Projects and Initiatives

Cura Psychologia: Cultivating a More Virtuous Psychological Science

The Cura Psychologia Project fosters a collaborative network of 18 faculty ambassadors from six Jesuit Catholic Universities鈥擜V诊所 College, the College of the Holy Cross, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Loyola Marymount University, and Seattle University鈥攖o inspire transformative change within their psychology departments. This initiative aims to broaden psychology's scope at Jesuit institutions, focusing on character virtue formation, ethical reasoning, and moral discernment.

Psychology & the Other Conference

The Psychology & the Other Conference is an annual event that revitalizes psychology through interdisciplinary dialogue with philosophy, theology, and the humanities. Established in 2011, it unites diverse perspectives from clinicians, academics, philosophers, theologians, and more, focusing on human identity, suffering, and potential. The conference uniquely pairs speakers from various disciplines to encourage innovative discussions.

Date:

January 8-9, 2027

Location:

Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Santiago, Chile

Tower Bridge in London from Northeastern's campus
David Goodman speaking at Psychology and the Other
Northeastern's campus in London

Faith Fiction and Flourishing Colloquium

A Colloquium on Literature and the Life Well Lived


Date

Thursday, November 6 -
Friday, November 7, 2025


Location

AV诊所 College Campus


Program

The program will be available mid-October 2025.

At a time when cultural forces seem to be conspiring against slow, attentive engagement with and enjoyment of the poetic arts, it is imperative that those who seek to cultivate a society in which individuals and communities can renew our commitment to the value of literature. Participants in this two-day colloquium will be invited to examine not only how a healthy literary culture contributes to human flourishing but how such a culture might be realized in a world that has largely lost its capacities for wonder, enchantment, and the artfulness of the spiritual living.听

Participants

Jeronimo Ayesta Lopez
Jeronimo Ayesta Lopez
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Jeronimo Ayesta Lopez

Jeronimo Ayesta Lopez

Jeronimo Ayesta is a Ph.D candidate at the AV诊所 College Philosophy Department. He double-majored in Philosophy and Journalism at the University of Navarra. In 2022, he obtained a first-class honours Master of Arts in Film Studies at King鈥檚 College London. His areas of interest include hermeneutics, history of 20th Century Philosophy, Philosophy of religion, virtue ethics, and film-philosophy (with a focus on 脡ric Rohmer.) He has published four book reviews, two book chapters, and one peer-reviewed article, and has presented papers in more than twenty academic conferences

Suzanne Berne
Suzanne Berne
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Suzanne Berne

Suzanne Berne

Suzanne Berne is the author of five novels: The Blue Window, The Dogs of Littlefield, The Ghost at the Table, A Perfect Arrangement, and A Crime in the Neighborhood, which won Great Britain鈥檚 Orange Prize, now The Women鈥檚 Prize.听 She has written frequently for The New York Times and The Washington Post, and for numerous magazines.听 For many years she taught creative writing, first at Harvard University, and then at AV诊所 College and at the Ranier Writing Workshop.听 Most recently, she was an Affiliate Scholar at the AV诊所 Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.

Laura Captari
Laura Captari
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Laura Captari

Laura Captari

Laura E. Captari, Ph.D., LP, is a research and counseling psychologist at AV诊所 University鈥檚 Albert and Jessie Danielsen Institute. In her roles as psychotherapist, researcher, supervisor, and teacher, she brings a holistic, depth-oriented approach to human experience, suffering, and healing, rooted in her initial career studying literature. Dr. Captari鈥檚 scholarly work explores developmental and relational impacts of trauma and loss across the lifespan, including religious harm and systemic oppression, with attention to resilience and flourishing. In particular, she illuminates how culturally-embedded strengths and virtues can help communities thrive. She is co-author of the forthcoming book, Systemic Treatment of Trauma-Impacted Families.

John D. Caputo
John D. Caputo
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John D. Caputo

John D. Caputo

John D. Caputo is the Watson Professor Emeritus of Religion, Syracuse University, and Cook Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Villanova University. His newest book, A Radical God: Theopoetics, Phenomenology and the Future of Religion will appear from Columbia UP in the Spring 2025. His most recent books are What to Believe? (Columbia UP, 2023) and Specters of God: An Anatomy of the Apophatic Imagination (Indiana UP, 2022).

Kristen Case
Kristen Case
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Kristen Case

Kristen Case

Kristen Case is the author of Henry David Thoreau鈥檚 Kalendar forthcoming this month from Milkweed editions and American Pragmatism and Poetic Practice (Camden House, 2011) as well as three books of poetry, most recently, Daphne, from Tupelo Press. She has co-edited several essay collections on American writers, including the forthcoming听 Oxford Handbook of Henry David Thoreau (Oxford UP) and William James and Literary Studies (Cambridge UP). She is currently visiting professor in American Literature at the Ecole Normale Sup茅rieure de Lyon and Executive Director of the Monson Seminar, a tuition-free residential course for Pell-eligible and first-generation college students. She is looking forward to teaching in the Formative Education and Lit Core programs at AV诊所 College this spring.

