Christianity and Psychoanalysis: Orienting View and Augmenting Modality

ABSTRACT

Much has been written about the influence of religious narratives on the lives and work of psychoanalytic theorists and clinicians. This article seeks to specifically extend an understanding of the Christian narrative into the clinical setting and examine the applicability and usefulness of its tenets and practices in treatment. The author will examine the unique way that Christian psychoanalysts might view their craft and their patients, and how the Christian faith might offer specific approaches based on a belief in the presence and influence of God in their work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ This case is condensed and adapted from Marie Hoffman’s (2016) second book: When the Roll is Called: Trauma and the Soul of American Evangelicalism.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marie T. Hoffman

Marie T. Hoffman, Ph.D., is a psychologist/psychoanalyst in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is on the faculty of the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and a visiting lecturer at numerous universities and seminaries. Dr. Hoffman founded the Society for Exploration of Psychoanalytic Therapies and Theology, and Brookhaven Institute for Psychoanalysis and Christian Theology. She co-edits the Routledge Book series, Psyche and Soul. In addition to articles and book chapters, Dr. Hoffman is author of two books: Toward Mutual Recognition: Relational Psychoanalysis and the Christian Narrative (2011), and When the Roll Is Called: Trauma and the Soul of American Evangelicalism (2016).