Research suggests that the great divide between religion and psychiatry may be lessening in the twenty-first centuries. (Koenig and Larson, 2001, p.76) The goal of this proposal is to increase the collaboration between the two disciplines. Using the Model Curriculum for Psychiatry Residency Training Programs: Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Practice (Larson, Lu, Swyers, 1996) and its subsequent revisions, I propose an inverse Model Curriculum for Theological Schools: Psychiatry and Spirituality in Ministerial Practice. This inverse model would be tested at Perkins School of Theology in a pilot course, Mental Health Skills for the Pastor, designed to enhance the preparation for those entering healthcare chaplaincy, pastoral care ministries, and the church. A textbook will ensue after data is gathered, analyzed, and tested.
I have been invited to co-lead a Consultation Roundtable that will provide a forum for clergy to discuss their challenges and opportunities in mental health awareness in their congregations. Members are invited to bring in case studies. Southern Methodist University has offered to support my work with survey designs through Qualtrics which allows easy creation, dissemination, and analysis of answers with IRB permission. Dr. Ed Nace, M.D., psychiatrist, will co-lead the consultation. Here , in microcosm, there is a model of a theologian and psychiatrist in collaboration.
It is significant that many medical students today take the Hippocratic oath: “With purity and with holiness, I will pass my life and practice my art….” [460 BC, Hippocrates) In some cultures the healer and the religious leader were the same. As we continue to look at the interconnection of body-mind-spirit, I will use the phrase of healer as "physician of souls" (John Chrysostom) to address the question: how can curing and healing be taught in theological education in a way that honors and partners with psychiatry?