Theistic Psychology: A Patristic Perspective
For a variety of reasons, modern psychology has had an ambivalent relationship with religious understandings of the human person. however, recent work has highlighted the problems with a strictly secular psychology, and authors have begun to develop alternative views that offer exciting possibilitie...
| Published in: | Research in the social scientific study of religion |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2012
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| In: |
Research in the social scientific study of religion
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| Further subjects: | B
Social sciences
B Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften B Religion & Gesellschaft |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | For a variety of reasons, modern psychology has had an ambivalent relationship with religious understandings of the human person. however, recent work has highlighted the problems with a strictly secular psychology, and authors have begun to develop alternative views that offer exciting possibilities. one of these religious models is theistic psychology, as developed by authors like richards, Bergin, slife, and others. What might a theistic psychology look like? A promising possibility for the development of a theistic psychology may be drawn from the Patristic christian literature, where authors developed sophisticated theistic psychologies in an attempt to understand the struggles of individuals seeking spiritual growth and inner freedom. These models were incarnational and relational, seeing humans as embodied, relational, and spiritual persons. These theistic ideas allowed writers to create sophisticated theories of development and mental illness that integrated the physical, thical/psychological, and spiritual. Unfortunately, the medicalization of psychology during the modern period destroyed this integrated understanding of the human person, which has made it difficult to develop a psychology that adequately integrates all the elements of our lives. A return to theistic models can help us understand and treat complex problems like depression that depend upon such an integrated understanding. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Research in the social scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/9789004229549_007 |