formed, our way of being in the world, and our relationship to God and neighbor all have a profound impact on who we are and who we will become. Understanding how these areas intersect is critical to a student鈥檚 formation as a therapist, counselor, pastor, leader, or artist.听

Here, Dr. Chelle Stearns and counseling psychology students reflect on their own journeys through the program and how they鈥檝e been transformed at this intersection of theology and psychology along the way. Learn more about our graduate programs including our Master of Theology & Culture and our Master of Counseling Psychology.

The post Transformation at the Intersection of Theology and Psychology appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Over the course of a year, students will integrate biblical, cultural, and psychological studies as well as respond to being embedded within their own context, culture, and systems. One of the major shifts of the new common curriculum is instituting a greater reflection and response regarding embeddedness within students鈥� contexts, cultures, and systems.

鈥淎s people of faith navigating a tumultuous time in our nation and in the world, I am even more renewed in my commitment to this learning community linked together through our mission of service. There鈥檚 a for such a time as this quality that feels palpable,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President & Provost.

The revised Common Curriculum courses center around the thought of 鈥淚ntersection鈥� as students engage in the places where theology, psychology, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology intersect.

Our Common Curriculum unites students across disciplines in order to develop perspective and better engage in our world鈥檚 ever-evolving challenges. First year students in our Master of Divinity, MA in Theology & Culture, and MA in Counseling Psychology programs will take three intersections courses and two dialogue-oriented labs.

鈥淎t the crux of our Common Curriculum is the desire to help our learners to have a robust curiosity and growing understanding of God, neighbor, and the space between,鈥� says Dr. Doug Shirley, Assistant Professor of Counseling. Interdisciplinary education is core to 天美视频. Studying one particular discipline affords a certain view or 鈥渓ens鈥� of the world, whereas opening the door to different views gives students an opportunity to move in and out of their own perspectives.

鈥淚鈥檓 deeply grateful for the thoughtful, creative work of our faculty and how much they have invested in reshaping our curriculum. I believe we are called to see the complexity in the world around us and engage it with wisdom and courage. It鈥檚 humbling to be a part of a learning community so invested in forming folks for such a call and for such a time,鈥� says President McNeil.

This fall we will welcome our 22nd cohort. We are honored to participate in their formation and we look forward to these sending them to our alumni community of over 1300 pastors, therapists, social leaders, and artists, joining God in the restoration of their communities.

Learn more about our Common Curriculum.

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Earlier this year, two summer-term classes took 天美视频 students beyond our walls (and beyond Seattle). In Engaging Global Partnerships, Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, and Cheryl Goodwin, Director of Institutional Assessment & Library Services, led a group of students to Kenya, inviting them to let their assumptions, beliefs, and practices be challenged and clarified by the stories of a place and the people who serve it. That same month, spiritual director and pilgrimage guide (MA in Theology & Culture, 鈥�12) and spiritual director and retired faculty member Tom Cashman journeyed to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona to guide students through a pilgrimage grounded in the ancient Christian tradition of desert spirituality.

Engaging Global Partnerships in Kenya

鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a deep look at the history of colonialism and religion, and the relationship between a place and the people who inhabit it鈥攅specially in places of wounding. How can we enter those wounds in a way that is honoring to others鈥� stories and also helps us reimagine our shared future?鈥�
鈥揇r. Ron Ruthruff

Pilgrimage to the Sonoran Desert

鈥淒uring our time in the desert, we explored the ancient Christian tradition of desert spirituality with an emphasis on the apophatic way and the contemplative path. The word apophatic means 鈥榳ithout image,鈥� and during our time in the desert we sought to abandon our expectations and preconceived notions of God through themes such as awareness, inviting us to non-dual consciousness; surrender, inviting us toward a posture of kenosis or self-emptying; and encounter, inviting us to be present to the desert, the Divine, and ourselves with loving indifference or non-attachment. Ultimately, the fierce landscape of the desert served as teacher and guide on our journey, teaching us how to tend to and be with the sacred and fierce landscape of the soul within.鈥�
鈥揕acy Clark Ellman

The post Learning Beyond Walls appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Find out more about our Master of Divinity program.

