Using Religious and Psychological Principles to Move Toward Identity Integration

Much of my faith development occurred alongside my graduate training as a counseling psychologist and so apparent conflicts between religion and psychology felt unanchored—one identity did not really precede the other to offer a strong foundation from which to work. Much of my professional identity development has centered on “typical” counseling psychology values, such as feminism and social justice. At first glance, Greek Catholic and counseling psychology values appear to clash. I internalized much of this disconnect as I navigated academic settings that were not friendly toward orthodoxy. For quite some time, my solution was to fragment my professional and religious identities. As I have undergone professional transitions and personal milestones, religious identity has become a bedrock foundation for understanding how to move forward. Two concepts have helped me to move toward integrating my professional and religious identities: the domestic church and cultural humility.