an interpretative phenomenological analysis of psychotherapists' lived experiences of faith

157 Pages·2017·1.25 MB·English

by  Tiana Blackburn

THE FAITH DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
A dissertation presented to the faculty of
ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY SANTA BARBARA
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the
degree of
DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
in
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
By
TIANA BLACKBURN
JUNE 2017
THE FAITH DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
This dissertation, by Tiana Blackburn, has been approved by the committee members
signed below who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of Antioch University
Santa Barbara in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
Dissertation Committee
____________________________________
Dan Schwartz, Ph.D.
Chairperson
____________________________________
Lee Weiser, Ph.D.
Second Faculty Reader
__________________________________
Murray Stein, Ph.D.
External Reader
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Copyright by
Tiana Blackburn
2017
iii
ABSTRACT
THE FAITH DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS
By
Tiana Blackburn
This research is a phenomenological study which explores the faith development
of six clinical psychologists. Thematic aspects of faith were determined using James
Fowler’s Faith Development Theory and includes form of logic, perspective-taking, moral
judgment, social awareness, coherence, locus of authority, and symbolic function. These
aspects are seen as foundational to an understanding of participants’ stage of faith
development. Note that in Faith Development Theory a religious belief system is not
required in order to have the experience of faith. In terms of affiliation or non-affiliation
with religion, psychologists’ beliefs included atheist, agnostic, religious, and spiritual.
Faith was also viewed through a depth psychological lens to help understand the construct.
Psychologists’ completed a survey of their personal perspectives on religion and
spirituality in clinical practice, personal characteristics, and their demographics. They
were interviewed using the Faith Development Interview from which aspects of faith were
interpreted and coded. It was observed that maturity of faith varied within and between
aspects. Uneven development is to be expected in any growth process. Scores within
aspects were averaged and rolled up to an estimated stage score. The stages of faith for
two of these clinical psychologists was interpreted as transitioning from Synthetic-
Conventional (stage 3) to Individuative-Reflective (stage 4). The stages of faith for four of
these clinical psychologists was interpreted as Individuative-Reflective (stage 4) with two
psychologists transitioning to Conjunctive Faith (stage 5). The conclusion is that clinical
psychologists do indeed have faith and here they describe their experience of it. This study
is a move towards a multi-perspectival view of what it means to have faith. Future studies
can provide a better understanding of faith development when they are analyzed alongside
states of consciousness. It remains to be seen whether or not faith makes a qualitative
difference in therapeutic outcomes. Note: The electronic version of this dissertation is
available free at Ohiolink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very thankful to Lee Weiser, PhD., as an advisor, teacher, and committee
member: her attention and support meant a great deal to me. Thanks go to Barbara
Lipinski, PhD., for a travel award to attend the 2012 Summer Research Workshop on
Spirituality and Health at Duke University, which boosted my morale; and all inspirers at
Antioch U. including our librarian Christine Forte, who provided inestimable help over the
years.
Much appreciation goes to Harold G. Koenig, MD, MHSc for adding depth and
breadth to my research skills and knowledge beyond what any university graduate
program can offer. Along with Allen Verhey, PhD. (a renowned theological ethicist now
passed), these gentlemen listened and offered helpful guidance over the course of several
days at Duke University.
I give thanks for Marc Rosenbush, a dear Buddhist friend who offered me his
couch during my pre-doc fellowship in a city where I no longer lived. I also greatly
appreciate my strongest ally, my beloved mother, who listens tirelessly even at 82 years
old … along with all of her furry creatures. I am grateful as well to Francesco Di Santis
for his critique and friendship. Most of all, I thank the psychologists who selflessly gave
generously their physical and emotional time and energy to share their soul and spiritual
autobiographies to help other searchers and seekers of knowledge…you will be in my
heart forever!
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Contents
ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................................iv
LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................................................vii
CH. 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................1
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................. 2
STATEMENT................................................................................................................................................. 4
DEFINITION OF TERMS ............................................................................................................................... 5
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY........................................................................................................................... 11
METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL ORIENTATION............................................................................... 12
RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY...................................................................................................................... 15
CH. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................................................................................18
RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY.......................................................................................................................... 20
FAITH ........................................................................................................................................................ 26
CHAPTER 3 METHOD .......................................................................................................................37
RESEARCH DESIGN AND RATIONALE....................................................................................................... 37
ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER ..................................................................................................................... 38
METHOD.................................................................................................................................................... 39
PARTICIPANTS........................................................................................................................................... 40
INSTRUMENTATION................................................................................................................................... 41
DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................................................................. 42
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................ 42
VALIDITY STRATEGY................................................................................................................................ 43
RISKS/ETHICAL PROCEDURES ................................................................................................................. 45
CHAPTER 4. RESULTS......................................................................................................................47
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF PSYCHOLOGISTS .............................................................................................. 47