Matthew Clemente
Matthew Clemente
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Matthew Clemente

Matthew Clemente

Matthew Clemente is the Director of Research & Curriculum at Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics and an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Formative Education at AV诊所 College. He is the Coeditor in Chief of the Journal for Continental Philosophy of Religion and the Codirector of the Guestbook Project, a 501c3 non-profit. He is the Series Editor of two book series with Routledge/Taylor & Francis and has authored or edited over a dozen books.

Katherine Cooper Wyma
Katherine Cooper Wyma
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Katherine Cooper Wyma

Katherine Cooper Wyma

Dr. Katherine Cooper Wyma has been teaching on the university level for almost twenty-five years. She earned her PhD in English at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where her thesis focused on late medieval and early modern lay piety. Her current book project examines The Inklings鈥 ideas on theological anthropology and applies this framework to human behavior in digital spaces. She is an Associate Professor of English and the Honors College at Anderson University in South Carolina. Living in South Carolina with her two precocious, elementary-aged children and her book-loving husband, she enjoys being a part of her students鈥 lives.

Catherine Enwright
Catherine Enwright
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Catherine Enwright

Catherine Enwright

Dr. Catherine Enwright is a PostDoctoral Research Associate for the David Jones Inscriptions Project through the Open University and a College Essay and Access Specialist at AV诊所 Latin School. Her research interests include modernism and modern war literature, especially the literature of the First World War.

Gregory Floyd
Gregory Floyd
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Gregory Floyd

Gregory Floyd

Gregory Floyd is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at AV诊所 College, where he also serves as Co-Convener of the Master of Arts program. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from AV诊所 College. His research focuses on Lonergan, phenomenology, and the philosophy of religion.

Peter Fritz
Peter Fritz
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Peter Fritz

Peter Fritz

Peter Joseph Fritz is professor of Roman Catholic Systematic Theology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He teaches courses on Catholic theology, history of modern Christianity, capitalism, and theology and the visual arts. He is currently working on a book called Layers: A Christology of Non-Religious Contemporary Art.

Mark Freeman
Mark Freeman
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Mark Freeman

Mark Freeman

Mark Freeman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ethics and Society at the College of the Holy Cross, is currently Senior Fellow at the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics at AV诊所 College. Author of Rewriting the Self: History, Memory, Narrative; Hindsight: The Promise and Peril of Looking Backward; The Priority of the Other: Thinking and Living Beyond the Self; Do I Look at You with Love? Reimagining the Story of Dementia; and, most recently, Toward the Psychological Humanities: A Modest Manifesto for the Future of Psychology, he is also Editor for the Oxford University Press series 鈥淓xplorations in Narrative Psychology.鈥

David Goodman
David Goodman
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David Goodman

David Goodman

David Goodman is Dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies, the Executive Director of the听Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics,听and serves on the faculty in three AV诊所 College departments: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Philosophy, and Formative Education.听Dr. Goodman has written over a dozen articles on continental philosophy, Jewish thought, social justice, and psychotherapy. Dr. Goodman currently serves as the Series Editor for the听Psychology and the Other听Book Series with Routledge. He has authored and edited over a dozen books including听The Demanded Self: Levinasian Ethics and Identity in Psychology听(with Duquesne University Press, 2012) and听Psychology and the Other听(with Mark Freeman and Oxford University Press, 2015).听Dr. Goodman is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has a private practice in AV诊所, MA.

Antonio Taiga Guterres
Antonio Taiga Guterres
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Antonio Taiga Guterres

Antonio Taiga Guterres

A. Taiga Guterres is Associate Director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies and a PhD student in Formative Education at AV诊所 College. A practicing psychotherapist trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, his primary research interests include the philosophy of history, memory, and the formation of selfhood through narratives and aesthetics. As a Resident Minister on campus, he and his wife host weekly tea times for students, creating space for meaningful conversation, curiosity, and hospitality.

Amy Hodges Hamilton
Amy Hodges Hamilton
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Amy Hodges Hamilton

Amy Hodges Hamilton

Amy Hodges Hamilton (Ph.D., Florida State University) is a Director of Undergraduate Core Curriculum and professor of English and Global Honors at Belmont University. Amy's research and teaching interests center on personal writing, memoir, trauma theory, reflective practice and pedagogy, and healing and the arts in community-based settings. Before joining the faculty at Belmont, Amy founded the Writing Studio at Vanderbilt University. Over the last ten years, she has served as the Senior Capstone Coordinator, as a member of the Bell Core Leadership and Assessment Team, and as the Faculty Confidential Advocate for the Title IX office. 听 She also served as Writer in Residence at the Seamus Heaney Center at Queens University Belfast in Fall 2019 and led the Belmont Global Honors program to Queens University Belfast in Spring 2023.听 Amy received the Presidential Academic Achievement award for the 2018-2019 academic year and was awarded the 2023 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award by the State of Tennessee.