Could you give us an overview of what you do?

My title is Director of Organizational Development for The Allender Center at 天美视频鈥攚hich, honestly, is really functioning like an Executive Pastor. I get to do leadership development for our staff at The Allender Center, creating consistent structures of communication, professional development, care, support. I鈥檓 also on faculty with The Allender Center, so I teach and work on the blog and podcast, as well as facilitating groups.

It鈥檚 interesting that all of those things鈥攆rom the relational to the technical to the administrative鈥攐ften fall under the role of pastor, too. Which raises another question: What does it mean to be a pastor?

I often joke that being a good pastor is just like being a good parent, but specifically in the realms of spiritual formation and identity development. When I think about a pastor, I think about someone who tells stories that help people locate themselves in a larger story. Both individually鈥斺�淲ho is God, and who are you?鈥� and collectively鈥斺�淲here have we come from, where are we now, where are we going?鈥� I think it鈥檚 about providing good care.

I often say that, vocationally and in my calling, I鈥檓 a pastor by orientation. I find that whether I鈥檓 working in a tea shop and serving people crepes and loose leaf tea, or working on an admissions team recruiting students to a graduate program.

I鈥檓 guessing the tea shop鈥檚 not hypothetical.

No, I worked at a loose leaf tea shop the year after I graduated from 天美视频.

Was there a period of finding it hard to identify as a pastor, since you weren鈥檛 in the traditional paid staff position at a church?

Two moments come to mind. First, I did not come to graduate school to become a pastor, even though I came to pursue an MDiv. I came from a tradition where women couldn鈥檛 be pastors, so I didn鈥檛 have much imagination for myself as a pastor. I came to 天美视频 because I thought I would be a professor. I knew I would do ministry, but I would maybe just do ministry through the academy. Then during my third year, Paul Steinke named me as a pastor. There was something about someone actually naming me pastor, inviting me to see that as part of my identity, that was really powerful.

And then, during our formational years at The Allender Center, there were some moments where we were in the midst of a lot of spiritual warfare and a lot of despair. I remember Dan was introducing me before the large group to teach, and he said, 鈥淩achael really is the pastor of The Allender Center.鈥� And as he said that, there was something that felt really true to me about that. It鈥檚 not a way I would necessarily have seen myself, but it was a way I was bringing myself in the midst of our team, calling us to remember who we are and who we鈥檙e called to be. So I felt like the unofficial pastor of The Allender Center, and then there鈥檚 the question of, what does it mean to be the pastor of a nonprofit? Is that sacrilegious?

It seems like there are layers: Something was going on inside you regarding your own identity and calling, but something else happens when others see that and name it. Why do you think that outward affirmation is so meaningful?

I think there鈥檚 something about anointing that is really important. We see that throughout the text, right? It鈥檚 something we鈥檙e meant for and made for: to have others bless aspects of our calling and identity and vocation. I think it鈥檚 why something like an ordination process holds so much meaning in the Church. There鈥檚 a way of anointing, honoring, and consecrating鈥攕etting apart a role. Though I think, at times in our culture, that setting apart means the role is elevated in a way that some people who have the esteem of pastor really abuse that power, and it creates this false dichotomy that people who are pastors or leaders in a ministry are actually doing ministry, not everyone else. That鈥檚 a really weak, thin theology, a really weak, thin missiology, a really weak, thin sense of what the Church actually is and how it functions.

This process of recognizing your pastoral gifting and embracing that and naming it true鈥攈ow has that journey clarified or refined how you understand calling?

I don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that. It鈥檚 that sense of knowing that, no matter what I鈥檓 doing, it鈥檚 okay to bring these parts of myself.

