Alumni Archives - ��Ƶ of Theology & Psychology

Day of Scholarship 2026

Claire Henning — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:03:14 +0000

��Ƶ is hosting its fourth community-wide Day of Scholarship, open to all students, alumni, staff, and faculty as contributors and guests. This event aims to connect ��Ƶ community members to the wider disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations we are having as an institution. This year’s Day of Scholarship invites us to continue the interdisciplinary conversation that Dr. Doug Shirley began at the fall residency as we consider how the work of learning is also the work of unlearning. What does it take for our one-to-one representations—of people, experiences, even ourselves—to open into symbols that connect, heal, and transform the whole? How are grief, identity, culture, and loss woven into our capacity to learn in ways that exceed information and move toward formation?

Schedule

8:00 am-8:30 am: Check in & Breakfast

8:30 am-9:30 am: Poster Reception & Underrepresented Voices Art Gallery

9:45 am-11:00 am: Plenary Speaker, Dr. Lauren Sawyer

11:15 am-12:30 pm: Breakout Sessions

12:30 pm-1:00 pm Wrap Up: Large Classroom

Day of Scholarship 2026 Poster Presentations

Poster Presenter(s)	Affiliation	Poster Title
Maggie Hemphill, LMHCA	Alumni	“Entering Wonderland: Nested Realities and Subsidiary Focal Integration as Precursors to Play”
Daniel Schultz, Emma Samusi, Hannah Rogers, Mark Holyfield, Olivia Fugler	Students	“How the Embodied Shame of a Primary Caregiver Contributes to Shame and Dissociation in the Adult Child”
Alicia Bettger	Student	“Making the Invisible Visible: Art as a Bridge in Play Therapy for PTSD”
Mariko Saeki	Student	“Moral Injury Framework Creates Space for Nuances and Complexities of Suffering While Avoiding Pathologization: Exploring Moral Agency in Context of Immigrants’ Population”
Ann Plana, Maggie Hemphill	Alumi	“Object Relations in Practice – Identifying and Working with the Kleinian Psychic Positions”
Jessica Emerson	Student	“Reimagining Love, Ethics and Fidelity in the Therapy Room”
Dr. Allison Bradford Chow	Faculty	“Rooting a Clinical Mind in Experience: What is the British Object Relations Concentration”
Leanne Klingenberg, Renee Robertson, Rachael Lenoir, Liv Fugler, Emma Samusi	Students	“Sexual Location: A Framework for Understanding Sexuality in Clinical Practice”
Katherine Archer	Student	“Sexual Trauma-induced PTSD and Implications for Women’s Mental Health Treatment”
Katie Meeks, Kindal Loy, Emily Neely	Students	“Through the Prism, Tracing The Development of Vulnerability in Therapy”
Emme Wagner	Student	“When Your Child Mirrors Your Younger Self: Unlearning Through the Parent-Child Encounter”

Day of Scholarship 2026 Breakout Session Presenters

Session Presenter(s)	Affiliation	Session Title
Claire Henning, Dr. Paul Hoard	Student, Faculty	“Evaluating the Effectiveness of Turn-Based AI Role-Play in Developing Counseling Competencies”
Nicholas Diaz	Staff	“Poetics & Praxis: An Experiment in Writing, Thinking, and Acting”
Ann Plana, Maggie Hemphill	Alumni	“Object Relations in Practice – Identifying and Working with the Kleinian Psychic Positions”
Rachael Lenoir, Dr. Ron Ruthruff,	Student, Faculty	“Conversations Toward Justice: A Mentoring Relationship in Antiracism Work”
Wendell Moss	Faculty, Staff	“Integrating Narrative Focused Trauma Care (NFTC) and Psychotherapeutic Modalities”
Jermaine Ma, PhD, Mariko Saeki, Felicia Tran,	Student, Faculty, Alumni, Staff	“Desire, Authenticity and the Development of the Asian American Self: The Intersection of Christian Theology & Psychology Towards Generativity and Reclamation”
Leanne Klingenberg, Renee Robertson	Students	“Sexual Location: A Framework for Understanding Sexuality in Clinical Practice”
Rose Madrid Swetman	Staff	“Unlearning Control: Resilience as a Practice of Surrender”
Emme Wagner	Student	“When Words Break Open: Poetry as Unlearning After Betrayal”
Jayelle Minor, Dr. Doug Shirley	Alumni, Faculty	“The Myth of Meritocracy: how this Western ideology entrenches ableism and impacts therapy”