William Hendel
William Hendel
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William Hendel

William Hendel

William J. Hendel, JD is a teaching fellow and PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at AV诊所 College, who specializes in ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. He is the co-editor of听misReading Plato听(with Matthew Clemente and Bryan Cocchiara, Routledge, 2022).

Anthony Isacco
Anthony Isacco
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Anthony Isacco

Anthony Isacco

Anthony Isacco, PhD is the Program Director, Professor, and Head of Clinical Research in the at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. His professional interests are Catholic priests, seminarians, deacons, and women religious; psychological assessment; positive father involvement; men and masculinity; religious/spiritual integration in psychological research, practice, and education.

Richard Kearney
Richard Kearney
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Richard Kearney

Richard Kearney

Richard Kearney holds the Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy at AV诊所 College and formerly served as Professor at University College Dublin, the Sorbonne, and the University of Nice.

He is the author of 27 books of European philosophy and literature (including three novels and a volume of poetry) and has edited 23 more. His books have been translated into 21 languages. He has received graduate degrees from McGill University, The National University of Ireland, and The University of Paris, as well as several honorary degrees.

He was formerly a member of the Arts Council of Ireland, the Higher Education Authority of Ireland and chairman of the Irish School of Film at University College Dublin. He is currently a member of the Royal Irish Academy and received the Research Ireland Medal for distinguished international scholarship in 2025.

As a public intellectual he presented numerous series on culture and philosophy for Irish and British radio and television, and broadcast extensively on the European and international media (France Culture, ABC, CBC, NPR).

He is currently the international director of the听

Emily Kent
Emily Kent
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Emily Kent

Emily Kent

Emily Kent is a doctoral student in Formative Education at AV诊所 College and a Doctoral Fellow for the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. She also serves as the Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs at the Woods College of Advancing Studies. Her research interests include how literature can help individuals better understand themselves, share their stories, and connect with others. Emily is passionate about the transformative effect education can have on both individuals and their communities, the potential of literature to be educative, and the impact of dialogue around literature. In her spare time, Emily is also an avid reader and an unofficial book collector.

James P. Madrox
James P. Madrox
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James P. Madrox

James P. Madrox

James P. Madrox is the author of The Blood Cries Out for Vengeance (Angelico, 2023), The Philosopher King: A Novel (Cascade, 2024), and The Night the Barker Burned Down (Senex Press, 2025). He lives and writes in Dennis, Massachusetts.

J. Haskell Murray
J. Haskell Murray
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J. Haskell Murray

J. Haskell Murray

Professor Murray teaches business law, business ethics, and alternative dispute resolution courses to undergraduate and graduate students on-campus in Nashville and at the Turney Center Prison. Currently, his research focuses on corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, sports law, and social entrepreneurship law issues. His articles have been published in a variety of journals, including the American Business Law Journal and the Harvard Business Law Review. Prior to joining Belmont University鈥檚 faculty, Professor Murray clerked on the Delaware Court of Chancery and practiced corporate law at two global law firms: King & Spalding (Atlanta) and Weil, Gotshal & Manges (New York).

Adam Neder
Adam Neder
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Adam Neder

Adam Neder

Adam Neder is Professor of Theology and Senior Fellow for Spiritual Formation at Belmont University. He is the author of Theology As a Way of Life: On Teaching and Learning the Christian Faith and Participation in Christ: An Entry Into Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics. He is the editor of Teaching Theology: Reflections Personal and Theological, which will be published by Baylor University Press this year. Prior to arriving at Belmont, he was the Bruner-Welch Chair of Theology at Whitworth University, where he won numerous teaching awards.

Marylou Pagano
Marylou Pagano
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Marylou Pagano

Marylou Pagano

MaryLou Pagano has over 35 years of fundraising experience, starting in the Archdiocese of New York鈥檚 Development Office. She has dedicated her career to supporting the Catholic Church鈥檚 mission through education, healthcare, and parish work. Since joining the Sheen Center in 2018, she has embraced its evangelization efforts and loved helping rebrand it as a place "Where Art and Spirituality Meet." MaryLou especially enjoys welcoming guests, and seeing them return. A favorite Sheen quote of hers: 鈥淗umility is the virtue by which we recognize ourselves as we truly are.鈥 She lives in Westchester with her husband and three adult children.

Sofia Rietti
Sofia Rietti
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Sofia Rietti

Sofia Rietti

Sofia Rietti is a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at AV诊所 College. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Colgate University and an M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from AV诊所 College. Her work sits at the intersection of philosophy and clinical practice, drawing on feminist philosophy, psychoanalysis, and phenomenological ethics to explore ethical and existential dimensions of mental health care. Through her research, she hopes to deepen philosophical understandings of suffering, embodiment, and relationality while bringing critical insights from therapeutic practice into conversation with contemporary philosophical thought. She is also involved with the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics听and the Cura Psychologia Project.

