The Integration of Psychology and Christianity - (Christian Association for Psychological Studies Books) by William L Hathaway & Mark A Yarhouse

About the Book

Done properly, integration enriches our understanding of both Christianity and psychology. Through biblical and theological grounding, this expert overview takes stock of the integration project to date, provides an introduction for those who wish to come on board, highlights work yet to be done, and offers a framework to strategically organize next steps.

Book Synopsis

Over the course of recent decades, scholars and practitioners have been working to integrate contemporary psychology-related fields and Christianity. This project continues to move forward, evidenced in associations, publications, degree programs, and conferences around the world. While much progress has been made, there are still foundational issues to be worked out and aspects of integration the community is just now venturing into.

In this expert overview, psychologists William L. Hathaway and Mark A. Yarhouse take stock of the integration project to date, provide an introduction for those who wish to come on board, highlight work yet to be done, and offer a framework to strategically organize next steps. The authors' attention encompasses five domains:

• worldview integration
• theoretical integration
• applied integration
• role integration
• personal integration

Their comprehensive approach yields insights relevant for non-clinical areas of psychological science as well as for counseling, social work, and other related mental health fields.

Done properly, integration enriches our understanding of both Christianity and psychology. Through biblical and theological grounding and numerous examples, Hathaway and Yarhouse demonstrate how synthesis can continue to serve the field and make a difference in caring for individual lives.

Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Review Quotes

"The Integration of Psychology and Christianity is an excellent and comprehensive overview of integration in the following areas or domains: worldview, theoretical, applied, role, and personal. I highly recommend it as essential reading for everyone interested in integration and as a required text in courses on the integration of psychology and Christianity."

"Bill Hathaway and Mark Yarhouse have provided a refreshing look at how Christian and psychological thought and practice can be integrated. This will give you a new look at integration. Their twist is to examine how integration might take different forms in worldview, theoretical, applied, role, and personal domains. I really enjoyed the sweep of their thought-from philosophical through professional to the personal as they navigate through and between the domains. It was an intellectual joy ride."

"By approaching the question of how to integrate Christianity and psychology in various levels and domains, Hathaway and Yarhouse have provided an immensely valuable resource for both newcomers and the well initiated. I appreciate the scholarly depth and personal care that energizes this excellent book."

"Hathaway and Yarhouse have produced an outstanding introduction and guide to the work of integration of psychology and Christian faith. In organizing their review around the domains of worldview, theoretical, role, applied, and personal integration, they have not only systematized and explained much of prior integrative work but have also extended the discussion by identifying and contributing to missing topics of critical interest to students, practitioners, and scholars alike. They have expanded and enriched the conversation in ways that will bear fruit for years. This is an exceptional book."

"Hathaway and Yarhouse provide an articulate and cogent presentation supporting the integration of psychology and Christianity. Both are seasoned clinicians, teachers, and administrators with a wealth of knowledge and experience. They provide a comprehensive review of five domains of integration: worldview, theoretical, applied, role, and personal. While highly philosophical in the early worldview and theoretical domains, their discussion becomes much more clinical and personal in the later domains. They offer a compassionate and clear discussion of important issues in integrating psychology and Christianity while holding a high view of Scripture and valuing the science of psychology. One of the novel areas they discuss is role integration, in which they advocate for taking leadership positions and influencing the mental health professions in ways consistent with the historical roots of Christian faith. This book has broad relevance to the field and should be especially helpful to advanced undergraduate and graduate students."

"In a recent sea of books critiquing integration, this book emerges as a sophisticated defender of the continued value of the project of bringing together psychology and Christianity in meaningful ways. The integrative domains model is a helpful contribution to the contemporary integration conversation, providing an organizing structure for much of the work that goes on in the name of integration. Hathaway and Yarhouse situate integration within the current tensions of contemporary psychology, drawing on their extensive involvement in the APA. This is balanced with philosophical acumen and a deep awareness of historical forces shaping the integration movement. This book will be helpful to graduate students entering the world of integration, while assisting even accomplished integrationists to arrive at a better understanding of the integration task ahead."

"In demonstrating the comprehensiveness of a domain-based approach, the authors draw on psychological theory, clinical theory and research, philosophy, Christian theology, social justice, and the psychology of religion and spirituality, at points justly illustrating their exposition with their own remarkable contributions to the field. A truly brilliant tour de force by two of the leading integrationists of our time, writing at the apex of their immensely productive careers, that aptly shows how much the Christian integration movement in psychology has accomplished and how far it has progressed since its founding in the 1970s."

"This book is a clear and thoughtful attempt to take stock of the movement to connect contemporary psychology with Christian faith and to advance this project. Hathaway and Yarhouse give a fair and appreciative look at critics of the project in an attempt to derive helpful insights from them. This book would be a helpful starting place for those thinking about the relation between Christian faith and psychology, but it will also be valuable for those who are already familiar with some of the issues that have been part of the debate. There is a generous and irenic tone to the book that is highly welcome, and the authors show that the term integration can mean very different things."

"Two seasoned and sophisticated Christian psychologists update the discussion of Christianity's relation to the science and practice of psychology, using a 'domain' framework that helps make clear and accessible sense of the whole field. I recommend it."

About the Author

William L. Hathaway (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is the executive vice president for academic affairs at Regent University. He also a professor in and former dean of the School of Psychology & Counseling at Regent. He has written numerous articles and book chapters and is coeditor of Spiritual Interventions in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy.

Mark A. Yarhouse (PsyD, Wheaton College) is the Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Endowed Chair and professor of psychology at Wheaton College, where he directs the Sexual and Gender Identity Institute and serves as a core faculty member in the doctoral program in clinical psychology. His books include Understanding Gender Dysphoria, Modern Psychopathologies, and Family Therapies.