When Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Allan Josephson, M.D. decided to study psychiatry 30 years ago, persons of faith often wondered how he would fare as a Christian in the field. The influence of Sigmund Freud’s atheism has waned, Josephson said, but it was pervasive then.
Josephson not only survived, but flourished and became an agent of change. Today, he is Vice Chairman for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Services at the University of Louiseville School of Medicine in Louiseville, Kentucky, and author of three books. One of them is the Handbook of Spirituality and Worldview in Clinical Practice, a text he edited and contributed to that is used in psychiatric residency programs to help psychiatrists understand the diagnostic and therapeutic implications of their own and their patients’ worldviews. …
In this series we’re going to tap into Josephson’s wisdom to explore this theme as it relates to:
- How healthy child development mirrors Scriptural principles.
- What children need in the contemporary family for healthy development.
- Why there is an increase in people, particularly children and adolescents, who exhibit narcissistic behavior, and what can be done about it.
- The psychological effects of technology.
- How work defines the self.
Both psychology and theology have much to say about these topics. We hope you’ll join us for the discussion.
You can read more about Dr. Josephson’s journey at The High Calling.