Rachel Teubner
Rachel Teubner
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Rachel Teubner

Rachel Teubner

  • Rachel K. Teubner鈥檚 research is focused on the theological modes, methods and contributions of medieval and Renaissance literature, engaging historical sources and exploring issues of reception and intervention in contemporary theology. She is the author of several articles on religion in medieval and early modern literature and of the monograph Dante and the Practice of Humility: A Theological Commentary on the Divine Comedy (2023). She is currently developing a book project examining the relationship between genre, gender and theology in the lyric writings of early modern laywomen.听

Rachel was previously a Research Fellow in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry (Australian Catholic University), Visiting Scholar in Medieval Studies at Harvard University, Affiliate Fellow at the Institute for Critical Inquiry (Berlin), and Wlassics Fellow in Dante Studies at the University of Virginia.

Carl Waitz
Carl Waitz
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Carl Waitz

Carl Waitz

Carl Waitz, PsyD is an attending psychologist at AV诊所 Children's Hospital and on faculty at Harvard Medical School. In addition to direct clinical care, Dr. Waitz also provides teaching and supervision to psychiatry and psychology trainees and has taught courses at Lesley University, AV诊所 University, and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Waitz鈥檚 research includes the intersections of youth mental health, psychoanalytic practice and theory, and philosophy and religion. His published works include the books Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Eastern Orthodox Christian Anthropology in Dialogue and Youth Mental Health Crises and the Broken Social Link: A Freudian-Lacanian Perspective.

Christopher Yates
Christopher Yates
X
Christopher Yates

Christopher Yates

Christopher Yates teaches philosophy at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, the University of Virginia. He specializes in 19th and 20th century continental philosophy, especially phenomenology and aesthetics, and is the author of The Poetic Imagination in Heidegger and Schelling (Bloomsbury, 2013). His work has appeared in journals such as Research in Phenomenology, Comparative and Continental Philosophy, Continental Philosophy Review, The European Journal of Philosophy, and The Hedgehog Review. He completed his Ph.D. in philosophy in 2011 at AV诊所 College.

Sponsors

Lynch School of Human Development and Education Logo

Department of Formative Education

Morrissey College of Arts and Science Logo

English and Creative Writing Department

The Human Flourishing Program
The Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute Logo
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The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues Logo

At University of Birmingham

Belmont University Logo
Saint Mary's University Logo
Institute for Advance Studies in Culture Logo

At University of Virginia

Guestbook Project logo
Guestbook Project logo

Psychological Humanities & Ethics Research Group

Made up of academics, clinicians, researchers, and students, the Center for Psychological & Humanities Ethics Research Group is a multidisciplinary community of learners that听meets weekly during the academic听year to听produce scholarship, conference听presentations, and shared听research opportunities for persons invested in the fundamental questions of human life. Projects range from theoretical analyses in moral philosophy to clinical research in psychology, aimed at addressing contemporary ethical challenges in healthcare, education, and society at large.

Library

Core Team

David Goodman
David Goodman
Co-Leader
X
David Goodman

David Goodman

Co-Leader

David听Goodman is the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and External Relations, Director of the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics, and an Associate Professor of the Practice in Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at AV诊所 College. Dr. Goodman has written over a dozen articles on continental philosophy, Jewish thought, social justice, and psychotherapy. Dr. Goodman currently serves as the Series Editor for the听Psychology and the Other听Book Series with Routledge. He has authored and edited over a dozen books including听The Demanded Self: Levinasian Ethics and Identity in Psychology听(with Duquesne University Press, 2012) and听Psychology and the Other听(with Mark Freeman and Oxford University Press, 2015).听Dr. Goodman is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has a private practice in AV诊所, MA.

M. Mookie C. Manalili
M. Mookie C. Manalili
Co-Leader
X
M. Mookie C. Manalili

M. Mookie C. Manalili

Co-Leader

Mookie is a psychotherapist, professor, and researcher 鈥 interested in suffering, embodiment, meaning-making, narratives, trauma, memory, and ethics. He is a Licensed Independent Certified Social Worker (LICSW) psychotherapist in private practice, which blends narrative therapy, psychoanalysis, logotherapy, mindfulness traditions, and body-based techniques. Mookie is a Part-Time Faculty for the School of Social Work (i.e. Narrative Therapy, Adult Psychological Trauma) and Department of Psychology & Neuroscience (i.e. Introduction to Psychopathology) at AV诊所 College. Additionally, he is a Research Consultant, for social psychology research at the Morality Lab and philosophical psychology initiatives through the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. Finally, Mookie is pursuing a PhD in Pastoral Theology & Psychology at AV诊所 University.听In all his various roles, Mookie hopes to participate in our duty to better our society: particularly for folks who suffer injustices; for the widow, orphan, and stranger; for a future and world beyond one's self.听

