Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Christian Counseling &Beliefs I’m on a quest to better understand the concept, Christian Counseling . And I’m interested in the Christian beliefs and practices of counselors and clients. I wonder if there is a significant relationship between counselor and client Christian beliefs and practices, Christian interventions, and treatment outcomes. The criteria for identifying counseling as Christian are imprecise . A comprehensive conceptual definition is doomed to failure at this point. An operational definition is crucial to comparing findings across research studies that purport to add something of value to an understanding of Christian Counseling. But operational definitions can be too narrow when attempting to be sufficiently inclusive. I suggest a feature list approach to defining Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy . I approach this conceptualization from the notion of Wittgenstein’s family resemblance . Here’s my current take on Christian Counseling criter...

Sex Differences Women and Men and the Words They Use Geoff W. Sutton It doesn’t take a psychologist to know that women and men use language differently. But how are they different and what do their words tell us about gender? Not long ago I attended a regional conference where social psychologist, James Pennebaker was a featured speaker. I have long been a fan of words so I looked forward to his talk. As slide after slide went by, I wanted more so, I bought the book. The title might sound uninspiring ( The Secret Life of Pronouns …) but Pennebaker is a good writer and he has lots to say backed by some pretty creative research. So who said these words as they introduced their commencement speeches? Can you tell if a woman or a man delivered these inspirational messages? I thank you for allowing me to be a part of the conclusion of this chapter of your lives and the commencement of your next chapter. To say that I’m honored doesn’t even begin to quantify the dept...

Intolerance and religious tribes and thoughts on becoming good neighbors I gave a talk about conservative and liberal Christians. The jumping off point for the discussion centers on a chapter in Brian D. McLaren’s book a Generous Orthodoxy . Religious tribes are at war. Westerners learn that not all Muslims share the same beliefs. News from Israel and Palestine reminds us that people of different religious groups fight to the death. And survivors seek revenge. Americans associated with different religious tribes have different beliefs about right and wrong action.  Conservatives and liberals disagree about religion and politics. And the disagreements are fierce. I find the moral psychology research helpful to understanding what separates these two religious tribes.  Conservative and liberal Christians are often at war despite a command to love. Finding solutions won’t be easy. Here’s some research and thoughts on the roots of intolerance, respect, U...

Justice, Psychology, and Religion Part 1 On the street, U.S. news watchers refer to June 30 2014 headlines and say, “Hobby Lobby won and women lost." As with many difficult cases, the decision was split 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion and Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissenting opinion. The decision stimulated much talk. Many social issues came to the fore-- women’s rights, religious freedom, birth control, and religious beliefs held by owners of private companies. The 5-4 split is not just a matter of reasoned opinion.  The winners were joyful. There’s an anger driven  reaction as well. Here’s a quote from the  New York Times “Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word,” Justice Sotomayor wrote. “Not so today.” The court’s action, she added, even “undermines confidence in this institution.” How religion affects justice. I found a helpful summary of researc...

COUNTING THE COST OF RELIGIOUS RHETORIC Brian D. McLaren has connected with many Christians disenchanted with the rhetoric of fundamentalist leaders. What caught my attention in a recent post was his comment about the “…huge personal cost for religious leaders to change their position…” He was referring to a talk he gave at the White House related to human rights for LGBT persons. Of course, LGBT issues are front and center nowadays but the concept of costs is important to other religious issues as well. (The forum took place this week.) Mariam Yehya is a Sudanese Christian woman who refused to renounce her Christian faith. She was imprisoned and sentenced to die after she gave birth. Her child was born. She was released but then arrested at the airport as she attempted to leave with her family. Now she is at the U.S. Embassy. What will happen? Her conversion to Christianity has already been costly. But she would not renounce her beliefs. She was willing to die...

FORGIVENESS & CHRISTIAN COUNSELING:      Is forgiveness just a fad? “You need to forgive him,” the counselor said as he pointed to the Bible and quoted Jesus threat linked command. “ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ” ( Matthew 6:15 ) It’s easy to see why forgiveness is a popular topic in Christian literature. It is after all at the heart of the gospel. And it is a command. Although some interpretations have led to much distress for those who fear forgiving will only encourage evildoers to continue to abuse their victims. A few posts ago I began looking at the evidence supporting Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy. This is a post related to that quest. FORGIVENESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE In the past two decades, psychological scientists have tested forgiveness interventions and found evidence that many people are able to forgive their offenders and experience an in...