The Journal of Christian Healing
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- Volume 27, Number 2 - Fall/Winter 2011
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Evaluating Clinical Cases Using Clinical, Ethical,
Spiritual,
And Contextual-Cultural Competence Criteria: Part I
By Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin
| This article is the first of a two-part series on clinical case evaluation. It describes a straightforward and easy to use quantitative method to evaluate clinical cases. This method includes four domains; clinical, ethical, spiritual, and contextual-cultural; and these domains are specified with competence-based criteria. These criteria provide Christian healthcare professionals tools to evaluate the overall outcomes of completed cases, as well as for monitoring ongoing progress and making mid course changes in treatment direction and interventions in a particular case. |
Evaluating Clinical Cases Using Clinical, Ethical,
Spiritual,
And Contextual-Cultural Competence Criteria: Part II
By Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin
| This article is the second of a two part series on clinical case evaluation. It illustrates the use the quantitative method for evaluating clinical cases described in Part I. The method includes four domains; clinical, ethical, spiritual, and contextual-cultural, with specific competence-based criteria. These criteria provide Christian healthcare professionals a tool for evaluating the overall outcomes of completed cases, as well as for monitoring ongoing progress and making mid course changes in treatment direction and interventions in a particular case. |
Spiritual Bypass: When Religious Practice Blocks
Growth and Healing
By Gwen M. White, PsyD
| For practitioners working with devout Christian clients, the individual’s faith can be a great benefit in the process of healing and paradoxically can also present a block to the individual’s growth and recovery. Spiritual bypass is a term used by a number of authors in academic and popular psychology to describe a person’s use of spiritual belief, experience or practice to avoid psychological issues that evoke anxiety (Bibee, 2000; Cashwell, Myers, & Shurts, 2004; Michaelson, 2005; Whitfield, 1987). For clients who experience spiritual bypass, belief structures that once were helpful have become rigid and maladaptive. This article examines this impasse from several theoretical perspectives and offers a case study to explore clinical implications and potential interventions for working with such individuals. |
Humans and the Environment: A Resurrection View from
God’s Self-Emptying Love
By Robert Sears, SJ, PhD
| Lynn White argued that Christianity, in desacralizing nature, opened it for exploitation. This article examines that question in light of two scriptural and tradition approaches to Christianity and the environment - ascent spirituality and ecological motif - and integrates them in a view of what it calls “God’s self-emptying love” and the resurrection of Jesus. It then looks at Jesus’ attitude to the environment by way of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises and finally draws implications for understanding the Christian’s role in caring for the environment and for relevant action. |
Price: $15.00
- Volume 27, Number 1 - Spring/Summer 2011
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Christian Holistic Healthcare Practice:
Formation Curriculum for the Association of Christian
Therapists (ACT)
A Basic Course
By Robert Sears, SJ, PhD, Douglas Schoeninger, PhD,
Donna Alberici, PhD,
Ellysha MacIvor Baker, RN, Kenneth Fung, MD, Betty Igo,
SFP, MS, MEd
Gloria Tipton, MSW, EdD, MS and Forrest Yanke, DPhil,
LCSW, LMFT
| Abstract This document is the first step in developing a formation curriculum for the Association of Christian Therapists (ACT). Attaining this goal required that ACT clarify the assumptions and characteristics of a holistic Christian therapist and outline the dimensions that would need to be considered in his or her formation. This paper provides the basis for the first and basic course in ACT’s developing curriculum. It is published here for the study and critique of ACT members and other interested readers. In Section I, the Core Assumptions of this view of Christian Holistic Healthcare are presented and followed by their implications and benefits. In Section II, the educational and spiritual preparation of a Christian Holistic Healthcare Provider is treated according to three stages: 1) beginning conversion to Jesus’ Spirit, 2) deepening in the way of Jesus as outlined in the Beatitudes, and 3) developing skills to reach out to healthcare institutions. Section III considers the operational preparation for the practice of Christian Holistic Healthcare, for cooperating with God’s Spirit in every dimension of one’s practice – self, client/patient, place, general assessment and ethical practice. |
A Multi-disciplinary Discussion of the God-Inspired
Dreams of an Institutionalized