And there is some mythology that calling is static, when I actually think it鈥檚 something that develops and grows and shifts. I think it does stay pretty consistent in its rootedness, but the fruit it bears can change in different seasons. So we always need to be growing and learning and have a posture of curiosity and a willingness to surrender to formational processes.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that.鈥�

What would you say to somebody else who is recognizing aspects of their calling as a pastor, but also recognizing that it might come out in an unconventional context?

The more we know who we are, then we can make better decisions about where we want to give those parts of ourselves. Calling, again, is about more than vocation. Calling is about union, calling is about love鈥攊t鈥檚 always about love. So what are the really unique ways that you are equipped and gifted to love people and communities well? For some people, that will look like very traditional roles that have really clear boundaries, really clear definitions, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. For others, it might mean you meander a bit, because there are certain skills you need to develop that go along with that calling. Some people might look at it and go, 鈥淥h, this is a real deviation from your calling,鈥� and I would say, 鈥淣o, I actually think it was preparing me to be more fully equipped for my calling.鈥�

So I would tell people, especially those who will find themselves in more unconventional spaces, we need healers and pastors and artists and therapists working in lots of different contexts. And it may not always look like the textbook. That doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e not being faithful to live out your calling well.

Part of what we鈥檙e exploring is inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor鈥檚 language of your 鈥渁ltar in the world,鈥� and the idea that our work in the world is a form of worship. Do you want to say anything about that?

Oh, I really like that. I was just reading , and I love Paul鈥檚 language of living faithfully to what you鈥檝e been gifted鈥攁nd that鈥檚 going to look different for each person in different seasons, based on different giftings鈥攋ust be faithful to bring those gifts to the world in such a way that it is like a living sacrifice. I think we鈥檙e really scared of that word, sacrifice. And rightfully so鈥攖here鈥檚 been some theological and spiritual abuse that has used a word like sacrifice to maintain oppressive structures of power that are actually anti-Gospel. However, when we give of ourselves in a way that actually leads unto life, I think that鈥檚 that living sacrifice that Paul calls us to.

Learn more about our Master of Divinity program and how you can pursue your unique calling.

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I breathed myself to life, and so can you. My own recovery from the trauma of sexual repression drew me towards the healing medicine of yoga. I am a psychotherapist and a yoga teacher. My passion, obsession, and saving grace is embodiment鈥攖he experience of inhabiting the home of your body. Social forces and generational/personal trauma split the psyche into compartmentalization and dissociation, which inhibit us from fully inhabiting our own skin. I came into this work by following the golden thread of aliveness that vibrated inside of me whenever I stepped towards an act of embodiment.

My journey towards my profession and passion began by confronting my own pain of living in a deadened body.

鈥淢y journey towards my profession and passion began by confronting my own pain of living in a deadened body.鈥�

As a girl I was steeped in an evangelical church that was emotionally and sexually repressed. I was taught to dissociate from my emotion and sexuality. Eager to perform for my community, I was one of the 鈥榞ood鈥� ones. My dissociative abilities grew stronger as they were reinforced and praised. I swallowed my emotions and wore my pledge of virginity until marriage like a badge of honor. I committed to these ideas with resolve, to the point of receiving a purity tattoo鈥攁 dove on my hip that I wouldn鈥檛 allow anyone to see until my wedding night.

As a child I was tirelessly praised for my goodness, my ability to follow all of the rules set before me. The only price I had to pay for this endless stream of praise was my unwavering compliance with the group norms of emotional and sexual repression. As long as I agreed that the impulses of my body were wrong and should be ignored at all costs, I was given power, respect, and trust from a group of people I deeply respected.

As a 3 on the Enneagram, 鈥渢he performer,鈥� my disposition lends me towards being preoccupied with how others see me. 鈥楪ood鈥� became my identity, and my value was centered around how well I could perform to the expectations of those in authority around me. My obsession with blamelessness made me feel afraid to consider my own right to connection and desire.

It is painful to realize I was brainwashed out of connecting to my own sensuality. Over and over again I kissed my college boyfriend (who is now my incredible, gracious husband) while willing myself outside of my body and interrupting our connection if we got 鈥榯oo close.鈥� For years. For five years. That is too many years of not surrendering to the wisdom of our bodies. Our super power, being deeply present with each other, was shadowed by shame and secrecy. By the time we decided we had waited long enough to have sex, I had retreated so far from the felt experience of my body that I didn鈥檛 know how to enjoy it.

