Welcome to PsychedCatholic!
Why call the site PsychedCatholic? Well, for one, we are psyched to be Catholic! We love our faith–the truth, beauty and the community we find there. More recently, we have each become “psyched” if you will – educated in psychology as a science and helping profession. We believe that psychology has something to offer Catholics, and this site is dedicated to that. We hope to bring together some resources related to mental health, psychology and the Church, as well as provide original writing that is timely and valuable to Catholics. We hope this is a place where those with questions will find support as well as information and where those seeking understanding can find Truth with the help of psychology.
About Matt:
I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania where there is a bar and a church on every corner. I’m fortunate to have ended up in the Church and not the bar. Despite being raised a cradle Catholic it was not until my sophomore year of college that I experienced Christ’s love and as a result love for Christ’s Church in a deep and meaningful way. Fascinated by the human heart in its desires, motivations, attractions, repulsions, brokenness and transcendence, I majored in English literature as an undergraduate. Here, I found the human person woven together with lyrical beauty and shrouded in lovely language. Following a providential run in with a Thomistic monk in Belize I became interested in pursuing and study theology. I attended Ave Maria University–think Catholic Disney Land–where I received an M.A. in theology. During my studies I encountered the profound insights into the human psyche by men like Augustine and Aquinas. These beautiful reflections and thoughtful insights led me to my current (and God willing final academic degree) in clinical psychology. Psychology is a discipline where the truth of man’s nature can be studied and reflected upon for the purpose of helping individuals become more fully alive. I am currently in my fourth year of doctoral studies and will be defending my dissertation in the next few weeks. I hope to one day be a small scale farmer, spending my days milking goats, planting crops, and catching chickens. I love black coffee, Mumford and Sons, quiet farm mornings, Padre Pio, good science, and most of all the Catholic faith.
Click for Matt’s posts.
About Ed:
I am a cradle Catholic who has somehow managed to journey from engineering through six wonderful years of youth ministry to a career as a psychologist. I am a recent graduate of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Baylor University. Before that I attended Loyola University Maryland for a masters degree and The Catholic University of America as an undergraduate. Everywhere I have been, I have been invigorated by my relationships with others, and intrigued by the power of relationships to both hurt and heal. As a youth minister, I enjoyed promoting growth in faith by intentionally fostering healthy, holy relationships. However, I also came in contact with those who needed a different kind of help, individuals for whom my understanding of pastoral ministry and theology were not sufficient. Eventually I took a bit of a leap of faith, leaving my position to follow a call into graduate school in clinical psychology. Seven years later, my wife and three little ones are glad that school is finally over. Nonetheless, the experience in psychology has been transformative, not only educating me about human experience generally, but also shedding light on my own patterns, gifts and flaws. Bringing together faith and psychological understanding has been particularly powerful for my life, and I hope to bring the meshing of the two to life for you!
Click for Ed’s posts.
Love the site. Looking forward to future posts.
I am excited to discover your blog and feel that it will be a valuable resource in my journey toward earning a Masters in Professional Counseling- which begins in 2 weeks! Even at the age of 45, after mothering my 12 children for the last 20 years, I am nervous about pursuing the call to a helping profession. Pray for me! :)
Grad school is not easy, but it can be intriguing and fulfilling. You will be in my prayers for sure. Also, we are hoping to get more resources for students posted soon, so check back!
Dear Ed,
I am writing to request permission to use one of your blog posts, Choosing a Therapist, Part 2: Making The Call.
We have an online master’s program in Psychology at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. We will be offering a class and would like to use your blog post for the class by posting the PDF of the text to our course management system. Access to the content for the class is limited to enrolled students (25) and the faculty member. The course is eight weeks in length and will repeat every semester, several times a year. Linking to the content poses a problem should the link change or be removed from the web, which is why we are requesting to post a PDF. Let me know what you think. Thanks,
Jeff Elliott
Director of Library Services and Financial Aid
Institute for the Psychological Sciences
jelliott@ipsciences.edu
703-416-1441
I would be interested in any comments you would have on the book “Boundaries”. I would appreciate a Catholic perspective on the topic of boundaries in general. In your opinion, would it be different than the Evangelical Christian perspective given in the book? Are there Church documents or writings of the Early Fathers that help support a Catholic perspective on boundaries?
Thank you!
Hi,
This is Edgar from DrugRehab.com. I hope you enjoyed these holidays. I was out for the past two weeks, so I am not sure if you responded to my previous e-mail.
Have you had the chance to review our resource as a possible addition to your webpage?
Also, I would love to hear your thoughts on our information. Any feedback or suggestions are welcomed.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Happy New Year
This is a great site! I am one year away from getting my Masters in CMHC, and I converted to Catholicism many years ago now, and teach Catechism classes at my local parish. Thank you guys for putting together this site so that other Catholics can see and participate in the thoughts of integrating a Catholic worldview with psychology.