David G. Benner Explained

David Gordon Benner (born February 9, 1947) is a Canadian depth psychologist, author and wisdom teacher.

Career

Benner followed his Honours BA in psychology at McMaster University with an MA and PhD in clinical psychology at York University.[1] After registration with the College of Psychologists of Ontario,[2] and licensing in the state of Illinois, he was certified as an expert witness in clinical psychology in both jurisdictions. He also completed post-doctoral studies at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis.[3]

Benner was professor and founding chair, Graduate Department of Psychological Studies at Wheaton College in Illinois,[4] [5] and chair of the Department of Psychology, Redeemer University College, in Ancaster, Ontario. In Toronto, he held overlapping appointments as Adjunct Professor (Psychology and Christianity), St. Michael's College, University of Toronto; Adjunct Clinical Professor, Graduate Department of Psychology, York University; and Adjunct Clinical Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.[6] He was later the founding director of the Institute for Psychospiritual Health,[7] and in 2016 he became the founding director of Cascadia Living Wisdom.[8]

Between 1973 and 2006, Benner was in private practice in Illinois and Ontario. Whereas his clinic-based practice focused on children and adolescents, particularly those suffering from abuse and experiencing dissociative disorders, his private practice focused on adults. Within this context he developed and offered an intensive, highly individualized, short-term (3 week) residential intervention that combined clinical and spiritual components. He offered these Intensive Soul Care Retreats and trained others to do the same for over 20 years.[9]

Benner was Chief Psychologist at Child and Adolescent Services, Hamilton, Ontario[10] [11] and was named Associate Fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, University of Victoria (Victoria, B.C.) in 2008 .[12] [13]

Approach

The intersection of psychology and spirituality became his main interest during the 1970s.[14] His general approach was described as a "multidisciplinary analysis of psychological change and spiritual development" that blends "insights from psychology, theology, anthropology, his own clinical practice, and other disciplines."[15] Examining the role of spirituality in clinical practice in 1988, he noted "the chasm that had been dug between professional psychology and spiritual longing",[16] [17] and in 1989, published his views in an article on the nature of spirituality, its role in psychotherapy and a "nonreductionistic understanding of spirituality that situates it within the heart of an individual's psychological being."[18] A retrospective study of Benner's model of human nature and its implications for educators and counselors, based on his writings since the late 1980s, was published in 2006.[19] A later examination of changes in therapeutic work over two decades included Benner among leading researchers in the field of spirituality.[20] By then, the focus of his writing and teaching was wisdom and the journey toward enlightenment that facilitated access to it. This work drew on a broad base of wisdom traditions, including Christian mysticism, Hermeticism, Indigenous spirituality, Depth psychology, and science.

Publications

David G. Benner has authored or edited more than thirty books. Early titles focused on the role of spirituality in clinical practice and were primarily written for psychologists and other mental health professionals. His middle-phase books focused on living the spiritual journey in a deeply human way and the human journey in a deeply spiritual way, and were written from an explicitly Christian perspective. Later books have been written for a more general audience and have continued to focus on the role of spirituality in human spiritual unfolding while drawing on science, philosophy and the perennial wisdom tradition for insights that are helpful in understanding spiritual awakening and enlightenment. These big themes of awakening, becoming fully human, and the possibilities of enlightenment have been at the core of all his books.

In addition to his books, he has also published articles in peer-reviewed journals of psychology in areas such as religious psychodynamics in multiple personality disorder, development of a psychological test for the assessment of marital communication, the psychology of money, and psychological trauma and social healing in Croatia.[21] He also played a seminal role in the creation of a child trauma treatment program.[22]

He was also editor of a reference encyclopedia in psychology and co-editor of a subsequent expanded edition for a readership of pastoral counselors and clergy,[23] as well as editor of a ten-book series on strategic pastoral counseling resources.[24] In a journal addressing the interface of psychology and spirituality, a reviewer wrote of Benner's body of work: "His research plumbs the best of human development psychology and ancient spirituality wisdom.... As a seasoned scholar, author, psychologist and a spiritual director, Benner serves as an expert witness of what healthy and whole humans look like...."[25] His contribution of material for peer professionals continues,[26] and his books have reached a broad general readership.[27] More than two dozen of his titles are in print, and translations have been published in more than twenty languages.[28]

