School of Psychology’s Integration Symposium has Solid Start

In the first lecture of a series of three during the School of Psychology’s Symposium on the Integration of Psychology and Theology, Marie Hoffman, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology at New York University, centered the topic on “Witnessing: Where it all Begins.” Hoffman asserted that just as many evangelical patients begin their relationship with Christ from someone witnessing to them, it is also the starting point of psychotherapy.

“The psychotherapist’s first task is to witness the evangelical patient’s untold or dismissed narrative of pain, and bear witness to the transformation that a wounded healer embodies,” she said.

According to Brad Strawn, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Fuller, when choosing a guest speaker for this year’s symposium, Fuller wanted to invite someone who had done interesting work on integration, and was willing to discuss something new.

“Hoffman wanted to write something for the church in this lecture series,” said Strawn. “She is looking at the ways the common words of ‘witness,’ ‘conversion,’ and ‘salvation’ have become ‘traditioned’ in the church.”

Strawn also said Hoffman’s lectures suggest that conversion is an ongoing process of transformation rather than a one-time occurrence. Similarly, salvation should not only be seen as the forgiveness of sins to enter the eternal presence of God, but as occurring now.

“I’m particularly proud of the integration symposium and what it stands for,” said Strawn. “It really is one of our most public ways in which we attempt to demonstrate integrative work that is multi-disciplinary.”

He went on to say the symposium’s commitments to having respondents from three different schools is one of the ways they try to demonstrate this.

“We hope it will be interesting and helpful to the people in each school,” he said.

John Goldingay from the School of Theology was the respondent to the first lecture; Scott Sunquist, Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies, will be the respondent to the lecture Feb. 13 at 7 p.m., and Brad Strawn, School of Psychology, will respond to the final lecture Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. Each lecture will take place in Travis Auditorium.