Dr. Paul Hoard is a licensed counselor, clinical supervisor, and psychoanalytic psychotherapist who holds a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. A “third culture kid,” he was raised in Ankara, Turkey and has provided mental health counseling and clinical supervision in the United States, Ukraine, and Turkey. His research and scholarly work primarily focuses on the intersection of perpetration trauma, Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, eucontamination, white-body supremacy, and board games. Links to his work can be found on his substack at

Dr. Hoard teaches courses focused on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, play, helping relationships, and social and cultural diversities.

What are you currently reading?

Conversations with Lacan by Sergio Benvenuto
Christian Atheism by Slavoj Zizek
Who’s Afraid of Gender by Judith Bulter
Disorganisation and Sex by Jamieson Webster

What have you been listening to lately?

Not much. I have a few random playlists that I cycle through depending on my mood. Most recently I’ve been enjoying Frank Turner’s latest album.

What research do you find yourself drawn to at the moment?

I am currently writing a book with my sister, Willa (Billie) on our concept of eucontamination (contamination for good) for Cascade Books. We are looking at Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life through a eucontamination lens wherein each of those (way, truth, and life) are seen as contaminating vectors for good. I am also working on projects around the nature of play and board games in particular through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory as well as a project on the nature of discourse and identification in the Academy today.

Any exciting summer plans?

I will be presenting at Wild Goose with my sister this summer on eucontamination.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would they be?

Nasreddin Hoca

If you weren’t in your current profession, you’d be…?

Classic rock radio morning show host or board game designer.

Who is your literary or living hero?

Gandalf

The post Faculty Friday: Dr. Paul Hoard appeared first on ������Ƶ of Theology & Psychology.

In this second episode of Board Games & Mental Health, Jermaine Ma, Paul��Hoard, and��Paul��Steinke continue��their conversation around the intersection of board games, psychology, and theology while playing the game “Small World.”��Paul��Hoard sets the table for this episode, guiding us through the rules of the game, and talking about the nature of play as a psychic state found in games and psychotherapy. Learn how Small World sparked Paul’s passion for board games as he first began to fall in love with the hobby. Dive into the engaging discussions on topics of therapy, colonialism, capitalism, and more. Check out Episode 1 for more from these three faculty and staff.

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Dr. Hoard is a licensed counselor in Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana and holds a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. He is presently a psychoanalytic psychotherapy candidate in the Greater Kansas City Psychoanalytic Institute and has received specialized training and credentialing in working with adolescents with sexual behavior problems. He was appointed by the state of Kansas’ Secretary of Corrections to the state’s Multi-Disciplinary Team, which is responsible for evaluating potential sexually violent predators. He has provided mental health counseling and clinical supervision in the United States, Ukraine, and Turkey. His research and scholarly work primarily focuses on the intersection of perpetration trauma, sexuality, white-body supremacy, and adolescent mental health.

“Paul connected well with students and staff throughout the interview process and revealed a very creative style in engaging scholarship and integrative thinking,” said Dr. J. Derek McNeil, President of ������Ƶ. “I am deeply grateful for the energy and experience he will bring to our school.”

Dr. Hoard, as a“third-culture” kid who spent much of his childhood in Turkey, will bring a unique perspective and set of experiences to our school. His therapeutic work with sex offenders will also add a different perspective on trauma that will be unique to the faculty. He has expressed an investment in justice and healing, which has given him a growing desire to engage the complex dynamics of the society within the classroom.

“As a new faculty member, I am eager to experience and engage the unique culture of ������Ƶ; to find how my voice will resonate with the rhythms of the community and the many opportunities to listen and learn from students, staff, and faculty,” said Dr. Hoard.

Paul, his wife Mary, and three children will be moving from Kansas City, Kansas to make the Pacific Northwest their new home.

Learn more about Dr. Paul Hoard.

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Here you’ll find a reading list curated solely by published works of current faculty members of ������Ƶ of Theology & Psychology. They range in topic from music and theology to trauma and modern culture, exemplifying the wide range of thought leadership in our school.

