The Spirit that Guides, In Subtle Ways

I had been dragging my feet for about two years, as I considered whether or not I should continue and pursue a doctoral degree in psychology. I had been working at Cal State for about two years and substitute teaching for four. I noticed one day, while reading our program’s profiles that one of the professors in the nursing department I had worked with didn’t have a doctoral degree in nursing, but what was called “relational psychology”. She got her Ph.D. from a Catholic institution in Los Angeles called Trinity College. I looked into it. The school no longer existed. They were unable to secure enough funding to continue. So, I did a Google search and found that there was a practicing psychologist in Redlands that received her degree from that school. I wrote her an email on 05/26/10 asking her what relational psychology was. She emailed me back. Basically it is otherwise known as “contextual psychology”.

My research into schools fizzled shortly thereafter. Due to certain meetings and events that occurred shortly thereafter, I began to think about a more stable and secure future. I began to see the possibility that I may be called to the married state. I can’t do that subbing or working grant jobs for the rest of my life, at least not easily. So, I picked up the research into schools again. I looked into many state schools. I looked into BIOLA and Fuller. These are Christian schools. I was tired of getting the same old secular perspective. So, I got accepted into Fuller. Then I was hired to work in a Psychiatric medical office in Redlands. It’s a good group, the largest psychiatric/psychological group in the Inland Empire. The psychiatrist on staff recommended me. He had admired my apologetical, scriptural, and theological writings over the years, which were subjects I had no formal education in and thus credibility in by the way.

Anyway, I recently had discussions with him about the integration of psychology and theology. It is the whole basis of the psychology departments at schools like Fuller and BIOLA, and the Catholic Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Arlington, VA. The doctor suggested a book recently, a classical work on integration. He couldn’t find the book and so he gave me a copy of his summary, written for his clinical rotation advisor when he was still in school. I told him I would like to meet him. And so, within a few days, he arranged it.

This morning, 05/27/11, I sat down to breakfast with both of them. It was a very interesting conversation. He had suggested the importance of spiritual formation and spiritual direction, which are points that are very important in my own personal experience. He also stressed the importance of understanding the reason why I am going to school, that is, not to change my professor’s views, but to get my degree. Learn what they teach me, but not to get involved in trying to change their minds. Professors can get very defensive of their pet theories. He mentioned that academia is very different from practical application. Ph.D.’s apparently have a hard time suggesting how to apply their research in the real world. Since he was a Psy.D., he had the experience of application.

He is not a Catholic, but Christian nonetheless. He spoke about the importance of discerning the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and how He operates in it to move us through life. He spoke about the school of thought he has adhered to for decades. It is the school of thought founded by a Roman Catholic priest who taught at Duquesne University, a Fr. Adrian Van Kamm. I asked if he was an order priest. He said that Father was a Spiritist. I presumed it was the CSSp’s. So, I looked up his organization he founded. They are in Pittsburg. It is a school of thought that Father called “formative psychology”. All of this was very interesting. He mentioned in passing that his wife went to Trinity. It sounded familiar, and so I said, I looked into the school. I had mentioned that I found another therapist in Redlands that went there.

Later on in the conversation he had mentioned, that he “moonlights” out of his wife’s office in Redlands. As we parted ways, while giving me his contact info he mentioned that his wife might answer the phone. As he mentioned her name, it all came together. She was the therapist I had emailed on 05/26. Her last communication was that she was going to ask her husband about any other schools besides BIOLA that taught integration. She never did get back to me. Today, a year and a day later, I stand in reserved amusement in knowing that either it really is a small world, or the Holy Spirit does have His hands on the wheel and guiding me towards where I need to be. I am not sure if I am called to be married. My heart, and many sleepless nights seem to think so. But I won’t let uncertainty be the devil’s weapon in preventing me from moving forward, to perhaps make a dent in the world in the field of mental health.

If I were an atheist, I would say this was just coincidence. But I am not. Nothing is merely coincidence. How is He guiding you in your life? Where is He leading you?

Father Adrian Van Kamm, CSSp Bio and Organizational Website

Laurence G.

May 27, 2011