Teaching Integration through the Cracks: A Pedagogy of Process

Abstract

For decades, psychologists have appreciated the value of tracking the process of a psychotherapeutic relationship in order to decode and extract information that is vitally relevant to the cure of the patient. In recent years, this notion of tracking the process has gained interest among Christian psychologists and educators. However, little attention seems to have been given to tracking the process of the integration between psychology and Christian faith that happens in the classroom. The present author contends that the teaching of integration happens “in the cracks” of formal classroom instruction far more often than we typically acknowledge. The author urges Christian psychology professors to become more intentional in cultivating an openness to seize stray moments or unexpected events both inside and outside the classroom, and to harness them as providential opportunities to give students experiential lessons in personal integration. Three narratives are presented as examples of how the subtle dynamics of the process embedded in typical classroom scenes offer a powerful medium for students to grasp integration concepts experientially.

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