Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an integral part of clinical psychology. If you’re considering psychological practice as a career, you’ll discover how it combines spirituality with evidence-based methodologies to benefit patients. At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we offer a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology that combines comprehensive clinical training with a faith-based curriculum. Here, we discuss the practice of psychology based on evidence-based practices.
Key Takeaways
- Our curriculum at Saint Mary’s teaches students to incorporate religion and spirituality into evidence-based practice by combining research, clinical expertise, and patient characteristics.
- Faith-based mental health clinicians adhere to ethical principles.
- Students learn to tailor the treatment plan and goals to the patient’s specific faith beliefs, values, and background.
- Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s M.S. in Clinical Psychology integrates thorough clinical training with a faith-based curriculum.
What Evidence-Based Practice Means (and What It Doesn’t)
Evidence-based practice (EBP) combines the best available research with the practitioners’ clinical expertise and the patient’s values. The goal of EBP is to utilize treatments that are scientifically proven to be effective through rigorous studies that are also within the clinician’s area of expertise and congruent with the individual patient.
In the MS in Clinical Psychology Program, students study over 50 years of empirical studies about the psychology of religion and spirituality, develop practical skills for clinical application, and learn to assess patient preferences. Viewing each patient as a unique individual with inherent dignity and worth, our students learn the beauty of integrating faith and science.
Where Faith Fits: Values, Meaning, and Patient-Led Spiritual Goals
When providing faith-based clinical practice for patients, religious and spiritual principles and evidence-based practices can coexist to enhance treatment planning and outcomes. Clinicians can:
- Adhere to professional ethics: These include informed consent, patient autonomy, and practicing within one’s competence.
- Use spiritually integrated interventions: This involves exploring and addressing themes of faith, purpose, meaning, connection, and other similar areas. The provider tailors the treatment plan and goals to the patient’s individual beliefs and values.
- Combine scientific practices with patient values: By integrating evidence-based components into faith-based clinical practice, clinicians can promote improved outcomes and treat mental health issues while prioritizing the values and beliefs of the patient.
- Evaluate patients using a psycho-social-spiritual-bio framework: Clinicians can assess patients in various areas with clinical precision, cultural humility, and adherence to professional ethics.
- Use spiritual insights to enhance treatment: An ethical integrated practice of psychology combines clinical, empirical, and religious/spiritual insights.
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, our students are trained to integrate faith values responsibly within individualized treatment plans that prioritize measurable outcomes.
Choosing a Graduate Program If You Want Faith Integration
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we offer a leading M.S. in Clinical Psychology program with a Catholic-focused curriculum. Our program is rooted in the Lasallian Catholic tradition, combining rigorous clinical training with a faith-based perspective. It aims to develop evidence-based mental health professionals who can integrate religion and spirituality ethically and compassionately. Our program provides:
- A thorough understanding of the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person, a holistic framework for understanding the human person based on the three wisdom traditions of philosophy, theology, and psychology
- 720 hours of supervised clinical training that meets industry norms and state licensure requirements
- Two in-person residencies that allow students to interact with faculty and peers and deepen their devotion to providing faith-integrated psychological practice
- Research opportunities that are aligned with Catholic-integrated clinical practice
Students are taught how to integrate religion and spirituality into evidence-based practice and maintain ethical and legal standards. The program helps prepare students for a variety of roles in psychological practice, such as individual, group, family, and vocational counseling, interprofessional consultation, supervision, research, psychological testing and assessment, and more.
Learn More About Clinical Psychology at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Aspiring faith-based mental health professionals should apply to the M.S. in Clinical Psychology program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, which provides Catholic faith integration within an evidence-based curriculum. With a thorough education that focuses on both spiritual and scientific elements, students will learn how to provide faith- and evidence-based psychological practice to treat the whole person and achieve better outcomes. To learn more about the program and how it supports research-informed practice, request more information today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Faith-Based Clinical Psychology
What does research-informed practice look like in clinical psychology?
Evidence-based practice combines the latest scientific research with the practitioner’s expertise and the patient’s values to provide effective care. It uses proven therapeutic techniques and interventions tailored to the patient’s individual beliefs and values.
How do practitioners handle patients who do not want spirituality in treatment?
Practitioners work with patients from a diversity of faith beliefs, religious affiliations, and spiritual practices by exhibiting cultural humility and multicultural competence while maintaining the highest ethical standards of the profession and adhering to an evidence-based practice framework.
How do practitioners ethically assess and document spiritual concerns?
Practitioners gain skills in comprehensive psycho-social-spiritual-bio assessment. Competence in that assessment approach includes the use of assessment tools with strong psychometric evidence, adherence to the professional code of ethics, and use of professional guidelines that support good clinical practice.
What are common misconceptions about faith-based clinical psychology?
Many people misconstrue the phrase “faith-based” and assume it means mental health professionals may try to persuade a patient to change their beliefs. That would not be ethical practice. Our students receive training based on the same professional standards as non-Christian mental health professionals and learn to use evidence-based practices and techniques to deal with serious mental health issues. They can work with patients of any spiritual and religious background.
