The Integration Journey: A Student’s Guide to Faith, Culture, and Psychology. William B. Whitney and Carissa Dwiwardani. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514000564) 2024.

Summary: An approach to integrating faith and psychology focused on lived experience, one’s culture, and pursuing justice.

I’ve had a fifty-year interest in the integration of faith and psychology, from the days of my undergraduate studies in psychology. At that time, integration for me meant assessing the premises of the psychological theories and counseling approaches I was learning in light of a growing Christian understanding of what it means to be human and to flourish in Christ. I was not aware at the time of the culture in which I was embedded. Both in theology and psychology, my influences were all white males, as am I. I was dimly aware, at best, of how my own story shaped who I was as a student peer counselor.

The authors of this book approach integration in quite a different fashion from my student days. They approach integration as the unfolding story of our lives that includes our faith journey, our understanding of scripture, and our church tradition. Also, it includes our psychology studies, and the theories and research in our chosen subfield. Finally it incorporates the culture in which we are embedded including our community and family and our various intersecting identities (gender, race, age, ability status, social class, and more).

In addition, the authors contend that for Christians, an integrated story is one that features working toward love and justice in one’s context. Pursuing restorative justice ought frame our ethics, research, and practice. Contrary to the very individualistic and culture-specific approach I learned, a commitment to loving justice involves communal, societal, and global, as well as personal levels and embraces diverse cultures.

For these authors, integration isn’t merely about information but about personal change. They offer a seven step model of a cycle of transformation. It begins with a precipitating event, This shatters or challenges our preconceived notions of God, self, others, and the world. Consequently, we turn to scripture, our church, academic, and cultural community with new questions. Eventually, new ways of understanding modify and reshape our stories. In turn, we believe and behave in new ways. This leads to greater integration in our work toward justice within the church, our community, and in professional practice. A part of this is also an increased capacity to honor the cultural and communal wisdom of diverse cultures.

Pursuing love and justice in the field of psychology brings us up against human suffering. For the Christian, biblical lament enables us to voice our grief and suffering and create space for others to do so. It brings to the surface untold stories. It recognizes the liminal space in which we live.

Finally, the authors stress the importance of turning theories into lived experience. Our own journeys of transformation are a key part of understanding our vocation. They reemphasize that if love of God and neighbor are paramount, our integrative work will lead to pursuing loving justice.

The authors move away from the critical and intellectualized approaches of my day. I still wonder if there is a role for critical discernment, perhaps something the authors envision occurring during transformative cycles. However, I appreciate the shift from integrated thinking to forming integrated people. Likewise, the cultural awareness they encourage, both of the culture in which our story is embedded, and of others, is valuable. And critically, they demonstrate how loving justice is integral to the integration journey. This book is framed as a “student’s guide.” The authors offer an insightful “travelers guide” for the integration journey.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.