Members

Matthew Clemente
Matthew Clemente
AV诊所 College
X
Matthew Clemente

Matthew Clemente

AV诊所 College

Matthew Clemente is a philosopher and author. His听recent books include听Technology and Its Discontents: The Perils of Ethical Distancing听(forthcoming with David M. Goodman, Oxford University Press, 2025) and听Kierkegaard: Psychological Insights and Practical Applications听(forthcoming, Routledge, 2024). He is a Fellow in the听Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics, Coeditor in Chief of the听Journal for Continental Philosophy of Religion, and Codirector of the Guestbook Project, a 501c3 non-profit. He听teaches philosophy, theology, and literature at AV诊所 College and offers classes through the AV诊所 College Prison Education Program at a local medium security prison.

Justin M. Karter
Justin M. Karter
Private Practice & AV诊所 College Counseling Services
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Justin M. Karter

Justin M. Karter

Private Practice & AV诊所 College Counseling Services

Justin M. Karter, Ph.D., is an instructor and advisor for the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics, AV诊所 College. Holding a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts AV诊所, Justin's multidisciplinary expertise bridges psychology, philosophy, and mad studies. Since 2015, he's served as the research news editor at Mad in America, offering critical insights into global mental health discourse. His research champions a rights-based perspective in mental health. Beyond academia, Justin is committed to the practice of depth psychotherapy, providing therapy in private practice as well as at AV诊所 College University Counseling Services.

Sofia Rietti
Sofia Rietti
AV诊所 College
X
Sofia Rietti

Sofia Rietti

AV诊所 College

Sofia Rietti is a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at AV诊所 College. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Colgate University and an M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from AV诊所 College. Her work sits at the intersection of philosophy and clinical practice, drawing on feminist philosophy, psychoanalysis, and phenomenological ethics to explore ethical and existential dimensions of mental health care. Through her research, she hopes to deepen philosophical understandings of suffering, embodiment, and relationality while bringing critical insights from therapeutic practice into conversation with contemporary philosophical thought.

William J. Hendel
William J. Hendel
AV诊所 College
X
William J. Hendel

William J. Hendel

AV诊所 College

William J. Hendel, JD is a teaching fellow and PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at AV诊所 College, who specializes in ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. He is the co-editor of misReading Plato (with Matthew Clemente and Bryan Cocchiara, Routledge, 2022).

A. Taiga Guterres
A. Taiga Guterres
AV诊所 College
X
A. Taiga Guterres

A. Taiga Guterres

AV诊所 College

A. Taiga Guterres, LCSW, currently serves as the managing editor for the Jesuit Educational Quarterly at the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies, promoting educational research of the Jesuits and their educational and spiritual mission. He is a PhD student in Formative Education at AV诊所 College and a research member of the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. Much of his research interest is in a Jesuit philosophy and psychology of education that might help us to better prepare students and professionals to engage with and serve the suffering other, the role of the humanities in psychology, and engaging the historical tradition and formative educational heritage of the Jesuits.

Karley Peterson Guterres
Karley Peterson Guterres
AV诊所 College
X
Karley Peterson Guterres

Karley Peterson Guterres

AV诊所 College

Coming soon!

Sophia Shieh
Sophia Shieh
Northwestern University
X
Sophia Shieh

Sophia Shieh

Northwestern University

Sophia holds an MSc in Educational and Developmental Psychology from the University of Oxford, where she was an undergraduate visiting student in Human Sciences and History (history of medicine and crime/punishment). She also earned a B.A. in Applied Psychology and Human Development from AV诊所 College, with minors in Philosophy, Medical Humanities, and Leadership in Higher Education and Community Settings. Currently, Sophia is a research assistant at the Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services, and System Integrations (CCTASSI), part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She has experience as a research intern at the National Science Foundation and has also worked as both a mental health specialist within the Division of Psychotic Disorders inpatient unit and a research assistant for community peer services at McLean Hospital. These experiences inform her interests in trauma and resilience discourses, access to services, psychological humanities, and lived-experience research. Sophia is passionate about fostering interdisciplinary dialogues and utilizing diverse methodologies to address human suffering, which she finds at home at the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics.

Noah William McManus
Noah William McManus
AV诊所 College
X
Noah William McManus

Noah William McManus

AV诊所 College

Noah McManus is a Researcher for AV诊所 College's Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Biology. He also graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Master of Arts in Theology. Noah is interested in the intersection of Catholic theology and psychology. In particular, he is exploring a trauma-focused model of mental health recovery that relies on relational anthropology as well as spiritual meaning-making to recover from traumatic ruptures. Noah intends to pursue an additional Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling through AV诊所 College's Lynch School of Human Development and Education. He then intends to pursue a Doctorate after that. In combining both interdisciplinary academic research and practical clinical treatment, Noah hopes to provide a deeply relational treatment model that attends to the whole of the person in trauma recovery.