By Dr. Chelle Stearns, Associate Professor of Theology

Handling Dissonance beautifully shows how “music accompanies our thinking, demonstrating not only how theology can benefit the philosophy of music but also how the philosophy of music can enrich and augment theological discourse.”

Dr. Stearns is also a violinist whose work focuses on the interaction between theology and music and the Christian imagination.

By Dr. Roy Barsness, Professor of Counseling Psychology

“Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis provides a concise and clearly presented handbook for those who wish to study, practice, and teach the core competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis, offering primary skills in a straightforward and useable format.”

Dr. Barsness has also been a therapist in private practice for more than 25 years and, in addition to his role at ������Ƶ, teaches at the Brookhaven Institute for Psychoanalysis & Christian Theology. He is also the founder and director of the Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy Post-Graduate Certificate.

By Dr. Dwight J. Friesen, Associate Professor of Practical Theology

Along with Tom Sine, Dr. Dwight J. Friesen seeks “to equip Christian leaders to anticipate some of the new challenges in the 2020s; discover God’s shalom purposes for our lives, the church, and God’s world; and create innovative new possibilities for our lives, communities, and congregations that both engage new opportunities and advance God’s purposes.”

Dr. Friesen is a liturgical Anabaptist with progressively Evangelical and emergent sensibilities actively seeking to root his faith practice within place while linking globally with others who are seeking to live into their contexts and is co-founder of the Inhabit Conference. Other works by Dr. Dwight J. Friesen include The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community.

By Dr. Ron Ruthruff

“Through concrete detail, current statistics, and qualitative insights from more than 25 years living among and ministering globally to youth mired in tough and dangerous street life, Dr. Ron Ruthruff provides a model for serving not only troubled youth but others as well.”

Dr. Ruthruff has served homeless and street-involved youth and their families for the past 30 years. He has provided case management services, designed programs, and educated the community on the issues that impact this vulnerable population, and his career goal is to empower persons to live lives of significance, to equip the church to love and serve their neighbors, and to engage communities in cross-cultural and global conversations. Other works by Dr. Ruthruff include Closer to the Edge: Walking with Jesus for the World’s Sake.

By Dr. Dan Allender, Professor of Counseling Psychology

Healing the Wounded Heart “offers hope for victims of rape, date rape, incest, molestation, sexting, sexual bullying, unwanted advances, pornography, and more, exposing the raw wounds that are left behind and clearing the path toward wholeness and healing. Never minimizing victims’ pain or offering pat spiritual answers that don’t truly address the problem, [this book] instead calls evil evil and lights the way to renewed joy.”

Dr. Dan Allender has pioneered a unique and innovative approach to trauma and abuse therapy over the past 30 years and continues to serve as Professor of Counseling Psychology at ������Ƶ. He speaks extensively to present his unique perspective on sexual abuse recovery, love and forgiveness, intimacy and marriage, worship, and co-hosts The Allender Center’s weekly podcast. Other works by Dr. Allender include, To Be Told, Sabbath, Leading with a Limp, and The Wounded Heart.

By Dr. Celene Lillie, Adjunct Faculty

The Rape of Eve “examines core passages from three Gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi, On the Origin of the World, The Reality of the Rulers, and the Secret Revelation of John, in which Eve is portrayed as having been humiliated by the cosmic powers, yet experiencing restoration, and highlights the importance of the Nag Hammadi writings for our fuller appreciation of the currents of Christian response to the Roman Empire and the culture of rape pervasive within it.

Dr. Lillie is a scholar of the New Testament and the early Jesus movement who considers herself multi vocational, adjuncting and advising at several undergraduate and graduate institutions; lecturing and preaching nationally; and serving as the Direct of Adult Education and Spiritual Formation at First United Methodist Church in Boulder. She works at the intersections of ancient language and context and contemporary questions of gender, trauma, justice, and community to ask meaningful questions of early Christian texts.