Roman Catholic Schizoaffective Patient
By Charles Zeiders, PsyD, with multi-disciplinary
commentary by:
Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin, Guylan Paul, BS, MA, MDiv,
DMin,
and James DeMar, PhD, LCSW
| Abstract The medical model is a testament to human ingenuity and to how fearfully and wonderfully we are made. It is a model that enables us to diagnose and treat mental illness with incredible efficiency. The Christian clinician, however, finds it humbling and inspiring to witness God break into human paradigms and procedures like diagnosis and treatment. This article examines the healing of the identity of a man diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder. This patient came to identify with his diagnosis. Hyper exposure to the medical model of mental illness drove him to develop an iatrogenic, or treatment induced, conception of himself. He identified himself as a Schizoaffective man, as opposed to a health-positive self-identification such as “Imago Dei.” Following the presentation of case material, focused mainly on God-inspired dreams, a multi-disciplinary panel explores the patient’s dreams from medical, spiritual, and psychological perspectives. What follows is a redacted version of a presentation to the Association of Christian Therapists Healing Manual Preconference Seminar (HMPS) made in Little Rock, Arkansas during the 2007 International Conference of the Association of Christian Therapists. This print version is a joint publication of the HMPS and the Think Tank for Christian Holism of the Institute for Christian Healing (ICH). |
Spirituality in Values-Based Leadership: How and Why
Christian Counselors should
Consider marketing themselves to current and future
Leaders in America’s Corporations!
An interview with Michele Sacher
By Michele Sacher, MEC, MS and Charles Zeiders, PsyD
| Abstract This article presents for consideration a challenge to Christian counselors to reach out to corporate leaders with “Unconventional Counseling Techniques”®; There is a unique opportunity to address an epidemic of decreased values-based leadership in corporate America and the resulting decay of organizational and individual mental health, energy, and wellness. Also considered are the resulting lessons we are teaching the next generation of future leaders and a challenge to proactively reach out as counselors to model values-based leadership! |
The Healing Harvester
By Arlene Brown, PsyD, NCC
| Abstract Sometime we humans may find ourselves questioning God. We may ask Him for the reasons behind His allowing so much pain and suffering to fill our lives and the world. Yet, being too impatient to wait for the reply, we move on and try to rectify these difficulties on our own. This writer has often asked these questions and prayed for an answer, then it occurred to me that most of the pain and suffering I had experienced, I had brought upon myself. Yes, you see God usually provides us with the instructions to solve our problems in a subtle manner. His goal is to heal our pain and suffering whether it is physical or spiritual. Our heavenly Father is like a tireless farmer who toils from sunup to sundown anticipating a healthy crop. He is a wise and loving farmer. He is ever so patient with us. He toils in our fields both day and night. When we are awake and when we are asleep, He is still nurturing us. However, He is not an enforcer rather He is a harvester, a harvester who plants seeds yet has provided us with freewill and the ability to make choices. Thus, when we choose our own course instead of yielding to the guidance of His plow our healing is delayed. We must remember that we are not the planter but rather the field in which He plants His seeds. Only when we yield to His harvesting will we be truly healed. |
Reader Reflections and Feedback
Price: $15.00
- Volume 26, Number 2 - Fall/Winter, 2010
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Interrupted Love:
Healing Addiction through the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
by Robert Sears, SJ, PhD
Abstract Humans have an innate desire for union with God. Addiction attaches that desire and enslaves that energy to specific behaviors, things or people. Bill Wilson found that encounter with God’s love freed him from addiction to drink. His AA principles followed from that awareness and his later experience. However his addictions to smoking and women revealed limits in his approach. Consideration of Chris Prentiss’ and Arthur Janov’s ideas about facing primal pain at the root of addictions, and the need for companionship and joy (Jim Wilder) to face that pain, leads us to the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Using Henri Nouwen's experience of working through his deep pain, this article presents Mary as model of the church empowered to stay open to Jesus who carried our primal pain in his cry of abandonment on the cross (John's view at Cana and Calvary) with the resultant release of joy and community. It concludes with suggestions for healing addictions. |
The Metamorphic Moment:
A Psychology of Fire and Love for the Postmodern Day of
Judgment
By Charles Zeiders, PsyD
Abstract Like the 1st century, the 21st century is poised for sudden change at the level of individual and collective psychology. Exploring the experience of Jesus, Peter and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, this article provides a depth psychological perspective on assenting to the radical psychological requirements of sudden development, and bowing to God’s radical psychological commands in the face of such development. Among these commands are Jesus’ summary of the law and the prophets; his commandments to love God and neighbor in reciprocal love. By assenting to Transfiguration and by assenting to Jesus’ command to love both God and man, psychological development expands to such an extent that emotions like fear, at personal and collective evolutionary shifts, are ameliorated. Following analysis of the 3 developmental epochs of the Western mind, Zeiders argues that personal alignment with God’s transformative power is critical to addressing the pathology in - and the developmental crisis of - the individual and collective postmodern Western soul. Drawn from St. John’s 1st universal letter, the words, “The Day of Judgment,” refer to the current crisis in the soul of Western civilization. The “Metamorphic Moment” refers to the entrainment of the individual healthcare provider and mystic/activist for individual transformation in service to God, man, and God’s evolutionary plans for the Western soul. |
Ethical Sensitivity in Christian Healthcare Practice
By Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin
Abstract Ethical sensitivity enables healthcare professionals to respond morally to the suffering and vulnerability of those receiving clinical services. Because it is a prerequisite for effective ethical analysis and ethical decision making, Christian healthcare professionals need to understand and emphasize ethical sensitivity in their practice. This article describes and illustrates this essential construct. |
An Approach to Ethical Case Analysis: Application to
Breast Cancer
By Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin and Louis Lussier, MI, MD,
PhD, MDiv
Abstract An approach to ethical analysis in Christian healthcare practice is described. This approach is based on the premise that ethically-sensitive practice is clinically and professionally-sensitive practice that accounts for contextual and theological-spiritual considerations. A case involving breast cancer is analyzed. Like other serious medical conditions, various psychological, cultural, spiritual, and systemic factors can exacerbate the course of breast cancer and complicate its treatment. Since it is essential that the competent and compassionate practice of Christian healthcare account for these various factors, the ethical analysis approach described here considers all of these factors. |
Price: $15.00
- Volume 26, Number 1 - Spring/Summer 2010
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
The System Has to be Kept Human:
Integrating Spirituality into Contemporary Healthcare
by Russ Parker, BA(Hons)Theol, MTh, Ddiv
Integrative Mental Health Treatment for Alcoholism
And the Christ of Recovery
by Charles Zeiders, PsyD
HEART- Healing Emotional Affective Responses to
Trauma:
Clinical Applications, Part II
by Benjamin B. Keyes, ThD, PhD, EdD
Theology and Energy Healing
by Robert Sears, SJ, PhD
Price: $15.00
- Volume 25, Number 2 - Fall/Winter 2009
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Monograph published by the Journal of Christian Healing:
Ethics in Christian Healthcare Practice
by Len Sperry, MD, PhD, DMin
-Ethics in Christian Healthcare Practice: An
Introduction and Overview
-An Ethics Primer on Christian Healthcare Practice
-Developing Ethical Competence in Christian Healthcare
Practice
-Ethical Analysis in Christian Healthcare Practice
-Application of Ethical Analysis in Christian Healthcare
Practice
-Ethical, Professional, and Spiritual Discernment in
Christian Healthcare Practice
-Ethics and the Role of Christian Anthropology in
Christian Healthcare Practice
Price: $15.00
- Volume 25, Number 1 - Spring/Summer 2009
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
HEART- Healing Emotional Affective Responses to
Trauma: Clinical Applications
by Benjamin B. Keyes, ThD, PhD, EdD
Fighting the Monster
by James Ashdown
Anxiety and Fear: Where Can We Rest?
by Douglas Schoeninger, PhD
The Great Discovery of Karl and Will Menninger
by Daniel V. Leander, MEd., MTh
Listening Post
Contending for Your Healing
By Deborah Otter, RN
The Action of the Holy Spirit in Clinical Practice:
Sharing Our Experiences
By Douglas Schoeninger, PhD
Price: $15.00
-
Volume 24, Number 2 – Fall/Winter, 2008
Contents:
Letter from
the Editor
Articles
Inner Healing: The Co-creation of Emotional
Transcendence
by Benjamin B. Keyes, Th.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., LPC
The
Trauma of the Broken Church: Healing Through
Ecumenism
by Robert T. Sears, S.J., Ph.D.