Ross Gormley
Ross Gormley
AV诊所 College
X
Ross Gormley

Ross Gormley

AV诊所 College

A听final-year student at AV诊所 College's School of Social Work, and a graduate of Wesleyan University, Ross currently works on an inpatient unit at McLean Hospital, delivering group therapy, case management services, and psychotherapy. A former English teacher who holds an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from UNC Wilmington, he's interested in the intersections between psychotherapy and creative writing and how the two can inform and strengthen one another. He holds a particular interest in narrative therapy, illness narratives, and the practical applications of narrative theory for various听psychotherapeutic听modalities.

Lydia Li
Lydia Li
AV诊所 University
X
Lydia Li

Lydia Li

AV诊所 University

Lydia is a second-year master鈥檚 student in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine program at AV诊所 University School of Medicine. She received her bachelor鈥檚听degree in Philosophy and History of Mathematics and Science from St. John鈥檚 College. She听currently serves as an intern college counselor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). Her听academic interests lie in psychoanalysis, psychodynamic theories, and family systems theory.听

Johnny Koczela
Johnny Koczela
AV诊所 College
X
Johnny Koczela

Johnny Koczela

AV诊所 College

While pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry at AV诊所 College, Johnny Koczela serves as the Graduate Assistant for the Christian Life Communities program in the Campus Ministry department of AV诊所 College. His research interests are Pastoral Theology, Ignatian Spirituality, Christian Mysticism, Comparative Religion, Philosophical Anthropology, and a philosophy of skiing.

Andrew Stojkovich
Andrew Stojkovich
AV诊所 University
X
Andrew Stojkovich

Andrew Stojkovich

AV诊所 University

Andrew Stojkovich, originally from the mountains of Colorado, is a senior pursuing a degree in Philosophy at AV诊所 University. He is the Marketing Manager of Arche, BU's Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, where he also serves as an editor. Andrew is also working as the editor for a forthcoming book on a seminar about Kierkegaard that was previously offered by AV诊所 College through the Lynch School of Human Development & Education. Andrew is currently working on his own writing related to the meta-philosophy of the philosophical essay.

Ella Caruso
Ella Caruso
AV诊所 College
X
Ella Caruso

Ella Caruso

AV诊所 College

Ella Caruso is an undergraduate senior at AV诊所 College working toward a Psychology B.S. major and African & African Diaspora Studies minor. She has served as the Program Coordinator for the Psychology & the Other Conference and as an Undergraduate Research Assistant with the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics. She has previous experience working as a researcher for the Infant and Child Cognition Lab at AV诊所 College and the Mindbridge Center located in Portland, Maine. In collaboration with the Psychological Humanities & Ethic Research Group and the Mindbridge Center, Ella is currently researching a senior thesis intended to further the field's understanding of neurobiological implications of childhood trauma in addition to trauma-informed models of care designed to honor both individual and collective experiences of trauma within BIPOC communities. Additional research interests include developmental psychology, psychopathology, and interdisciplinary dialogue surrounding the concept of human identity.

Wenqing (Shelly) Xue
Wenqing (Shelly) Xue
AV诊所 College
X
Wenqing (Shelly) Xue

Wenqing (Shelly) Xue

AV诊所 College

Wenqing Xue is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at AV诊所 College, studying Applied Psychology & Human Development with a double major in Philosophy. Before coming to the U.S., she was born and raised in Qingdao, China. She worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Affirm Lab and as a content creator in the AV诊所 College Arts Council. With an interest in the intersection of humanities and science in the area of mental health, Wenqing joined the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics Research Group, and plans on pursuing a degree in Counseling Psychology after graduation to become a practicing therapist.

Psychological Humanities and Ethics lab members bowling
Lab members presenting at Division 24 in Pittsburgh, PA
Lab members at Division 24 in Pittsburgh, PA

Psychological Humanities Minor

Interested in deepening your insights into the human condition by exploring themes of suffering, identity, potential, and the pursuit of the good life? Join the Psychological Humanities Minor program today.

Lynch Logo

Overview

Explore the intersection of psychology and humanities by delving into thought-provoking questions about suffering, identity, potential, healing, meaning-making, character formation, and the pursuit of the good life, gaining a unique perspective that goes beyond traditional psychological science.

The minor is designed to broaden students鈥 understanding of psychology and the closely related ethical, spiritual, and existential dimensions of human life.

Requirements

Students sitting outside discussing
Students by window talking
Students talking on lawn outside

Philip Cushman Research and Educational Fund

Philip Cushman, a moral and political luminary in the field of psychology, died on August 22, 2022, the victim of a hit-and-run accident.