Dissociation is the psychological process of blocking out what an individual considers to be harmful. What is defined as 鈥榟armful鈥� within an individual is often the parts of self that may inhibit a sense of belonging to a particular community. I was taught that my body was bad and not to be trusted, so I spent the vast majority of my life ignoring what it was saying to me out of an ethical duty to be 鈥榞ood.鈥� I鈥檓 not the only one. The bodies of countless people growing up within Evangelical communities have been affected by the shameful rhetoric of purity culture.

The trauma of neglecting and shaming my body during vital years of sexual development caused a severe split between my mind and my body. We don鈥檛 learn how to be in our bodies unless we are taught how to follow sensation. In order to keep my purity pledge, I did everything in my power to sever myself from sensation, and in the process inadvertently sent the message to my brain that connection to my body was not to be trusted. My evil body tempted me into sexual sin鈥攁n age-old fable more concerned with power than with sex.

Yoga was the first place I learned how to inhabit my body intimately, in a way that wasn鈥檛 overtly sexual. Yoga was a neutral environment I could enter to learn how to de-thaw my body, without having to hold the emotional complexity of sexual shame that would often come up during sex. It has been through my own yoga practice that I鈥檝e learned that there is ancient medicine in using breath and movement in order to bring bodies back to life. What has historically been my biggest weakness is turning into my biggest strength because my pain forced me to look so closely at my body.

鈥淭here is ancient medicine in using breath and movement in order to bring bodies back to life.鈥�

While I was still dry humping Ben in church parking lots (#wheatonlyfe) in 2006, I attended a 鈥榮tretching and breathing鈥� class (yoga, in disguise) that changed my life. My body, which I had spent so much time trying to separate from and control, was now being gently paid attention to. I learned how to use movement as prayer, and for the first time I began to see how being with my body was a worshipful experience. It made my heart burst wide open to pay attention to myself in this way. Each time I laid in savasana, the final resting pose at the end of a yoga class, I came into direct contact with the weirdness and goodness of my body, the pure delight of feeling my own aliveness. These magical experiences in my body drew me to enroll in a yoga teacher training the summer before I started class at 天美视频. Immersed in the world of body wisdom I began, piece by piece, to land into a body I wasn鈥檛 fully aware I had disowned.

After I graduated, I spent four years working at , a local eating disorder clinic that was my therapeutic boot camp. Working with clients with eating disorders is a minefield of body hatred and dissociation, and I needed to learn quickly how to help my clients tolerate being in bodies that felt deeply unsafe to inhabit. I voraciously read books on embodiment and somatic healing from trauma, and I realized as I read that I needed to heal myself. The deeper I dove into healing my relationship with my body, the more I could teach my students how to find islands of safety within their own skin.

Dissociation is a form of trauma that leaves the body frozen, numb, and unresponsive. When trauma and neglect happen, we need to vacate. It is a sweet gift that the body doesn鈥檛 allow us to come into full contact with the enormity of our pain when we aren鈥檛 safe enough to feel it. I see the body as a manifestation of the unconscious mind, and when we work explicitly with the physical body, we grow awareness to the most hidden parts of our psyche. Yoga is a way to slowly reintroduce ourselves to the disowned parts of ourselves. Using the tools of breath and focused awareness, we can gradually thaw the frozen, clenched parts of our bodies. Now in my private practice, I鈥檓 teaching my clients and yoga students how to reclaim the uncharted waters of their own bodies using meditation, yoga, and breathing practices.