CHARACTERISTICS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS .................................................................................................. 48
PERSPECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS ......................................................................................................... 49
ASPECTS OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................................... 52
SUMMARY OF RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 103
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ...........................................................................105
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................113
Appendix A.........................................................................................................................................125
Appendix B.........................................................................................................................................127
Appendix C.........................................................................................................................................129
Appendix D ........................................................................................................................................130
Appendix E.........................................................................................................................................131
Appendix F.........................................................................................................................................135
Appendix G ........................................................................................................................................137
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Participant Religious/Spiritual Characteristics…………………………….48
Table 2. Participant Beliefs and Religious/Spiritual Experiences…………………..48
Table 3. Participant Responses Regarding Religion/Spirituality and Health ……....49
Table 4. Participant Responses Regarding Religion/Spirituality in
Clinical Practice …………………………………………………………..50
Table 5. Participant Responses Regarding Religion/Spirituality and Diagnosis …...51
Table 6. ASPECT: Form of logic…………………………………………………... 55
Table 7. ASPECT: Perspective-taking………………………………………………62
Table 8. ASPECT: Form of moral judgment………………………………………..71
Table 9. ASPECT: Social awareness………………………………………………..79
Table 10. ASPECT: Locus of authority……………………………………………....84
Table 11. ASPECT: World coherence………………………………………………..89
Table 12. ASPECT: Symbolic function……………………………………………....97
Table 13. Faith Stages………………………………………………………………103
Table 14. Belief in God and Faith Maturity………………………………………...104
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1
CH. 1 INTRODUCTION
Broadly speaking, religiousness “refers to a search for significance in ways
related to the sacred,” while spirituality is “a search for the sacred” itself (Zinnbauer &
Pargament, 2005, p.36). Nevertheless, a lack of consensus prevails as to whether or not
the sacred (which Koenig calls the transcendent) should be viewed as religious or secular,
particularly during attempts to find common ground (Koenig, 2012). According to some,
blending religion and spirituality as one construct provides an unnecessarily vague
understanding considering the lack of agreement as to the nature of spirituality itself
(Dein, Cook, & Koenig, 2012; Koenig 2008; Moreira-Almeida & Koenig, 2006; Koenig,
McCullough, & Larson, 2001). In addition to these concerns, a growing number of
people turn towards secular spirituality in order to avoid the dogma of religious belief,
mainly because religion, when seen negatively, has connotations of “conflict,
expectations, hypocrisy, rigidity, [and] evangelism” (Koenig, King, & Carson, 2012,
p.38).
The net effect of this negative perception has led to the view that spirituality
represents the highest of human potential whereas religion has become peripheral
(Pargament, 1999). As a result, because spirituality does have a historical religious
foundation, many who study religion join the two as one construct. Also, there is a
perceived need (by some) to re-invigorate religion’s vitality. While the evolution towards
a secular meaning of spirituality is difficult to operationally define (Koenig, 2012), their
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interchangeability may also be problematic, especially as regards no-faith and multi-faith
systems, e.g., many agnostics also see themselves as spiritual.
Most of the literature examines faith as a noun, as in “keeping the faith,” or
having a religion. Without question, faith in the religious sense is important considering
that large numbers of clients say that their “faith provides emotional support, social
support, and a route to meaning, all of which help them cope with their diagnosis”
(Lederberg & Fitchett, 1999, p. 375). While helpful to some, this limited definition of
faith in the religious sense is narrow. Instead, the present study addresses the construct of
faith as a verb, i.e., as an on-going, developmental process. Characteristics of
religiousness and spirituality can then be contrasted with faith development. In order to
deepen an understanding of faith, this researcher interviewed clinical psychologists about
their lived experience of faith while exploring the quantitative data on religion and
spirituality among this population.
Background
The connection between psychology and religion in the West was shaped by the
Harvard philosopher and psychologist William James early in the 20th Century (Taylor,
1996). Not long afterwards, Freud argued against Christianity as the “return of the
repressed” (Freud, 1939, p. 129). More recently, the American Psychological
Association, in 2007, adopted over a dozen resolutions specifically on religious, religion-
based and/or religion-derived prejudice to include the following:
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the American
Psychological Association encourages the dissemination of relevant
empirical findings about the psychological correlates of religious/spiritual
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beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors to concerned stakeholders with full
sensitivity to the profound differences between psychology and
religion/spirituality. (Anton, 2008)
With the exception of the Analytical Psychology of C. G. Jung, religion and spirituality
have been relegated to the sidelines of mainstream Western, Euro-centric psychotherapy
practices (Worthington, 2011). However, all of us participate in the mystery of life. The
search for meaning that usually belongs in the realm of philosophy is still addressed by
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psychologists in the post-modern era just as it was by William James early in the 20
Century.
Looking back, it was in the 1950’s that Carl Rogers brought the field closer to a
truer phenomenological approach by encouraging psychotherapists to see reality from the
client’s perspective (Worthington, 2011). Worthington stated that in the 1960’s, English
translations of literature from Eastern religions became widely available and deepened an
understanding of the relationship between the concepts of spirit and psyche. Meditation
was eventually incorporated into several psychotherapies after Herbert Benson
researched the relaxation response in the 1970’s (Davidson, Goleman and Schwartz,
1976; Goleman, 1976, 1981). Shortly thereafter, in the 1970’s through the 1980’s, the
Jesus People movement advocated for faith-based psychotherapy. As a response, students
of scriptures and psychology at Rosemead Graduate School established a forum to
systemize the Christian view of psychology (Narramore, 1973). Since the 1980’s,
journals of psychology have published articles on religion to an even greater extent
(Worthington, 2011), resulting in a growing database on the subject of religion and
spirituality in psychology. The research question, “What is the faith development of