Scholarship and Doctoral Work
Research interests at the intersection of spiritual bypass, religious language, mental health, narrative identity, and the integration of psychological and theological understanding.
Current Focus
Spiritual Bypass
My doctoral work focuses on spiritual bypass: the use of spiritual language, practices, or beliefs to avoid psychological pain, relational repair, grief, trauma, or responsibility.
I am especially interested in helping clinicians, clergy, and lay leaders recognize when spiritual resources are supporting wholeness and when they are quietly reinforcing avoidance.
Research Interests
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![A person with short dark hair and earrings is sitting at a wooden desk writing in a notebook with a pen. There are open books and a potted plant on the desk, and sunlight is illuminating the scene.]()
Spiritual Bypass
How religious language can become a way around pain, grief, accountability, and repair
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![Close-up view of a vintage typewriter keyboard with round black keys and gold lettering. The visible keys include numbers 1, 10, 100, and 1000, along with letters Q, W, E, R, T, Y, U, I, O, P, and some symbols. The background shows part of the typewriter's body and typing mechanism.]()
Narrative Identity
How stories shape suffering, resilience, agency, and the possibility of change
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![A group of people sitting at a long outdoor table, enjoying a meal together under a covered patio with string lights overhead.]()
Relational Spirituality
How spiritual beliefs and practices are shaped in relationships and communities.
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![A man giving a presentation to an audience in a conference room with large windows and a projector screen.]()
Clinical Education
Translating research into workshops handouts, and, practical resources.
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![Interior of a church with wooden ceiling and pews, stained glass windows, and a stage at the front.]()
Faith Integration
The careful meeting place between clinical wisdom, theology, and human formation.
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![Two people sitting on logs at the lakeshore during sunset, engaged in conversation, with trees and a small building in the background.]()
Clergy & Mental Health
Resources for helping church leaders respond to suffering without spiritualizing it away.