By Dr. Steve Call, Affiliate Faculty

Reconnect “explains that when we become more aware of the myriad factors that contribute to disconnection, we can develop new understanding and strategies that promote deeper connection and healing interaction” and is particularly suited towards those in relationships.

Dr. Call teaches in the realms of family systems, couples counseling, child and adolescent therapy, and is a licensed psychologist and a clinical member of the American Psychological Association. He has a private practice specializing in adolescents, couples, and families and provides consultation to healthcare and education professionals and provides clinical supervision to other therapists.

By Dr. Tremper Longman III, Adjunct Faculty

Confronting Old Testament Controversies helps to clarify questions often raised about the Old Testament, particularly by younger and modern audiences, through a well-reasoned approach. As noted in the description, “the Old Testament is rife with controversial passages and events that make both belief and sharing our beliefs with others difficult. Often our solutions have tended toward the extremes—ignore problem passages and pretend they don’t matter or obsess over them and treat them as though they are the only thing that matters.”

Dr. Longman is a Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College who has written over 35 books that have been translated into seventeen different languages. He is also one of the main translators of the popular New Living Translation of the Bible. Other works by Dr. Longman includes The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel, How to Read Proverbs, and The Bible and the Ballot.

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The MA in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Psychoanalytic Psychology: British Object Relations, to be available in Fall 2021 to enrolled students, offers experiential learning about early childhood development as it occurs in real-time. Through infant observation, students gain a foundational understanding of British Object Relations theory, a psychoanalytic modality that places one’s earliest mental formations as central to how a person comes to relate to themselves, the world, and others.

“I am pleased to announce that ������Ƶ is offering a new concentration in Psychoanalytic Psychology,” said , President of ������Ƶ. “The British Object Relations (BOR) frame allows us to better understand early childhood patterns of attachment and how we might connect with significant others in our lives. Alongside our work with the concentration in Trauma & Abuse, we believe this concentration strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission of healing and the transforming of relationships.”

The Concentration in Psychoanalytic Psychology will be taught in partnership with the which is a training center for psychoanalytic psychotherapy with the aim “increase the knowledge and application of British Object Relations theory, integrating this with current developments in psychoanalytic thinking and parent–infant study and research.”

“British Object Relations is for people who are interested in reading and exploring their emotional experiences, being stimulated both emotionally and intellectually, and especially to open our experiences to each other,” said , Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at ������Ƶ. “Not in a hierarchical way of those who are on the inside and those who are on the outside, nor ‘let’s make nice and be sweet,’ but in an honest way, open to very complex pains and suffering. Today, for so many people, as Meltzer said, it is a life of surviving and actually never suffering the terrible pains and shames we have experienced. I feel deep gratitude for the British Object Relations tradition and particularly to the people whose shoulders I stand on.”

The Concentration in Psychoanalytic Psychology: British Object Relations is designed to be completed concurrently with the MA in Counseling Psychology. This degree, with this concentration, is 72 credits and includes 6 credits specific to the concentration. Students will begin their concentration coursework in their second year, starting with a year-long infant observation followed by foundational courses in the elements of British Object Relations.

Learn more about the curriculum, application process, and goals for this new offering here.

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As this academic year has progressed, the faculty and staff at ������Ƶ have been in a season of preparation regarding how learning in graduate programs will be delivered post-pandemic. Over the next few months, we will be publishing updates regarding changes to the graduate programs as we move into the future. Two important updates at this stage are:

1. Formation is one of our core values. Much of the relational and formative experience of our students is inherent in on-campus student life and academic study. We have also come to value our learning being accessible and have been energized by new students who reside outside of the Seattle area able to access education at ������Ƶ for the first time. Among the work that we have been doing is reviewing options for our graduate programs that align with our commitments to both formation and accessibility.
2. We will be filing a petition by April 1 with ATS (Association of Theological Schools), our national accrediting body, for approval to provide distance education post-pandemic and will hear word on their approval of our application by mid-to-late June. Approval of this petition will give us the opportunity to offer education to those who do not live within commuting distance in the Seattle area. We have received approval from NWCCU (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities), our regional accreditors, to provide distance education post-pandemic. While we have not yet finalized how our programs will be offered to students learning at a distance, filing this petition to ATS is an important step in the process.