A
Perspective on Neurotheology
by Charles L. Zeiders, Psy.D.
Listening
Post
Exploring Energy Medicine and New Paradigms
by Sheila Hogan Waldeck, R.N.
Notes on
Christian Healthcare Practice
by Douglas Schoeninger, Ph.D.
Just
Wondering
by Robin Caccese, BS, MT (ASCP)
Price: $15.00
- Volume 24, Number 1 – Spring/Summer, 2008
Contents:
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Is There a Scriptural Approach to Mental Health?
by Robert T. Sears, S.J., Ph.D.
PneumasomaticTM Care
by Jo Anne Grace, Ph.D.
Christian Anthropology: The Nature of the Human
Person, Human
Brokenness and Healing: A Spiritual/Theological
Perspective
by Louis Lussier, M.I., M.D., Ph.D., M.Div.
The Spiritual Healing of a Father and His
Daughter
by Gaylene Baier, R.N.
Listening Post
Just Wondering
by Robin Caccese, BS, MT(ASCP)
Price: $15.00
-
Volume 23, Number 2 - Fall/Winter, 2007
Contents:
Letter from
the Editor
Articles
Case C – My Name is Schizoaffective Disorder
by Charles Zeiders, Psy.D.
Principles of Inner Healing
by Sister Betty Igo, S.F.P., M.S., M.Ed.
Dorothy Kerin: Sign and Significance
by Stevens Heckscher, Obl. OSB, Ph.D.
Christian Anthropology for the Healthcare
Professions:
The Nature of the Human Person, Human
Brokenness and Healing
by Douglas Schoeninger, Ph.D.
Listening Post
Just Wondering
by Robin Caccese, BS, MT (ASCP)
Price: $15.00
-
Volume 23, Number 1 - Spring/Summer, 2007
Articles
Agnes Sanford: Pioner in Healing Ministry
And Apostle of the Healing Light of Christ
by Judith Agaoglu, Psy.D.
A Christian Clinical Medical Model
for Healing Human Brokeness
by Keneth Fung, M.D., MB, B.Ch., B.A.O., FRCS
Neurobiological Mechanisms and Christian Healing
by Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D., D.Min.
The Case Study of C.G.
by Lise Poirier-Groulx, M.D., FCFP, CGP
Listening Post
Price: $15.00
-
Volume 17, Number 4 - Winter, 1995
Letter from the Editor
Articles
Amazed by the Authority of Jesus
by Charles L. Kaldahl, M.Div.
Touching the Children
by Paul Elledge, Ph.D.
Creating A Healing Milieu: A Christian Summer Camp
by Anne Gremillion Trufant, M.S.W.
Life with Noah: Growing Toward Wholeness through Parenting a Handicapped Child
by Karen Kozica Cichon, Ph.D.
Healing Experience
My Personal Experience with Deliverance Prayer
by Janet M. Kamer, Ph.D.
Resources
Book Reviews
James Schaller
The Search for Lost Fathering: Rebuilding Your Father Relationship
Reviewed by Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D.
Dan Montgomery
God and Your Personality
Reviewed by Robert T. Sears, S.J.
Book Summaries
Journal Listings
News
Report on the Harvard Conference: “Spirituality and Health in Medicine,”
by Louis Lussier, O.S.Cam., M.D.
Price: $10.00
-
Volume 1, Number 1 - Summer, 1979
Contents:
Editorial Page
Articles
ACT – Its Roots
by Sally & Martin Lynch
A Physician’s View of the Healing Ministry
by Hank Kankowski, M.D.
The Power of Prayer in Psychotherapy
by Mabel Kamp, A.C.S.W.
Deliverance from Non-Demonic Bondages
by Clinton Connor, M.A., A.C.S.W.
Anointing with Blessed Oil
by Phocion Park, M.A.
Some Thoughts of Inner Healing for Women
by Sister Antonella Bayer, C.S.J.
One Model for a Christian Therapy Center
by William L. Carr, Ed.D.
Poetry
The Infinite Sea
The House of God
The Problem Corner
Prayer by R.N. at Work
Media Review
Review of Books by A.C.T. Members
Memorial
Reflections on the Death of Sr. Mary Jane Linn, C.S.J.
Sharings
A.C.T. Conference in Rochester
Price: $10.00
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