It wasn鈥檛 until I began connecting to my body that I realized how deeply disconnected I had been my entire life. Even now, after spending the last decade working to integrate the experiences of my body, I鈥檓 more aware than ever about how much I still don鈥檛 know about this earth suit of mine. It is endlessly mysterious and mystical to discover the maps of intelligence that are encoded into our bodies. I鈥檒l never arrive at a perfectly embodied or integrated place, but I have breathed myself into a new body. A more fluid, open, welcoming, and grounded body. A body that knows how to lean into care because of all those times she leaned into the earth in savasana and felt held.

The post Breathing Myself to Life: How Story Informs My Vocation appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

鈥揗iroslav Volf

We believe that we are created in the image of God. This is a radical idea that, for many, may have been dulled by familiarity over the years. That belief may have also lost some of its spark when, particularly in western Christianity, it came to be applied almost exclusively to the individual. But what if it is not only our individual identities that reflect God鈥檚 image? What if that image is more fully reflected in the ways that our individual stories, bodies, and callings intersect with and impact each other? What if, like our personal stories of transformation, the particularity of our work with others reveals something deep and beautiful about who God is?

So much of our mission at 天美视频 leads us to that idea. In recent months on the blog, we鈥檝e been wrestling with how transformation draws us deeper into the call to serve God and neighbor, and how living out that call in a sustainable way requires that we never stop nurturing the process of formation. This month, we鈥檙e going to be exploring how integrating those two processes鈥攑ersonal formation and outward service鈥攊s an act of worship, one that reveals the image of God in profound and surprising ways.

How does your calling reflect something of who God is? How might your service draw you deeper into worship? As , what is your altar in the world?

These are big questions, and they are intimately connected to story. That means that, when we let our transformation inform our calling as an act of worship, our work in the world might look as unique as our own story. Service looks different for everyone, which means that your calling might be a bit unconventional鈥攁nd this is a good thing.

Here鈥檚 to unconventional callings, continued transformation, and service as worship. And here鈥檚 to the image of God that is continually being revealed in and between and through each of us as we serve God and neighbor.

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Dr. Roy Barsness, Professor of Counseling Psychology at 天美视频, developed Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy from his qualitative research conducted in the realm of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The result of that research culminated in his collaborative book, .

鈥淧sychology is once again turning its attention to the understanding that actual change occurs by focusing on the unfolding narrative between therapist and patient,鈥� says Dr. Barsness. 鈥淭he implication of this shift is the need for training in theoretical and practical constructs that attend to motivation, emotions, early attachment/developmental issues, the role of the unconscious, and attention to the research in the neurosciences that notes shifts in affective regulation through genuine encounters with others.鈥�

鈥淧sychology is once again turning its attention to the understanding that actual change occurs by focusing on the unfolding narrative between therapist and patient.鈥�

Decades of research indicate that the provision of therapy is an interpersonal process in which the nature of the therapeutic relationship is a central component for change and healing. For 21 years, 天美视频 has distinguished itself as a program rooted in the belief that we are created, known, wounded, and healed in the context of relationship. Our incarnational theology informs our theory of change, and our psychodynamic methodology develops thoughtful, committed practitioners. The RFPT certificate is designed for practitioners to continue their learning by equipping them with new insights and skills, helping clarify their methodology and theory of change, and offering a network of clinicians for ongoing support, community, and consultation.

This post-graduate certificate represents 天美视频鈥檚 intentional movement toward hybrid learning opportunities that are more accessible than ever, so that participants can continue to learn and grow even as they pursue their day-to-day work. In the RFPT certificate, clinicians will participate in a practice-focused, experiential training program delivered through bi-weekly online clinical consultations and twice-yearly in-person weekend intensive retreats. In the contexts of community and their own practice, participants will pursue an in-depth exploration of how they position themselves in the therapeutic dyad, how they reflect on the conscious and unconscious dynamics that unfold, and how they engage those dynamics with courage, discipline, and insight.

鈥淟earning doesn鈥檛 stop once you enter the field,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost. 鈥淚鈥檓 pleased to be offering clinicians this opportunity to deepen their own learning and refine their practice in the context of community.鈥�

You can visit the program page to learn more about the Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy Post-Graduate Certificate, including schedule, tuition, program outline, and the application process.

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