Faculty Friday: Theresa Tisdale’s Spiritual Approach to Psychology

Theresa Clement Tisdale, PhD, PsyD, ABPP begins every class session sounding a set of chimes, allowing students a few minutes of silence in order to breathe deeply and prepare to be engaged in learning. Deep change and healing are her mottos, and Tisdale implements what she practices as a psychoanalyst to cultivate spiritual transformation in every student who walks through her classroom.

Tisdale grew up in a Catholic household and in high school had a deeper encounter with God through the ministry of Young Life. As an adult, experiencing healing prayer in her church, as well as being deeply impacted through working with a Christian psychologist, Tisdale decided to change careers from business to clinical psychology. She moved to California, attending Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology to earn her doctorate in clinical psychology. After graduating, she moved to Boston for an internship and completed a postdoctoral fellowship as well as several years of employment before receiving an invitation to join the clinical psychology faculty at Azusa Pacific University, which she did in 2001. During her years of service at APU, Tisdale earned a second doctorate in psychoanalysis.

Tisdale combines both her passions for psychoanalysis and spiritual formation within her work, striving to share Christ’s love by counseling others. “In the Gospel narratives, Jesus speaks often about going to the heart of a person, changing them from the inside out, not merely changing what’s on the surface. That reveals to us that spirituality is meant to change us in deep ways, and psychoanalysis is also involved in that kind of process, so I see them as linked,” she said.

Through teaching courses in spiritual formation and psychotherapy, integrating spirituality and religion in clinical practice, Tisdale shares the multiple ways in which all Christian traditions impact the world. “Each tradition expresses different ways of being devoted to God; together they express the fullness of God’s presence in the world” she said. Broadening her understanding of cultures and different faith practices is something that influences the way Tisdale teaches her students, in order to show how God’s healing is accomplished in various ways.

In 2009, Tisdale taught a course in a doctoral ministry program at Singapore Bible College, serving a group of pastors from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. While teaching them how to better nurture their mental health and those of others, Tisdale recalled a man from Myanmar saying to her, “We can take what you’ve taught us, and how you’ve helped us, back to our churches all over Asia and share this experience with them, so they can be blessed in the same way.” Earlier that year, she had traveled to Manilla, Philippines to Asia Graduate School of Theology to teach a course in a doctoral counseling program to students desiring to serve in local ministry. She is grateful to have witnessed the way others from different cultures connect with the Lord, which has deepened her perspective of spiritual and psychological growth.

Earlier in 2023 , Tisdale received her board certification as a psychoanalyst. She currently maintains a private practice, treating clients in a depth-oriented way that facilitates deep change. Helping others through psychoanalysis has increased her understanding of God. “While studying psychology, we study the brain, the body, behavior, motivation, and personality. We study people across the lifespan, and that sort of immersion in the human condition has opened me up to a whole new appreciation, awareness, and awe of God,” she said. “The intricate way we have been created informs our understanding of the experience of suffering and the experience of wholeness, so that’s deepened my sense of mystery about God.”

The American Psychoanalytic Association awarded Tisdale the 2022 Edith Sabshin Excellence in Teaching Award for the psychoanalytic psychotherapy clinical sequence she designed for APU, a deeply honorable recognition. Tisdale’s courses teach doctoral students the foundations of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, providing them with knowledge, skills, and abilities she has gained through her nearly 30 years as a psychoanalytic psychologist and psychoanalyst, preparing them for working with patients. “What I love most about teaching at APU is the opportunity to mentor students who are preparing for professional practice in psychology,” she said. “It’s very important that each student is able to develop their own professional identity and clinical style that grows from their personal identity, life experiences, and professional training, so the opportunity to mentor and pass on what I’ve learned and experienced as a psychologist and analyst is the most rewarding.”

Tisdale was instrumental in the Department of Clinical Psychology receiving and implementing a scholarship program which began in Fall 2022. The program is intended to teach, train, and mentor students who show particular promise for integrating psychoanalytic psychotherapy with Christian faith. Up to three students a year may receive the award and Tisdale oversees the selection of recipients as well as the academic, clinical training, and research aspects of the scholarship program.

Tisdale’s classroom is a space rooted in community, as she aims to get to know each student for who they are, and create engaging discussions as well as conversations that establish a foundation of hospitality and respect for people’s differences. “All are welcome here,” she said.

Tisdale passed along helpful advice to students that she would give to her college and graduate student self. “Take the time to engage in experiences that will help you know who you are and what you were made for,” she said. “Whether that’s through church, therapy, or traveling internationally, engage in what will deepen you as a person and pursue what is meaningful to you.”

Whether she is in the classroom, her private practice, or greeting a student in her office, Tisdale exemplifies a compassionate, Christ-centered approach to psychology, helping others through her kindness, understanding, and care for deep change through healing.

Posted: November 3, 2023