Welcome from the Psychology and Family Studies Faculty
Greetings!
Just the other day I was asked, "How do you teach psychology in a Christian college?" My response was, "Very easily!" Now please don't misunderstand; I was not being flippant about the concern of the individual who asked the question. I'm often asked that question, and the longer I teach, the more I come to appreciate how God made us as emotional, mental, physical and spiritual beings.
Psalm 139:14 reads, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well." NIV The study of psychology and family studies on the Barclay College campus acknowledges that scripture, along with the contributions of well-known psychologists such as, Freud, Jung, Rogers, Watson and Erikson. Webster's Dictionary tells us that psychology is a "study of the science of the mind." We embrace the study of the mind that God created, knowing that whatever comes to being as a result of heredity, environment or trauma, Jesus makes a difference.
The psychology course experience at Barclay College is earmarked by experiential learning. Activities in and out of the classroom provide opportunity for "hands-on" study that compliments and augments the textbook information. Several of our classes are the optimum size of a small group, where discussion and dissimilarity are used to inform, clarify, and develop a perspective that the world will recognize as credible, yet completed with the truths from God's word. Several local mental health organizations provide off- campus opportunities in the form of a practicum that affords practical experience in the field.
If you are a person who is interested in the study of the mind, with attention to the One who created that mind, and you have a heart for the hurting and a gift of helping, the study of psychology/family studies at Barclay College might be a good fit. We would welcome you to become a part of those small groups that dialogue and experience the world of psychology from a Christian perspective, and that you would come to find that you do it "very easily."
Lois Kendall
Professor of Psychology and Family Studies