“At the core of our pedagogy, our practice, and our hope is a G-d that is with us. I believe we have been called to such a time as this, even as we face change and unknown. As we make space for gratitude in the midst of our grief, we focus in on our calling and resist losing our mission to the despair of our times. I believe there is still work for us to do—especially in this time of polarizing energies—loving G-d and neighbor through transforming relationships.” said President J. Derek McNeil in a communication to students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Departments from across the institution have worked diligently this year to make distance education and student life accessible for all. The Library staff is ensuring students are able to access resources necessary for coursework, and the IT department is available via an online help desk for students in need of technical support. Members of the Office of Students & Alumni continue providing a variety of opportunities for students and alumni to connect virtually, maintaining the school’s emphasis on building relationships and vocational formation.

“I have been grateful and inspired by the courage of our faculty and our students as we shifted to online learning out of necessity due to COVID-19. It has confirmed for us that we’re able to provide good, quality remote learning that aligns with our mission. Our values for relationships and for the integration of psychology and theology remain at the heart of this endeavor.” said Dr. Misty Anne Winzenried, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning.

The school continues to follow guidance from Washington State and King County, which has not yet provided a clear date to be able to re-open campus.

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by Shelly Rambo

“In Spirit and Trauma, Rambo draws on contemporary studies in trauma to rethink a central claim of the Christian faith: that new life arises from death. Reexamining the narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus from the middle day-liturgically named as Holy Saturday-she seeks a theology that addresses the experience of living in the aftermath of trauma.”

Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life and Relationships

by Curt Thompson, MD

“Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman’s terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people.”

A Journey Of Faith In The Face Of Severe Learning Disability

By Frances Young

Theologian Frances Young writes a personal narrative about her son’s learning disability and “hope and help for all who struggle with faith in the face of unremitting suffering.” Though not distinctly about trauma, Young asks difficult questions about life, God, and how we are to respond in the midst of difficult circumstances.

By Resmaa Menakem

“In this groundbreaking work, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology. He argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn’t just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police. My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.”

by Thomas Lewis (et. al)

“A General Theory of Love demonstrates that our nervous systems are not self-contained: from earliest childhood, our brains actually link with those of the people close to us, in a silent rhythm that alters the very structure of our brains, establishes life-long emotional patterns, and makes us, in large part, who we are.”

Living in the Afterlife of Trauma

By Shelly Rambo

“Shelly Rambo rereads the Thomas story and the history of its interpretation through the lens of trauma studies to reflect on the ways that the wounds of race, gender, and war persist. Wounds do not simply go away, even though a close reading of John Calvin reveals his theological investments in removing wounds. This erasure reflects a dominant mode of Christian thinking, but it is not the only Christian reading.[…] Again, the visceral display of Jesus’ wounds, when placed at the center of Thomas’ encounter in the Upper Room, enacts a vision of resurrecting that addresses the real harm of the real wounds of war.”

By Elie Wiesel

“First published in 1958, Night is the autobiographical account of an adolescent boy and his father in Auschwitz. Elie Wiesel writes of their battle for survival and of his battle with God for a way to understand the wanton cruelty he witnesses each day. In the short novel Dawn, a young man who has survived World War II and settled in Palestine joins a Jewish underground movement and is commanded to execute a British officer who has been taken hostage. In Day, Wiesel questions the limits of conscience: Can Holocaust survivors forge a new life despite their memories?”

Theology in a Ruptured World

By Serene Jones

“Central to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one’s capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus’ death is remembered. Jones focuses on the long-term effects of collective violence on abuse survivors, war veterans, and marginalized populations and the discrete ways in which grace and redemption may be exhibited in each context.”

