A Transformational Psychology View

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series "Christian Psychology".

In an attempt to better understand the various Christian approaches to psychology, I read, “Psychology and Christianity: Five Views.” In this blog series, I am attempting to summarize the various approaches in six blog posts. The primary purpose is not to gain a deep understanding of each approach. Instead I want to create a framework for interacting with each view. I want to guard against building or accepting straw man arguments when reviewing, discussing or even thinking about each position. In this post, I will look at the fourth approach, the “Transformational Psychology” view.

Representatives of the view

John H. Coe and Todd W. Hall present the “Transformational Psychology” view. Currently, John Coe is Professor of Spiritual Theology at Talbot School of Theology and Director of the Institute of Spiritual Formation. Todd Hall is Professor of Psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University. He is also served as the former editor of The Journal of Psychology and Theology.

The transformation of the psychologist

Coe and Hall start their chapter with a statement of two goals. First, they want to rediscover and redesign the way we think about psychology and science in general (199). Second, they want to argue for a complex, transformational approach to psychology and science.

Our goal is to argue for a spiritual formation approach to psychology and Christianity, which takes the spiritual-emotional transformation of the psychologist as the foundation for understanding, developing and preserving the (1) process, (2) methodology and (3) product of doing psychology in the Spirit, which will all, in turn, open a new horizon into the doing of science in general and psychology in particular.

Coe and Hall, Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, p. 199

In other words, Coe and Hall reject the dichotomy of science versus faith asserting that the two work together or ought to work together as a single discipline to discover or describe reality (207).

This description of reality is best done “in God” with the goal of loving God and loving our neighbors. Therefore, central to the approach is the character of the psychologist as a necessary, but not sufficient element of practicing psychology.

…transformational psychology insists that the state, experience and character of the person observing and reflecting in doing psychology determine the quality of the process of psychology.

Coe and Hall, Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, p. 214-215

Assumptions

Like some of their colleagues from other approaches (compare especially the “Levels of Explanation” and “Integrationists”), they reject the dichotomy between faith a psychology (200).
Practicing psychology or counseling is as much about the counselor as it is about the counselee. “…the transformational psychologist does psychology and science within a tradition or history of psychology.” (201, 202, 216).
Practicing good psychology is a life-long process (218).
The experience of the psychologist limits the effectiveness of doing psychology (218).
Practicing psychology is a spiritual practice (201).
For the transformational psychologist, the tenets of the Christian faith are assumed as true and foundational (205).
While accepting the tenets of the Christian faith as foundational, the transformational psychologist recognizes that wisdom and truth can also be found outside Scripture (208).
Humans are relational creatures and well-being requires a healthy relationship with God and others. This is stated in two quotes from the Christian final-end thesis and the “Transformational Psychology” thesis.

…humans are fundamentally relational in nature, and that loving God and neighbor to glorify God form a cluster of realities that combine to constitute the ultimate end or goal of the Christian life (called “constituent ends” of the Christian life).

p. 212

Given that the goal or end of the Christian life is relational, it turns out that doing psychology is relational and, moreover, is a means to relationship (to loving neighbor and to union with God), as well as to personal transformation.

p. 213

Approach to healing

The authors state the essence of the transformational approach in two ways. First, the maturity and self-awareness of the psychologist is an essential element in providing a path to healing for someone in emotional, spiritual, or psychological distress. Second, the truly effective counselor is constantly on a growth path (218). By implication, spiritual disciplines have a crucial role in psychological well-being (218).

After spending most of the chapter explaining their theory of the transformational model, Coe and Hall describe five levels of practice. These five levels are interdependent. At the same time, these levels of practice have a logical flow and progression that is linear but flexible and nuanced. The flow goes something like this.

You must be formed into a person of character.
As a person of character, you can now develop a method of doing scientific research.
This research produces a body of knowledge influenced by your character and method of research.
This body of knowledge then guides you in the practice personal soul-care and the care of other souls.
This soul care leads to personal transformation in yourself and others. (221)

In other words, the transformational psychologist’s character allows them to make wise and insightful decisions about which methods are most useful in the approach to healing and well-being.

This relational paradigm represents a convergence of multiple fields and disciplines including affective neuroscience, attachment theory, relational psychoanalysis, intersubjectivity theory, emotional-focused therapy (EFT) and family systems theories, and this paradigm provides a contemporary, scientific view of change that has been missed in the more classical cognitive and behavioral traditions.”

p. 224-225

This view has many implications for training and practice. In essence, the psychologist must regularly care for his or her own soul to care for others’ souls.

According to transformational psychology, the person determines the process, which, in turn, impacts the product in doing psychology.

p. 215

The “Transformational Psychology” view applied

As we have been doing in the other posts in this series, consider the following hypothetical trauma case. At the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a young pastor was driving a van back from western Ukraine to help deliver humanitarian aid supplies. On the way back, he was in a terrible car accident that took his life. He left a young wife and two-year-old son. How might a counselor from the “Transformational Psychology” view approach helping this young widow?

The transformational psychological counselor would first ask himself or herself if they have the character and maturity to help a person who has suffered such a loss. If the answer was yes, then they would ask themselves if they had the skills and knowledge to help such a person. If the answer was yes again, they would listen with a lot of empathy. Then they would draw on their personal experience, knowledge and skill to suggest a path the healing. The path would most certainly include, but not be limited to the pondering of suggested Scriptures, directed private and corporate prayer, and the practice of a number of spiritual disciplines.

Summary of attributes

View and Representative	Sources of psychological knowledge	Attitude toward contemporary psychology	Goal of Psychology	Primary Allegiance	Primary Task
Levels of Explanation, David G. Myers	Social and hard sciences, philosophy and Christian theology	A source of general revelation on the level of the Bible	To bring healing to the whole person	Broader community of scholars	Acquisition of knowledge
An Integration View, Stanton L. Jones	Scripture, theology, and psychological research	A source of general revelation to be discerned through the lens of personal growth and biblical wisdom	To do psychological research and work as a growing, discerning Christian	Broader community of scholars	Acquisition of knowledge
A Christian Psychology View, Robert C. Roberts and P.J. Watson.	Scripture, theology, and psychological research	A source of general revelation that has distinctly different assumptions from the Christian	To bring healing and thriving through distinctly Christian practices	The church	Bring healing from a distinctly Christian perspective
A Transformational Psychology View, John H Coe and Todd W. Hall	Scripture, personal introspection, spiritual disciplines, psychological research	A source of general revelation discerned through the wisdom and personal maturity of the Christian researcher	To bring healing and thriving in the Spirit for the counselee and counselor	The church	Bring transformational human healing in the Spirit.
A Biblical Counseling View, David Powlison

Concluding reflections

Again, my goal in reading this book and writing these posts is to provide clarity and avoid the “straw man” fallacy. Therefore, I am not analyzing these views. However, I can provide some reflections on each one. I appreciate the level of nuance and humility expressed by the representatives of all five views. My assumption is that each presenter is an authoritative representative of the view.

I think one of the strengths of this view is the clear statement of the relationship between the spiritual growth of the practitioner and the effectiveness of the practitioner. While others expressed that a Christian perspective is important in make wise decisions about secular psychological research, only Coe and Hall make the strong connection between character of the counselor and the effectiveness of the counseling. This resonated with me.

I also appreciate the idea that “soul care” is about transformation. However, some of the concepts were ambiguous to me. For example, several times they talk about doing psychology “in the Spirit.” I am not sure what they mean. Finally, I appreciated Coe and Hall’s path to healing. It was not linear but felt linear and had much nuance. This also resonated with me.

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