Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in Thee tonight She pushes the button by the miniature piano and begins to jump up and down as Frosty sings his seasonal song. Her younger sister follows her lead. Then the music stops. But they press the button and the happy tune resumes. From tree to fireplace, one decoration to another, our granddaughters light up our home. The Christmas story is of course about a child. Everyone can identify with the joy of a newborn child. Adults everywhere love to give gifts to children—just to see the sheer delight that comes when preschoolers unwrap a new surprise. The Bethlehem Christmas carol mixes light and dark images. The forces of good and evil are present. And hopes and fears become focused on one small child born in Bethlehem ravaged by war for millenni...

What I call the SCOPES model is an organization of and an elaboration on the way many psychologists conduct comprehensive assessments for patients. I find the approach helpful because it guides us in thinking about ourselves and others in terms of multiple dimensions rather than just one or two labels that can lead to misunderstanding or worse. SCOPES is an acrostic for five dimensions of human nature within a social context.  SCOPES is also a metaphor for looking with an intent to carefully observe people in a richer and more diverse way than we do with a cursory glance. Once I name the six dimensions you will see how they reflect the common ways we speak about ourselves and others. What makes this aapproach uncommon is that it takes effort to look beyond that which is immediately evident and consider multiple dimensions before making “snap” judgments. A camera metaphor may help. People are like cameras operating on default settings. Modern cameras have multi...

ASSESSMENT in CHRISTIAN COUNSELING What Christian Counselors Believe, Value, and Practice Part 3: Assessment Why does a powerful God let the faithful suffer? Where is God when your husband dies in a car crash? Where was God when you were abused? Where is God when you are flat on your back? Where was God when…? Traumatic events can raise the most challenging questions for people who place their faith in a powerful God. Even everyday struggles can interfere with the relationship between a spiritual person and God or their sense of the sacred. Polls show that most people pray—even those who do not bother much with organized religion pray. A whopping 84% of U.S. adults prayed in the last week! Click for churchleaders post . Doesn't it make sense for almost every psychotherapist in the U.S. to ask a few questions about spirituality? The odds are pretty good that a Christian has prayed about a relevant issue. You might wonder how assessment can be con...

DOES YOUR SPIRITUALITY MAKE SENSE? Religion & Spirituality | Meaning | Why? |  Psychology of Palm Sunday Nearly 2,000 years ago Jesus of Nazareth went public as a king. It was the first Palm Sunday. The crowd of supporters cheered as he rode into Jerusalem.  They honored him as a king ought to be honored with palm fronds and clothes before him and sang part of an old psalm (118). And the Jewish people welcomed him with expectations of salvation from Roman oppression. But what they got a week later didn't match their expectations. It didn't make sense. Jesus never does. New religious movements pose threats to established religions. People identified as kings or leaders pose threats to national leaders. Then as now; people in power use their power to quash minority movements by attacking their leaders. Then as now; religious leaders join with political leaders in a combined effort to maintain their way of life. The words of Jesus were taken as a threat ...

Before You Write Another Goal Goals, Meaning, and Faith Have you thought about goals for the new year? The question annoys some and engages others. And some use the occasion of a calendar event to assess their progress on life goals. Goals add meaning to life. Goals reflect a sense of purpose – so it’s no surprise that research on goals and purpose would include a study of the role of religion or spirituality. Even if you are not familiar with the scientific study of religion, you would probably find it easy to see that religion or spirituality, however defined, offers people a sense of purpose in life and ways to connect various life events so they make sense. Perhaps this is behind the popular book by Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life ? And on the downside, as I have written elsewhere, there is a purpose driven death —seen in those who sacrifice their lives for a religiously motivated goal. A favorite reference for writers on meaning and purpose is Victor Frankl ...