The psychological assessment of applicants to the seminary is a specialty clinical practice. Thus, on-going training is needed to exhibit the needed competences to be a psychological expert in assessment for the Catholic Church. This webinar is intended to provide foundational knowledge of important church documents and language relevant to the assessment process. The webinar will review the common report structures, psychological tests, and interview questions used in seminarian assessments. Instruction on how to translate gathered test data into relevant, meaningful recommendations for various audiences (Church representative, formation faculty, applicant, another mental health professional) will be provided. Finally, a primary goal of the webinar is to advance the professional knowledge from common to best practices.
Learning objectives:
This program does not qualify for NBCC credits
Dr. Timothy Lock is a Catholic father, husband, Franciscan tertiary, clinical psychologist, and educator. He is the founder and director of the Goretti Center for Healing and Forgiveness and the full-time Director of Psychological Services at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie). Dr. Lock has recently published Choosing Forgiveness: Unleashing the Power of God’s Grace, with Fr. Thomas Berg. In addition, Dr. Lock has published professional articles and book chapters in the area of clergy sexual misconduct, same-sex attractions, psychological trauma, and traumatic memory. He has lectured nationally and internationally to seminarians, clergy, mental health practitioners, and the general public on issues including the treatment of anxiety, forgiveness, Catholic psychology, Catholic psychotherapy, clergy sexual misconduct, and the psychology of same-sex attractions.
Anthony Isacco, PhD is a professor of Graduate Psychology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA and Director of Training for the PsyD in Counseling Psychology program. He is a licensed psychologist in PA and authorized to provide telepsychology services in approximately 30 states. He maintains a small private practice with a niche focus on the psychological assessment of clergy candidates to the Catholic Church. Dr. Isacco has published widely through his books, popular press articles, and academic journals on the psychological health of seminarians, fatherhood, and the psychology of men and masculinity. He sits on the Advisory Board of Saint Paul Seminary, Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Formation Team of Saint Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Pittsburgh Byzantine Eparchy. He is a proud graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA, '02), Boston College (MA, '04), and Loyola University Chicago (PhD, '09).
Shannon Mullen, Ph.D., CSAT-S, is a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist and Supervisor by the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals. She has more than 20 years of experience in assessment and treatment and is considered an expert in sexual behavior and trauma recovery. Dr. Mullen is EMDR trained and is an IFS therapist as well. She regularly teaches and supervises other professionals in this work.
Dr. Eric Gudan received his Doctorate in Psychology from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and has provided therapy for over fifteen years. He brings a broad experience as a clinician to address anxiety and depression, is EMDR trained, and has trauma informed training using parts language. He has worked extensively and presented professionally on strategies for men struggling with sexual compulsivity, specializing in pornography addiction. Throughout his clinical work, he has specialized in the integration of the science of psychology and the truths of the Catholic faith, utilizing sound therapeutic techniques from the perspective of the richness of the Christian tradition. He has presented at the national meetings of the Society for Personality Assessment and the Catholic Psychotherapy Association regarding a variety of assessment and psychotherapeutic issues. He has experience with comprehensive, multimodal personality assessment batteries, including vocational assessments for several dioceses and religious orders.