The Bible’s Traumatic Origins

By David Carr

“Human trauma gave birth to the Bible . . . the Bible’s ability to speak to suffering is a major reason why the sacred texts of Judaism and Christianity have retained their relevance for thousands of years. In his fascinating and provocative reinterpretation of the Bible’s origins, the author tells the story of how the Jewish people and Christian community had to adapt to survive multiple catastrophes and how their holy scriptures both reflected and reinforced each religion’s resilient nature.”

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AS: What is your reaction to being identified as an exemplar of resilience?

SE: Laughter is my first response. I think it was surprising and humbling. What is weird about getting older and going through life is that things don’t get easier; they get more complicated. There have been elements of my faith that one time made a lot of sense but need to keep expanding alongside my lived experience.

I think what people see in me, in terms of resilience, is a willingness to see questions that arise about faith not as dead ends, but as doorways that open up possibility. If you are thinking, “I don’t know what to believe in that anymore,” you can see that as an ending or as a doorway to a deeper conversation. I’ve been curious in those places, like “Well where does this doorway go to?”

AS: What has helped you develop resilience in the midst of the unknown?

SE: As I’ve continued in my faith, I have had enough experience with God that I see him interacting and providentially leading in my life so that when I come across the new, the mysterious, the unknown, I can infer that that same providence is acting in this unknownness. It’s a deep sense of trust, and it gets deeper as every situation requires more trust. Even if I am angry or don’t like this place in my life, there is a sense that God loves me, that these circumstances are where I am invited into conversation with God. So I ask, “What is the conversation that I can have only from here? How can I learn here? Who is my teacher, and what am I discovering about myself and the world?”

An early contributor to my resilience was seeing models of dynamic faith through the lives of adults who were involved in an organization I was a part of when I was younger, Alongside Ministries. What is consistent in my faith now is practicing prayerful silence and solitude, taking times of moments of quiet and to allow myself to process the life I am in, to have a hidden practice of prayer and listening. I also meet with a spiritual director.

AS: The three pillars of resilience we talk about in the Resilient Leaders Project are People, Practices, and Purpose. There are two books you have co-created, with Justin McRoberts, that I think invite people into resilient practices and help them clarify purpose: and . The books use art and text to make space for those curious conversations with God that you’ve been talking about. What is it about art that facilitates conversation with God and self?

SE: A great question to ask about art is “what does it mean?” Another great question to ask is “what is it pulling out of you?”… because one of the wonderful functions that art has is that it becomes an excavation tool. It helps us get in touch with the deepest conversations that we are having. Have you ever been in the car, turned on the radio, and a particular song was playing that you turned up the volume loudly and exclaimed “this is my song!” What are you saying in the moment? Somehow the artist lyrically and sonically perfectly described what it’s like to be in your own skin. They helped you get in touch with the honest truth about you… and honesty is the doorway to a conversation with God.

AS: Many people develop resilience through an experience of burnout, a leadership crucible, or a personal crisis. You have explored your own ministry burnout experience in your one-man play, We Are Not Troubled Guests. Having seen the show, what was really powerful to me was your willingness to dive deep into your pain, to explore those places of hurt and harm instead of numbing them. In the play, you (literally) painted a picture of how resilient purpose can develop as the willingness to take apart all that had been so carefully constructed resulted in a new, more organic sense of calling. Do you think everyone needs to have an experience like this to truly develop resilience, or do you think skills can be taught and implemented ahead of those experiences?

SE: It feels like a catch-22 in a way. The best way to learn health can be from your unhealth, and failure can be the greatest teacher. But if you see someone on a really negative path, you don’t tell them to keep moving toward burnout. But, in some ways, I kind of think you might have to have this type of experience; what that looks like is different for each person. In part that is because there will always be part of your false self that will drive you to a place that is a dead-end, whether that is a need for accomplishment or serving in a way that is more about you than about others. There has to be the breaking of that ideal of your false self. The breaking of it can reveal a truer thing.