Underrepresented Voices Art Gallery

Theme: Imagining Unlearning as Transformation

As people of color and members of other marginalized communities, we often find ourselves represented through the lenses of the majority—through stories, symbols, and images not our own. We learn to conform ourselves into majority boxes, learn to tell and recognize only majority-friendly stories. The work of transformation, then, begins with unlearning: unlearning the narratives that have shaped how we see ourselves and how we are seen.

Sometimes that unlearning means gently loosening, or breaking open, the hold of containers never built with us in mind, containers that have taught us to shrink, translate, or edit our ways of being. As we unlearn those constraints, we begin to rediscover the spaces within and between us that were always ours, though we may have learned to forget them.

This gallery invites artists and creators of color to explore how unlearning can itself be an act of artmaking; how the shedding of imposed images opens space for symbols that heal, connect, and reimagine identity. Each piece becomes a new story added to the collective pot, expanding what wholeness can look like when we are fully seen and self-defined.

We are welcoming all mediums of art and creative work. While the gallery in ��Ƶ building will be a physical gallery, we invite submissions that are not traditional physical/visual mediums. For example, if you are a musician, songwriter, dancer, etc., consider contributing a visual manifestation of your craft for the gallery. This could be a photo of you doing your craft, some lyrics, a QR code linking to a recording of your piece, etc.

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2025 Convocation & Community Cookout

Claire Henning — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 22:36:41 +0000

Convocation at serves as our annual community-wide ritual of beginning again together.

Convocation is an ancient tradition that harkens back to Oxford University in England, where all new students were officially welcomed into the community and all members of the community were asked to commit themselves to the culture and mission of their school.

During our “Litany of Matriculation” faculty, staff, alumni, and returning students, along with our families and spouses/partners, officially welcome the incoming class and their families into our learning community. We reaffirm our commitment to our mission and to one another. And finally, we celebrate Holy Communion together; all are invited to participate in whatever way honors your own spiritual practice or faith tradition.

Join us in person for Convocation at St. Mark’s Cathedral. Or, join via livestream on .

After Convocation, all who are local to Seattle are invited to continue the celebration with our Community Cookout at ��Ƶ’s campus: 1130 Rainier Ave S.
to help us plan.

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Admissions Coffee Hour with Alumni

��Ƶ — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 19:00:50 +0000

Grab a cup of coffee or warm mug of tea and join our Admissions Team for a casual, online conversation about our Graduate Programs at ��Ƶ of Theology & Psychology. This month, we are joined by Caewyn Barnett, a 2012 graduate of our Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program who has a wide range of experience in the psychology field from developing partnerships in medical communities as well as non-profit organizations.

A Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Caewyn Barnett currently works at providing counseling for individuals and couples as well as parenting support for those with ADHD or family members with ADHD or executive functioning challenges.��

Each Admissions Coffee Hour we focus on a different voice, topic, or aspect of ��Ƶ. We welcome you to bring your own questions, thoughts, and hopes. We’d love to chat with you about what you can anticipate as a part of our learning community!

Event Zoom details will be sent after you register.

