Description

On November 15–16, 2012, the Consortium sponsored a think tank at Brigham Young University during which a group of nationally respected practitioners and researchers explored ways of collaborating to bring spiritually oriented treatment approaches more fully into mainstream health care through clinical practice, training, and research.

November 15 consisted of formal presentations about these topics, held at the BYU Conference Center. In addition to the invited participants, approximately 70 students and faculty from BYU and BYU–Idaho attended these presentations.

On Friday November 16 the invited participants gathered in a retreat at Aspen Grove, Utah, to share their perspectives and interests about research and practice, and to discuss ways to collaborate and support one another.

Participants

  • Lisa Miller, PhD, Columbia University, New York
  • Everett L. Worthington, Jr., PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia
  • George Stavros, PhD, Boston University, MA
  • Michael E. Berrett, PhD, Center for Change, Utah
  • Buffy Bernhardt, LMSW, Nyack Center for Healing, New York
  • Aurelie Athan, PhD, Columbia University, New York
  • Joshua N. Hook, PhD, University of North Texas, Texas
  • Nathaniel G. Wade, PhD, Iowa State University, Iowa
  • Steven J. Sandage, PhD, Bethel University, Minnesota
  • Steven A. Smith, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Randy K. Hardman, PhD, Brigham Young University-Idaho
  • Timothy B. Smith, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Brent D. Slife, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Gary Weaver, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, Utah
  • Jared Hill, MS, Mental Health Counselor, Utah
  • Mark Butler, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Kristin Hansen, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Wendy Ulrich, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Lane Fischer, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • P. Scott Richards, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • David Wood, PhD, LDS Family Services, Utah
  • Shawn Edgington, PhD, Canyon Counseling Center, Utah
  • Alan Hansen, PhD, Canyon Counseling Center, Utah
  • Scott Owen, PhD, Canyon Counseling Center, Utah
  • Stevan Lars Nielsen, PhD, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Dan Barnes, PhD, Brigham Young University-Idaho
  • Peter Sanders, PhD Student, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Jason McBride, PhD Student, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • Troy Lea, PhD Student, Brigham Young University, Utah

Purpose

  1. To give practitioners opportunities to share insights they have gained about incorporating spirituality into psychotherapy and supervision.
  2. To give researchers opportunities to share insights they have gained about how to conduct valid clinically relevant research on spiritually oriented psychotherapies
  3. To give practitioners and researchers opportunities to explore ways they can collaborate to bring spiritually oriented psychotherapies into mainstream practice, research, and training in the health care professions

Accomplishments

Bridges: A Research-Practice Network

A major accomplishment of the think tank conference retreat at Aspen Grove was the participants decision to form a research-practice network to facilitate and organize their work on spiritually oriented psychotherapies.

This network formalized the agreement of the practitioners and researchers to support and assist each other in research, practice, and training by establishing long-term relationships. Following are some of the ways the group agreed to facilitate this collaboration:

  1. Organize a LinkedIn group to foster discussion and collaboration
  2. Maintain a website for information and resources to assist in research, practice and training
  3. Create an internet-based assessment system to facilitate collaborative psychotherapy outcome research

Participants also agreed to work together to seek grant monies to help support their collaborative efforts in advancing scholarship and providing clinical training for spiritually oriented psychotherapies.