AS: Your latest performance piece, Say Yes: A Liturgy of Not Giving Up on Yourself, addresses this idea of letting going of that false self to embrace a wider sense of purpose. Can you tell us a little more about it?

SE: It’s a conversation—using story-teaching, participation, humor, and image curation—about who we are, why we are here, and what is the possible future that lies before us. It’s about the death of a dream and the overwhelming voice of Giving Up—and it’s about redeeming those things unto deeper hopes and vocation.

Liturgy simply means “the work of the people.” So when we gather together, I will be the story sherpa, I will do the heavy lifting, but it’s really a space to open up a conversation with your own life. We do together because it is through the forms of story, art, imagery, singing, comedy, and participation that we begin to slowly untie the narratives that we tell ourselves. And the magic that happens at the end is that we are able to see new possibilities for the future.

I wanted to make a church service about suicide… because I’ve never been to one. I think one of the hardest things about the miracle of life is that sometimes you come to a place where you don’t want the miracle anymore. Why is that? And how do you talk to the Giver of that miracle about it? Say Yes in my attempt to enter into that conversation with an audience.

You can restore your inner resilience and learn how to live into your purpose through the . Learn more and apply today.

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Along with many households, we too have spent much more time cooking and cleaning than in springs past. And these quotidian tasks have helped to bring a sense of rhythm and calm in the midst of crisis. I began this “stay at home” order with the hope or naïve expectation that we would be back to some sort of normal in a matter of weeks. After that initial period there has been a strange distortion of time, in one moment compressed, other times elongated. It is hard to tell one day from another, hard to remember if that conversation or event was yesterday or last week. We have been in a state of perpetual waiting.��

The Oxford dictionary defines waiting as:��

Noun: the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens. Origin: Middle English: from Old Northern French waitier, of Germanic origin; related to wake. Early senses included ‘lie in wait (for’), ‘observe carefully’, and ‘be watchful’.��

Like the rest of the world, our work and social lives have been curtailed. We have delayed most of our usual actions, cancelled trips and refrained from our typical spring hiking, biking and paddling—waiting for the “stay at home” order to be lifted. But we have also observed, watched more carefully—both the natural world unfurling in all its spring glory—and one another. I have observed and inquired how it is for my son to be living at home again after six years away. I have seen him not as my boy, but as an independent young man in all his strength, kindness, wisdom and grace. We have been together every day. And I have loved that part of this otherwise unsettling pandemic.��

Emotions too have been both expanded and condensed—dismay, anger, fear, joy, loss, uncertainty, grief and delight. They will come suddenly and at times in a confusing mix; tears followed by joy, anger replaced by grief, the monotony of bad news met with the delight of simple pleasures shared. Without the distractions of the world’s busyness, my family has known one another in a fuller, deeper way. I have received help and containment in the frustrations of online teaching and unreliable internet�� connections. My son has taught me new computer skills and technology tricks. My husband has moved furniture and built me a standing desk for my makeshift classroom. I have been free to laugh and cry and worry with them. I have shared their burdens, and they have shouldered mine.��

And I have baked pie. I enjoy cooking and baking, but experienced bakers will tell you—pies are a lot of work. The first night of my son’s homecoming, I had a pecan pie waiting for him. Then there was a key lime pie to celebrate the warm weather and completion of a huge yard project. Next came a deep-dish apple pie, because I had the apples in the fridge and it’s his favorite. And finally, on his last night home before starting his firefighting job—strawberry rhubarb—because the rhubarb in the garden was big enough and it seemed like the proper ending to a spring meal in the backyard. My son said, “I didn’t know we had rhubarb.” “Yup, growing behind the kale.” You see, I rarely make rhubarb pie—no wonder he wouldn’t know it grows in our garden. As we were talking, it occurred to me that through our pies, we had experienced a year’s worth of pie in our forty-something days together. In these weeks of quarantine—in this space of compressed and distorted time—we had covered all the seasons with our pies. Apple pie for fall, pecan for winter, strawberry rhubarb for spring, and key lime pie to represent summer.��

In this season of waiting, observing and watching—we have tasted goodness. We have eaten from the natural world and partaken in its rhythms in a more mindful way. We have felt God’s presence as we wait for relief, redemption, and restoration of something we have lost. And we have been more mindful of each other. We have been there for one another, held each other in the uncertainty as we watch and wait for what is next. What’s next? For me, that will be a blackberry pie in July. I hope to share it with many, many people I love.