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A Call to Christians: Look Towards Gaza

��Ƶ — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 18:18:19 +0000

The Office of the President will be hosting Lisa Sharon Harper at ��Ƶ to speak on the Christian call to engage the tragedies in Gaza. Our intention is to encourage our community to consider the critical humanitarian issues and wrestle with the call of leaders, therapists, pastors, theologians, and caregivers at this time. We’ll also be exploring an understanding of the conflict and our national and religious connections to it in light of the Kingdom of God.��

Drawing from historical insights, international law, and the teachings of Jesus, Lisa will guide us through the roots of the Gaza crisis to envision practical steps for engagement, rooted in the theological vision of the Kingdom of God. After Lisa’s talk, theology and psychology faculty members of ��Ƶ will engage in a panel discussion with Lisa to speak to the roles of community, grief, and justice.��

The event will be recorded for those unable to attend on campus. If you would like to be sent a notification when the recording is ready, please complete ��

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��Ƶ @ Wild Goose Festival

��Ƶ — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 21:45:45 +0000

We are thrilled to be sponsoring and attending the this year in Union Grove, North Carolina! Stop by ��Ƶ’s tent at the event where you can speak to a representative. We’ll also have promotional materials for various offerings and opportunities to connect with our faculty and alumni.

Hear our faculty presentations at Wild Goose:

On Purity Culture: Moving from Rage-Journaling to Public Scholarship with Lauren D. Sawyer, PhD
Join Lauren D. Sawyer, PhD, to discuss, discover, and co-create ways to move from private “rage-journaling” to crafting articles, poems, or creative non-fiction essays for a public audience.

Eucontamination: Disgust Theology, Queerness, and the Church with Paul Hoard, PhD, and Billie Hoard
Join brother-sister duo, Paul and Billie Hoard, as they unpack how the logic of disgust has left the church vulnerable to homophobic, transphobic,
and racist Christian nationalism. Explore an alternative perspective, Eucontamination, “contamination for good,” where Queerness acts as a force helping fellow Christians to recognize the full Body of Christ.

Board Games and Liturgy: The Thin Space of Play with Paul Hoard, PhD
This play-filled experience explores the intersections of games, liturgy, and Lacanian psychoanalytic theory. Games provide a fascinating exploration into the nature of reality, how we encounter the other within ourselves and across the table, as well as powerful moments of rupture and repair within our lives. Participants will be invited to engage in play and reflect upon the psychological and theological implications of the captivating nature of play.

If you’d like to meet up with a ��Ƶ representative during the festival, please send an email to Krista Law, klaw@theseattleschoool.edu, Manager of Enrollment, who will be at the conference!

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Community Christmas Party

��Ƶ — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 01:48:40 +0000

All students, alumni, employees, families, and kids of all ages are invited to our annual Community Christmas Party for a festive breakfast tradition!

There will be pancakes (regular and gluten free/vegan) topped with whipped cream, fruit, sprinkles, and M&Ms; crafts; face-painting; balloon animals; gifts; and storytelling ’round the Christmas tree!

Pancakes will be served shortly after 9 o’clock
A $5 donation per person is requested

Please RSVP to help us prepare!

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Holy Runaways: Book Release Party with Matthias Roberts

��Ƶ — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 18:48:19 +0000

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Matthias Roberts’ new book, Holy Runaways. A graduate of the M.A. in Counseling Psychology and M.A. in Theology & Culture programs, Matthias will share more about why he wrote Holy Runaways along with insights into his writing process. The interview will be followed by a reception with the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Holy Runaways.��

The event is free to attend, but seating is limited, so please RSVP for your spot.

Special Preorder Offer! Earlier this year, Matthias joined the Allender Center’s Rachael Clinton Chen to teach a 2-hour seminar called “Healing from Spiritual Abuse.” Pre-order by midnight on October 3 to receive free access to the recording to the Healing from Spiritual Abuse seminar (a $49 value!).

More about the book:

Holy Runaways speaks to people who are feeling ignored, oppressed, or rejected by their religious community and church, offering a path forward built on speaking truth, deep listening, and acting with compassion.

In the past decade, church attendance among US adults has decreased by more than 25 percent. Americans report leaving religious communities because of the institutions’ hypocrisy and resistance to change or because of trauma they have experienced in those spaces. Instead of safe havens for people of faith, many churches have become sites of harm–places people feel the need to escape at all costs.

In Holy Runaways, psychotherapist Matthias Roberts reaches out to those who, like him, want to understand the religion they’ve run from and erect a new faith on firmer foundations. He concludes that the best blueprint for a new spiritual home requires reimagining ourselves, God, and our very definition of faith.

