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SPIRITUALITY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY SPECIALIZATION
About the Program
The Spirituality and Psychotherapy specialization
is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide students a more
focused exposure to theory, research, and supervised clinical experience
in this burgeoning area of interest in clinical psychology. Clinical
students will take courses with graduate students in social service,
and eventually with licensed psychotherapists (clinical and counseling
psychologists and social workers) who are seeking an academic and applied
training in the integration of spirituality and psychotherapy. Drawing
upon the strengths and expertise of Fordham faculty in the Graduate
Schools of Arts & Sciences, Social Service, and Education (Counseling
Psychology), this specialization aims to expose students to multidisciplinary
perspectives on psychotherapy practice and on the integration of spirituality
in assessment and treatment. The program is administered under the auspices
of the Fordham Center for Spirituality and Mental Health, which was
created in 2002 to foster an interdisciplinary approach to the research
and application of spirituality to mental health and human development.
The specialization is coordinated within the Clinical Program by Drs.
John Cecero and Mary Procidano.
Requirements
The requirements to fulfill the Spirituality and Psychotherapy specialization
are the following:
- Spirituality and Psychotherapy Theories (Cecero & Gonzalez (GSSS)
– this is a core course required of all students
for this specialization
- Spirituality, Personality, and Culture (Procidano & Ponterotto
(GSE)
- Spirituality, Adjustment, and Health (Procidano, Schiaffino, &
Ponterotto (GSE)
- Spirituality and Development (Higgins-D’Alessandro & GSSS faculty
person)
- Spirituality and Clinical Practice (Cecero & Cunningham (GSSS)
- Special Issues, e.g. Death and Dying; Trauma, etc.
- At least one year of clinical externship with supervision in the
integration of spirituality and psychotherapy
- A predoctoral research project and/or dissertation on a topic in
the area of spirituality and psychotherapy.
Program Faculty
The faculty will be full-time members of the Schools of Arts &
Sciences (Psychology Department), Social Service, and Education (Counseling
Psychology). The Clinical Psychology faculty members are:
Dr. John Cecero, S.J is the Director of the Fordham
Center for Spirituality and Mental Health and Associate Professor of
Psychology. A Jesuit priest and clinical psychologist, his research
interests and publications focus on psychotherapy process and outcome,
personality assessment –specifically with substance abuse populations-,
global personality assessment, specifically of the constructs of dependency
and psychological mindedness, and spirituality and mental health. Dr.
Cecero maintains a part-time psychotherapy practice, with a focus on
Schema Therapy, and his recent book, Praying through our lifetraps:
A Psycho-spiritual Path to Freedom (2002) is a guide to integrating
spiritual practices in recovering from the effects of early maladaptive
schemas.
Dr. Mary Procidano is Associate Professor
of Psychology and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. Dr. Procidano’s
research interests include cross-cultural similarities and differences
in the nature of perceived social support; relationships of support
and nonsupport to appraisal and coping, well-being, and symptoms (especially
eating disorders, alcohol use, and depression); and the origins, nature,
and effects of spiritual support and nonsupport in the context of various
life tasks, such as pursuing important goal strivings and coping with
stress. She is especially interested in the extent to which perceived
spiritual support and nonsupport parallels interpersonal support and
nonsupport, especially in influencing the processes of giving meaning
to life events and coping through emotional self-regulation. Dr. Procidano
specialized in Interpersonal Psychotherapy, with a special focus on
treating the elderly.
Dr. Kathleen Schiaffino is Associate Professor
of Psychology, whose research has been in health psychology applications,
in particular in the area of adjustment to chronic illness. She has
numerous publications in journals such as Health Psychology, Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Social Science and Medicine. Specific
areas of attention include illness appraisals as the relate to coping
with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, impact of juvenile arthritis
on sibling pairs, and on adolescents, treatment compliance and independence
in adolescents with diabetes, and the impact of illness intrusiveness
on identity and quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients. She
has been actively involved in patient education for the National Arthritis
Foundation. She is on the board of the Association of Rheumatology Health
Professionals, a division of the American College of Rheumatology.
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