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Here, Cheryl writes about her journey to intern at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation in Thailand, and the impact of Covid-19 on her future as a mental health provider.

What initially drew you to attend ������Ƶ?

I had been living and doing community development work in India when I decided to look at grad schools—and ������Ƶ was introduced to me as a place where you are encouraged to go into your own stories. I felt the surplus of stories (mine and others) weighing, and wanted to spend time honoring and reflecting on them and learning how to do that well. My admissions counselor was also really great about checking in and working with my across-the-world-application and time zone issues and inviting me in, even as I deferred for a year before enrolling. I think I was well ‘woo-ed’ despite also being reminded by friends who know ������Ƶ and other graduates just how intense it can be!

How has the focus on theology as well as psychology impacted your studies?

This feels like a pretty big question to try and answer succinctly! I was raised in a family where faith and living out the tenets of that faith were emphasized. The idea of Spirit at work in the world, particularly among those who had been marginalized, and seeking to find it and intersect my life with the Divine at work in the world and be challenged and changed by what I encounter there, remains something I think I’m still sorting out. Classes at ������Ƶ with Dr. Stearns, Dr. Parker and Dr. Loughery underscored this and invited me to continue to ask the questions and not be complacent, and to allow myself to rest in knowing the ways that goodness is at work in the world, even when I can’t always see it myself.

In what ways has your story shaped or inspired your work?

I was born and raised overseas (in Nepal, Laos, and Thailand) as a Third Culture Kid*—the depth and variety of experiences coming from that have deeply impacted the way that I’ve learned to seek connection, who I seek connection with, and how I’ve learned to metabolize (or compartmentalize) harm. Having also worked cross-culturally as an adult, I became more and more aware of the impact that life among different cultures has on a person (and particularly children). As I realized that I wanted to go back to school to study counseling, the cross-cultural working (be it military, diplomat or business) family has really been a demographic that I feel pulled towards. While I think themes among families don’t change much across the world, I do think the unique nature of families who straddle multiple different worlds means that they often don’t have support structures who understand that aspect of their experience. So, I came to ������Ƶ hoping to do an international internship or focus on families and individuals who have found themselves between cultures and expectations of those different worlds.

*A ‘TCK’ is defined as a “person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parent’s culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.” Pollack, David Pollack, Ruth E Van Reken, and Michael V. Pollack, Third Culture Kids (3rd Ed): The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds. (Massachusetts: Hachette Book Group, 2009).

What breaks your heart, and how are you informed by that kind of shattering?

My heart has been broken repeatedly by the marginalization of the poor and specific people groups, particularly women and children in developing nations. This is what catalyzed my parents, friends, and my own work, as well as my now-clients work. Being galvanized to respond to the heartbreak takes a toll, however. We all tend to minimize and ignore our suffering, particularly in the face of the overt, physical suffering of others, and I think I’ve seen that particularly in communities who work in cross-cultural settings. On the one hand there is an immense amount of privilege there that can be taken for granted, but there can also be a deep awareness of the ways that lives are shattered by systemic violence and poverty. And so, the ‘fate of pain’ that people encounter (as Dr. O’Donnell Day quoting Jeff Eaton) is to be stuffed down or avoided in some way, though it usually finds a way to come out sideways. For a Third Culture Kid the losses of moving between countries are profound—often compounded by a sense of rootlessness. A deep grief is there—a grief I know only too well from my own story, but also one that I think deeply informs how important it feels to find ways to provide and allow the time to pause, reflect, and grieve what needs to be honored well and to witnesses that unfolding. I see my role as a therapist more and more as a steward and witness to what the clients are un-earthing and tending to.