Roberts blends deeply personal stories, new interpretations of familiar Christian parables, and recent scholarship about the dynamics of trauma to offer a way forward–and a warm, helpful companion–for readers on their own journeys. He calls out people who perpetuate systems of violence and oppression and suggests ways we can all contribute to a new system built on love–and a new home we can inhabit together.

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��Ƶ Connect 2023: Discourse

��Ƶ — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 19:41:53 +0000

��Ƶ Connect is a new virtual summit designed to engage in challenging discussions in order to enhance our capacity to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships.

This inaugural event is centered around the art of discourse, focusing on pertinent cultural topics. With a lineup of 6 live conversations, we aim to explore the practice of constructive conversations while embodying values of humility and hospitality. Conversation hosts come from the Allender Center, the Center for Transforming Engagement, our graduate school, and The Other Journal, as well as special guests Lisa Sharon Harper and Shane Claiborne.

By engaging in these discussions, attendees will gain insights into bridging gaps, confronting personal assumptions, and building relationships grounded in empathy and growth.

Join us to enrich our dialogue and create connection.

Conversation Line-Up

Paul Hoard & Jermaine Ma: Live on September 29
Dan Allender & Rachael Clinton Chen: Live on October 6
Shane Claiborne & Rose Madrid Swetman: Live on October 13
Lisa Sharon Harper & Rose Madrid Swetman: Live on October 20
Joel Aguilar & Ron Ruthruff: Live on October 27
J. Derek McNeil & Zac Settle: Live on November 3

How It Works

This is a live, interactive format, and we want to hear from you! One week before each live conversation, you’ll receive a short 20-30 minute pre-recorded video as an introduction to that live conversation. Watch it prior to our live discussion and come ready with your perspectives to go deeper into the topic.

Look for your first pre-recorded video on September 22 to prepare for the first live conversation the following Friday, September 29, at 5:00 pm PT.

The 6 live conversations will air on Fridays at 5:00 pm PT, September 29-November 3.

Registration

Registration is FREE and open to all.

If you can’t make it live or would like more time to re-watch the content, you can purchase Extended Access to the videos for $35. Your purchase must be completed before the series ends on November 3 and content will be accessible until March 31, 2024.

If you’re ready to learn to engage in discourse, bridge divides, and foster more meaningful connections, we hope to see you this fall at ��Ƶ Connect!

Conversation Hosts

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Day of Celebration: Looking Toward Jubilee

��Ƶ — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 01:58:07 +0000

This is a day full of gatherings for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and our families across the country (and around the world!) to celebrate 25 years of ��Ƶ, our mission, our shared story, and where we have known God’s faithfulness throughout it all.

9:00 am – 10:15 am PT | Thanksgiving & Worship in the Chapel
2501 Elliott Ave (on campus) & Zoom

Led by Amber Englund (MACP 2015), Lisa Harrell (MAC 2006), Wendell Moss (MAC 2008 & Allender Center). Join in worship and gratitude for the stories we share and the Spirit who has been among us since the beginning.

10:30 am – 4:00 pm PT | Festival of Play
2501 Elliott Ave (on campus) and Seattle area locations

Play and (re)connect with other members of ��Ƶ community. Below are some options being hosted in the Seattle area. If you would like to host a gathering not listed here either in the Seattle area or in your neighborhood, the Office of Students & Alumni would still love to help. Contact Melanie Carey (mcarey@theseattleschool.edu)

To join one of the following activities, contact the person listed below. Simply text or email the host to let them know you are attending by June 1, so they can plan accordingly and give you any other important information.

