Abstract
The present article extends the work of Allen Bergin by illustrating the therapeutic clash of liberal individualism and theism in an actual therapy case. As many scholars have demonstrated, liberal individualism has long been the “disguised ideology” at the assumptive base of many psychotherapy theories and practices. The case shows how the lead author was an “agent of culture,” to use Bergin’s terms, in his therapy with a Christian woman. It explains how he attempted to persuade her, without realizing it, to move from her basically Christian values to an individualist emphasis on happiness, instrumentalism, freedom from, autonomy, openness, and independence. Recommendations to deal with these issues are described.
References
Amato, Paul R., Booth, Alan, Johnson, David R., & Rogers, Stacy J. Alone together: How marriage in America is changing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Search in Google Scholar
American Counseling Association. American Counseling Association code of ethics. 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2016, from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf Search in Google Scholar
American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. 2002. Retrieved January 7, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf Search in Google Scholar
Bellah, Robert N., Madsen, Richard, Sullivan, William M., Swidler, Ann, & Tipton, Steven M. Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1985. Search in Google Scholar
Bergin, Allen E. “Psychotherapy and religious values.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48 (1) 1980, 95–105. 10.1037/0022-006X.48.1.95Search in Google Scholar
Bergin, Allen E. “Values and religious issues in psychotherapy and mental health.” American Psychologist, 46 (4) 1991, 394–403. 10.1037/0003-066X.46.4.394Search in Google Scholar
Bernstein, Richard J. The restructuring of social and political theory. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976. Search in Google Scholar
Christopher, John C., Richardson, Frank C., & Slife, Brent D. “Thinking through positive psychology.” Theory & Psychology, 18 (5) 2008, 555–561. 10.1177/0959354308093395Search in Google Scholar
Fowers, Blaine J. Beyond the myth of marital happiness: How embracing the virtues of loyalty, generosity, justice, and courage, can strengthen your relationship. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishing, 2000. Search in Google Scholar
Fowers, Blaine J., Tredinnick, Michael, & Applegate, Brooks. “Individualism and counseling: An empirical examination of the prevalence of individualistic values in psychologists’ responses to case vignettes.” Counseling and Values, 41 (3) 1997, 204-217. 10.1002/j.2161-007X.1997.tb00403.xSearch in Google Scholar
Fowers, Blaine J., Richardson, Frank, & Slife, Brent. Human frailty, vice, and suffering: Flourishing in the context of limits and dependency. Washington, DC: APA Books (in press). Search in Google Scholar
Fromm, Erich. Escape from freedom. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1941. Search in Google Scholar
Gallup Organization. Religion. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx Search in Google Scholar
Jennings, Len, Sovereign, Ashley, Bottorff, Nancy, Mussell, Melissa P., & Vye, Christopher. “Nine ethical values of master therapists.” Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 27 (1) 2005, 32-47. 10.17744/mehc.27.1.lmm8vmdujgev2qhpSearch in Google Scholar
Kim, Uichol, Yang, Kuo-Shu, & Hwang, Kwang-Kuo. (Eds.). Indigenous and culture psychology: Understanding people in context. New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 2006. 10.1007/0-387-28662-4Search in Google Scholar
Kirmayer, Laurence J. “Mindfulness in cultural context.” Transcultural Psychiatry, 52 (4) 2015, 447–469. 10.1177/1363461515598949Search in Google Scholar
Meehl, Paul E. “Some technical and axiological problems in the therapeutic handling of religious and valuational material.” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 6 (4) 1959, 255–259. 10.1037/h0049181Search in Google Scholar
Nelson, James, & Slife, Brent “A new positive psychology: A critique of the movement based on Early Christian Thought.” Journal of Positive Psychology (in press). Search in Google Scholar
Ostenson, Joseph A. “Measuring relationships or measuring individuals: An ontological analysis of marital therapy outcome measures” (Doctoral dissertation). 2009. Retrieved from http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2419 Search in Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. Religious Landscape Study. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study Search in Google Scholar
Richardson, Frank C. “Critical Thinking about psychology: Hidden assumptions and plausible alternatives.” In Brent D. Slife, Jeffrey S. Reber, & Frank C. Richardson (Eds.), Psychotherapy and modern dilemmas, pp. 17–38. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. Search in Google Scholar
Richardson, Frank C., Fowers, Blaine J., & Guignon, Charles B. Re-envisioning psychology: Moral dimensions of theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999. Search in Google Scholar
Rieff, Philip. The triumph of the therapeutic. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006 [1966]. Search in Google Scholar
Santrock, John. Adolescence. (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2012. Search in Google Scholar
Seligman, Martin. Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, NY: Free Press, 2002. Search in Google Scholar
Seligman, Martin. Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well being. New York, NY: Free Press, 2011. Search in Google Scholar
Serretti, Alessandro, & Olgiati, Paolo. “Biochemistry of depressive disorders. Role of serotonin, amino acid neurotransmitters, substance P and neurosteroids.” Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal Of Treatment Evaluation, 5 (5) 2008, 225–241. Search in Google Scholar
Slife, Brent D. “Liberal Individualism: The Generic Worldview of Western Psychotherapists.” Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, 2015. Search in Google Scholar
Slife, Brent D., Smith, Amy M., & Burchfield, Colin M. “Psychotherapists as crypto missionaries: An exemplar on the crossroads of history, theory, and philosophy.” In Darryl B. Hill & Michael J. Kral (Eds.), About psychology: Essays at the crossroads of history, theory, and philosophy, 55 – 72. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2003. Search in Google Scholar
Sorenson, Randall L. “Kenosis and alterity in Christian spirituality.” Psychoanalytic Psychology, 21 (3) 2004, 458–462. 10.1037/0736-9735.21.3.458Search in Google Scholar
Taylor, Charles. A secular age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007. Search in Google Scholar
Tjeltveit, Alan. Ethics and values in psychotherapy. London, England: Routledge, 1999. Search in Google Scholar
Tredinnick, Michael G., & Fowers, Blaine J. “Individualism and psychotherapy: Are psychologists leading or following individualistic trends?”. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 12 (3) 1999, 303-313. 10.1080/09515079908254100Search in Google Scholar
Van Petegem, Stijn, Vansteenkiste, Maarten, & Beyers, Wim. “The jingle–jangle fallacy in adolescent autonomy in the family: In search of an underlying structure.” Journal of Youth And Adolescence, 42 (7) 2013, 994-1014. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9847-7 10.1007/s10964-012-9847-7Search in Google Scholar
Warren, Rick. The purpose-driven life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Search in Google Scholar
Whitley, Rob. “Religious competence as cultural competence.” Transcultural Psychiatry, 49 (2) 2012, 245–260. 10.1177/1363461512439088Search in Google Scholar
©2016 Brent D. Slife et al.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.