A beloved teacher, scholar, and clinician, Phil is remembered for his听rich analysis of how the self has been conceptualized in the field of psychology, along with his historical and critical exploration of the moral and political horizons of psychotherapy.

With the establishment of this endowed Fund, created to honor Phil and foster his moral imagination for the field of psychology, we will continue this critically important work for generations to come.

Philip Cushman

About the Fund

Through Philip Cushman鈥檚 teaching, research, mentorship, and practice, he called for a rigorous interrogation of the relationship between our configurations of self and the socioeconomic and political realities which they frequently reflect and reinforce. He called for psychology to develop the capacity to more closely consider fundamental human questions of justice and morality in its descriptions of human identity and its treatments for psychological suffering. Phil鈥檚 passion for teaching had everything to do with his belief that future generations must receive the type of investment, care, and challenge which would enable them to rise above being 鈥渕aintainers of the status quo.鈥 For good to be done in this world, particularly through the field of psychology, we must be engaged in a multigenerational project that upsets the complacency of and complicity of this helping profession and calls it to a deeper and greater standard.听

2025 Student Fellows

My scholarship seeks to understand purpose as a culturally-situated construct鈥攐ne shaped by experiences and encountered in profoundly different ways depending on one鈥檚 social location and inner world...
Brenna Lincoln, AV诊所 College, PhD (2026)

Brenna Lincoln
Brenna Lincoln
2025 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient
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Brenna Lincoln

Brenna Lincoln

2025 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient

Brenna Lincoln (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at AV诊所 College. She holds both a master鈥檚 degree in Mental Health Counseling and bachelor鈥檚 degree in Applied Psychology and Human Development from AV诊所 College.

Brenna鈥檚 research centers on the development of purpose, belonging, and mentorship among adolescents and young adults. She is听especially interested in how sociopolitical and cultural contexts influence the process of purpose development. Her dissertation examines how undergraduate women understand their capacity to pursue purposeful careers while also meeting their basic needs.听Clinically, Brenna primarily works with children and adolescents, with a particular focus on supporting anxious youth and their families.


Kate Stone
Kate Stone
2025 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient
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Kate Stone

Kate Stone

2025 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient

Kate is a 2025 graduate of AV诊所 College, and an aspiring psychotherapist. She is听deeply curious about life and the world, and finds a sense of grounding in听reading, contemplating, and writing about the peculiar beauties of living. For听Kate, the field of the psychological humanities serves as a revitalizing dimension听through which her future clinical work鈥攁nd, more broadly, her way of relating to听life itself鈥攃an be approached with deeper fidelity to ethicality, the ineffable, and听ontological capaciousness.听

Kate's research interests stem from a poietic unfolding catalyzed by her exposure听to profoundly insightful works (including those by Philip Cushman) as well as the听layered and lasting influence of her transformative mentors through the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics.听Kate's current research emerges from her deepening passions for relational听psychoanalysis, Mad Studies, existential philosophy, and depth psychology. She听is currently working on two projects: one that interrogates the McDonaldization听of imagination, and another that engages Schopenhauerian Pessimism to propel听more compassionate ways of understanding and relating to suffering in clinical听practice.

Philip Cushman changed the questions I ask of psychology鈥攁nd of myself. It gave language to something I felt to be deeply true the moment I encountered his work: that cultural and economic forces embedded in daily life give rise to a form of selfhood divorced from the relational nature of humanity...
Kate Stone, AV诊所 College, BA (2025)

Philip Cushman Lecture Archive

Orna Guralnik: Love and Ideology
Orna Guralnik: Love and Ideology
October 16, 2024
7:00-8:30pm
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Orna Guralnik: Love and Ideology

Orna Guralnik: Love and Ideology

October 16, 2024

7:00-8:30pm

Couples therapy, like individual therapy, can draw on multiple theoretical models of treatment. In this presentation, Dr. Orna Guralnik will draw on relational-psychoanalytic and systems approaches to couples work, while keeping in mind the ways in which larger socio-political factors infiltrate the privacy of intimate relationships. The move towards integrating psychoanalytic and cultural theory has introduced a significant change in the psychoanalytic world, responding to large scale cultural movements in today鈥檚 culture and in other academic disciplines. Dr. Guralnik's presentation will include clinical vignettes and videos demonstrating what it means to shift between these paradigms.