Can you describe your current internship, including your title and daily activities?

I moved to Thailand in January 2020. I started my internship at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation. It serves people in a number of countries—primarily ex-pat workers and their families. The staff is varied and from a number of countries and different treatment modalities. There are psychiatrists on staff, and those who specialize in topics ranging from work with children to couples and family work to EMDR and trauma work, not to mention individual therapy. I’ve been able to observe a number of the staff, who have been amazing, and I’ve often felt like I really lucked out with this location of getting to observe and see different clinicians, not to mention the range of clients who largely traveled to Thailand for seasons of care from their locations in other countries around Asia! Until the middle of March, I was seeing clients in person at the office and now am doing all online-telehealth sessions. I’m still in Thailand—Thailand is home in a number of ways, and my folks are here in the country (though in a different province), and I wanted to keep working for my internship, so I have elected to base myself here as COVID-19 continues to unfold across the world. Before switching everything to online, regular rhythms included shadowing clinicians, seeing my own clients, staff meetings, and case-consultations with the whole clinical staff. There was also a staff retreat in February with everyone, including all the support and office staff as well as the Thai-focused branch of staff. It was a fun few days of snacking, talking and playing games together.

Why did you choose to intern at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation?

I remember my first year at ������Ƶ where I was thinking about a lot of different groups and people and processing what I was learning about and felt pretty jumbled but kept thinking about the dearth of resources of counselling support for the TCK community and cross-cultural workers and realized I wanted to be intentional, as I studied, to keep focused on that demographic and dream about working with them. I knew about Cornerstone Counseling Foundation from having lived in Thailand before and through the cross-cultural worker grapevine. ������Ƶ had a student do their internship here previously, and Cornerstone was also one of the few international internship sites that I contacted that worked with the demographic I wanted and would allow a Master’s level intern (most required you to be graduated or be doctoral level). So, I began communicating with them, and Corinne (the Assistant internship director: Global and domestic for ������Ƶ) and applied in fall 2018.

How has your time at ������Ƶ prepared you for this internship?

Put the most succinctly I can, going into my own story and peeling back some of the layers has grown my capacity to realize how slow and painful the process can be. There are depths to continue exploring within myself (which is definitely something that I heard in most classes ) and I hope that means that I can have a more open-handed approach to work with clients. The waves of pain or delight we uncover as we tell our story (and it is witnessed by another), can pull us in like a rip-tide or as a support to propel us forward, even for just a minute. Classes like Psychopathology, Marriage and Family, Child and Adolescent, as well as Interpersonal Neurobiology all have helped me learn how to frame how I hold my clients—knowing that in each of those classes as we were inundated with theory and other concepts, there was a deep sense of “and what will I do with this when a person sits in the chair (or in the case of telehealth, on the screen) across from me.” There seems to be a continual invitation to encounter and be with in the midst of it all.

What are your hopes, dreams, and desires as they relate to your future vocation?

So much feels uncertain with COVID-19, particularly as it pertains to this dream of working with cross-cultural workers. But the desire remains to continue to learn and work with this community of people who balance their sense of home and relationships with what they feel called to or need to do for work and to support their families and communities. I’ll remain as an intern at Cornerstone through the summer and am in the process of beginning to have conversations about future options moving forward. A big part of my own TCK heart really would love to keep working overseas and with this team. I’ve really come to love the team I’m a part of at Cornerstone and the community it serves. The resiliency of our clients, of humans, is astounding—I think we are seeing evidence of that on the heartbreaking news daily. In the time of this pandemic, I feel more aware than ever of how quickly things change and feel a need to accept whatever may come and the deep pain and ongoing grief that will come with all that has already changed and will need to change again, and also feel a deep sense of wanting to be able to continue to offer a base of processing and support to others.

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