Board Games with Paul Hoard and Paul Steinke (MACS 2005; MACP 2023)
Join two master gamers at the red brick building for a time of play! Drop in anytime!
Location: 2501 Elliott Ave, Seattle, WA
Time: 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
RSVP: psteinke@theseattleschool.edu

Tidepools at the Sculpture Park with Julie Leung
During spring and summer, the Salish Sea has a few amazing low tides – and Saturday, June 3 is one of these dates with a low tide around -2.6 at 11 am. Meet at the building by 10:20 am to walk approximately 3/4 mile to the pocket beach in the Sculpture Park. Or meet at the beach if that’s easier. Julie has trained with the Seattle Aquarium and can guide explorations and understandings of Salish Sea beings along with other Aquarium volunteers at the beach.
Location: Olympic Sculpture Park
Time: 10:20 am – 12:30 pm
RSVP: jleung@theseattleschool.edu

Bremerton Frisbee with Clay Clayton and Paula Womack (MACP 2010)
Join other Kitsap folks for frisbee, pups, kids, and snacks! What more could you ask for?
Location: Evergreen Rotary Park
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
RSVP: Email (cclayton@theseattleschool.edu) or text 206-795-7024

Birding with Ariana & Philip Hayes (MATC 2023)
Join Ariana and Philip, two bird enthusiasts (and experts!), to see the incredible local wildlife in our area! You can expect to walk about 1.5-2 miles, but will be at a slow pace on flat trails.
Location: Seward Park Audubon Center – 5902 Lake Washington Blvd S
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
RSVP: ahayes@theseattleschool.edu

Kid-friendly Hike with Lauren & Lucas Peiser (MACP 2021)
We’ll hike down to the water. Bring snacks, as well as shovels and buckets to play by the water! We can coordinate a meet-up location through text.
Time: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Location: Discovery Park
RSVP: Lauren Peiser’s cell – 817-239-3407

Chapter Celebrations
The party is spreading throughout the land! Please get in touch with your local alumni chapter facilitator (details here under Find a Chapter: /alumni/) to learn more and join in community gatherings across the country!

4:00 pm – 6:30 pm PT | On Campus Happy Hour, Music & BBQ Feast
2501 Elliott Ave (on campus)

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm PT | Happy Hour for All Ages
2501 Elliott Ave

Enjoy open-house-style mingling in the Red Brick Building with old and new friends, faculty, drinks, and music. There will be face painting, balloon animals, and live jazz!

5:45 pm | Last Call for Happy Hour & BBQ Buffet Begins

Come before 5:45 pm if you would like to take wine or a signature cocktail upstairs with you for dinner. Dinner will be vegan sausages, beef brisket, and pulled pork from Jack’s BBQ.

6:15 – 6:30 pm | Live Music by Deb Montgomery

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm PT | Annual Spring Banquet
2501 Elliott Ave (on campus) & Zoom (6:30 – 7:45 pm PT)

The day will culminate with our annual Spring Banquet. Join Dr. J. Derek McNeil for a time of storytelling and celebration of 25 years for the graduate programs, the Allender Center, Center for Transforming Engagement, and The Other Journal.

If you plan to utilize the childcare that will be provided from 6:00-8:00 pm, email Lauren Peiser (lpeiser@theseattleschool.edu) ASAP to confirm and include the ages of your kids.

The hybrid portion of the evening will take place on Zoom from 6:30- 7:45 pm PT/ 9:30 – 10:45 pm ET. Please see the emails for Zoom links.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm PT | Dance in the Commons

Join DJs Zadok Wartes (MACS 2008) and Loyalty Wartes for a dance in the Commons celebrating all that has come before and all that is yet to come!

Whether you are joining on campus or online for Spring Banquet, recommended attire is anything that feels celebratory to you – casual or dressy!

See this week’s email for Zoom links.

Questions? Contact Becca Shirley (rshirley@theseattleschool.edu)

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Beyond Self Care: Creating Sustainable Practices

��Ƶ — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 23:11:22 +0000

Join @transforming_engagement on Instagram Live to learn how to create your own Self-Care Menu: a go-to list of practices you choose that will support your well-being when you need it most. You will learn a process that you can repeat anytime and you’ll walk away from this session with a list of practices you have chosen that you can turn to in times of stress, overwhelm, anxiety, or just when you need a little extra support.��

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Alumni Archives - ������Ƶ of Theology & Psychology