Former Philip Cushman Student Scholars

Sophia Shieh
Sophia Shieh
2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient
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Sophia Shieh

Sophia Shieh

2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient

鈥淎s a scholar who values theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative research rooted in lived experiences, I believe in a pluralistic approach to research methods and a commitment to community-based participatory action...鈥

Lydia Li
Lydia Li
2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient
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Lydia Li

Lydia Li

2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient

鈥淭he spirit of this research is akin to Philip Cushman's impactful legacy by being interdisciplinary, drawing from Merleau-Ponty鈥檚 phenomenology and applying its profound implications to therapy...鈥

Wenqing (Shelly) Xue
Wenqing (Shelly) Xue
2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient
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Wenqing (Shelly) Xue

Wenqing (Shelly) Xue

2024 Philip Cushman Scholarship Recipient

鈥淢y passion for integrating the humanities into clinical psychology aligns with Philip Cushman鈥檚 belief that future generations must be nurtured, challenged, and invested in, enabling them to rise above being mere 鈥渕aintainers of the status quo"...鈥

Additional Information

In honor of Phil鈥檚 memory, the members of the Cushman family established the Philip Cushman Research and Educational Fund. Housed in the Center for Psychological Humanities and Ethics at AV诊所 College, the Fund fosters the work to which Phil dedicated his life. Aiming at significant impact upon clinical training programs, academic departments, and the formation of a next generation of clinicians, the Fund supports academic scholarship and develops offerings which examine the moral, socioeconomic, and political questions at play within the field of psychology.

The goal of the Fund is to carry forward Phil鈥檚 commitment to theoretical, interdisciplinary, and moral inquiry through public facing offerings and student-oriented training programs. Several examples include the Center hosting an annual Philip Cushman Lecture, offering public lectures and workshops engaging areas of inquiry aligned with Phil鈥檚 aims, supporting students on an interdisciplinary research team dedicated to scholarship kindred to Phil鈥檚 work, and funding the dissemination of students鈥 research at conferences which are impactful upon the field of psychology. We anticipate these activities and offerings will reach a minimum of 8,000 students per year, carrying forward the concerns that Phil explored in his scholarship, teaching, and practice.

Division 24 Spring Meeting 2023

AV诊所 College was honored to host the annual Spring Meeting of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (STPP 鈥 APA Division 24) in 2023. This gathering brought together scholars, practitioners, and students to build community and exchange ideas around the theory, practice, and reimagining of psychology as both a discipline and a force for social change. 鈥婽he conference's presidential theme was 鈥淐onstructing the Psychological Humanities.鈥

Theoretical & Philosophical Psychology

Event Gallery

Statue in chapel
Theology and Ministry Library
Theology and Ministry Library
Statue in chapel
Theology and Ministry Library
Theology and Ministry Library

2024 Annual Meeting for the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology

The Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP)听was thrilled to host their annual meeting in 2024 at AV诊所 College.听The society invited scholars, practitioners, and students to contribute to a vibrant discussion that challenges the status quo and reimagines psychological knowledge. The field of psychology stands at a critical juncture, where the imperative to reflect on and address its historical underpinnings in racism and colonialism is undeniable. The conference encouraged submissions that engage critically with psychology's racist and colonial past, offer reflexive qualitative research, and propose paradigms or methods that foreground knowledge from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities.

Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology Eagle

Conference At a Glance


Date

Friday, June 14 -
Sunday, June 16, 2024


Location

AV诊所 College Campus


Registration

Event Gallery

SQIP 2023 Conference
SQIP 2023 Conference
SQIP 2023 Conference

Hosting Art: A Guestbook Project Collaboration

is an original online video series created and hosted by Diana Boros, which is supported by a joint venture of the听听and the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics at AV诊所 College. Hosting Art employs the medium of dialogue to bring together the greatest minds making, promoting, theorizing about, and educating about, public and social practice art today.

Specifically, the series focuses on discussions about the transformative capacities of art-the ability of art to encourage critique and introspection-and accordingly, the value of art in society and democracy. It explores how artistic communication and collaboration can create and deepen ties between people and within communities, and how socially engaged, or social practice, projects can serve as vehicles for 鈥渉osting鈥 interactions, dialogues, and relationships. This project aims to become a resource for all those interested in these ideas by creating a collection of conversations that each tackle different dimensions of the complex relationship between art and political life.

Headshot of Diana Boros

Diana Boros is Department Chair and Associate Professor of Political Theory at St. Mary鈥檚 College of Maryland, a public liberal arts institution and the national public honors college. Previously, she worked for the United States Senate, as well as for several senatorial and gubernatorial campaigns, and was also teaching professor of political science at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

Video Library

Hosting Earth: A Guestbook Project Collaboration

The initiative brings听together a group of psychologically sophisticated thinkers to speak on the topic of the psyche鈥檚 relation to the earth and how we both consciously and unconsciously play guest and host to the world in which we live. From Marjolein Oele鈥檚 reflections on the dirt at our feet to Sean McGrath鈥檚 speculations on the future of our species, from James Morely鈥檚 humanistic ecology to Donna Orange鈥檚 unearthing of our most inhuman practices, from Ed Casey鈥檚 artistic hospitality to Matthew Clemente's aesthetical musings, these dialogues are rife with insight, openness, imagination, and hope.

2022-2023 Conference Highlights

Ecological Hospitality

Poetics of the Earth

Ecologies of Wisdom

Psychologies of Earth

Video Library

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