Selected bibliography

Notes and References

  1. David Gordon Benner, "Instructed neutral image visualization as an anxiety neutralizing response in systematic desensitization", PhD diss., York University Graduate Program in Psychology, Sept. 1972.
  2. C. Psych., Registered Psychologist, College of Psychologists of Ontario, 1973.
  3. CV dd January 15, 2012, pp. 1-5 (David G. Benner, CV on request, December 4, 2012).
  4. Web site: InForm : Bulletin of Wheaton College 1984-85 . Espace.wheaton.edu . September 22, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928162039/http://espace.wheaton.edu/lr/a-sc/archives/publications/catalogs/1984-1985catalog.pdf . September 28, 2013 . dead .
  5. Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections, Series 2: Faculty Files, Box 20, Benner folders 1-6, retrieved 2013-10-03, http://archon.wheaton.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=206&q=&rootcontentid=140542#id140542/, and Dean of Graduate School Records, Folder 67-David Benner, retrieved 2013-10-03, https://archon.wheaton.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=213&q=&rootcontentid=105870 .
  6. Web site: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE) . Ro.oise.utoronto.ca . September 22, 2013.
  7. Phil Howard, "A Psychospiritual Model of Spiritual Formation", Christian Education Journal, Series 3, Vol. 3, no. 2, p. 231.
  8. https://www.cascadialivingwisdom.com/the-origins-of-cascadia
  9. Book: Sperry, Len & Shafranske, Edward D., Eds.. Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy. American Psychological Association. 2005. 978-1-59147-188-2. Washington, DC. 287–306.
  10. . Benner . David G . Nurturing spiritual growth . Journal of Psychology and Theology . 30 . 4 . Winter 2002 . 355 . 10.1177/009164710203000410 . 140469873 .
  11. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, archive records name-search result, "David Benner, Ph.D. (York), Chief Psychologist, Child and Adolescent Services, Hamilton", retrieved 2013-10-07, http://ro.oise.utoronto.ca/Archive/200708/Bulletin.pdf.
  12. Associate Fellows list, Centre for Studies in Religion and Society Newsletter 17 (Fall 2008), p. 6, retrieved February 15, 2013 http://csrs.uvic.ca/Publications/pdf's/newsletters/SIRS_newsletter_Fall08.pdf/
  13. Web site: APA PsycNet . 2023-12-06 . psycnet.apa.org . en.
  14. Book: Hoekema, Anthony A. . Created in God's Image . 1994-09-06 . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing . 978-0-8028-0850-9 . en.
  15. Web site: Spirituality and the Awakening Self: The Sacred Journey of Transformation by David G. Benner . 2023-12-06 . www.publishersweekly.com.
  16. Profession's context re Benner's Psychotherapy and the Spiritual Quest, in Gary W. Moon, "Introduction to Special Issue on Spiritual Direction: Part One", Journal of Psychology and Theology 30, no. 4 (Winter 2002), p. 261; retrieved 2013-03-10, Introduction
  17. Proponents differed on Christian counseling: "Reviewing the writings of Adams, Crabb, Collins, Benner, Worthington, Powlision, and himself, Bufford concludes that there is widespread disagreement between the authors...." Daryl H. Stevenson, Brian E. Eck, and Peter C. Hill, eds., Psychology and Christianity Integration: Seminal Works that Shaped the Movement (Batavia, Ill.: Christian Association for Psychological Studies Inc., 2007), p. 243.
  18. David G. Benner, "Toward a psychology of spirituality: Implications for personality and psychotherapy", database PsycINFO of the APA, retrieved 2013-07-27, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1990-02087-001.
  19. Howard . Phil . A Psychospiritual Model of Spiritual Formation: A Review of David Benner's Contributions . Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry . November 2006 . 3 . 2 . 230–239 . 10.1177/073989130600300202 . 149880235 .
  20. Sharon R. Gough, "Spiritual and religious diversity: Implications for counselor education programs", PhD diss. (2009), College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN. Ms. Gough calls Benner and several others "the leading researchers in the field of spirituality...." (p. 68) and describes a change in psychologists' emphasis (p. 55): "A paradigm shift has been developing over the past twenty years that recognizes the importance of integrating spirituality and religion into the therapeutic process (Benner, 2002)"; retrieved January 28, 2013 https://www.biola.edu/ She references D.G. Benner, "Nurturing spiritual growth", Journal of Psychology and Theology 30, no. 4 (2002), pp. 355-62.
  21. Donald Woodside, Joanna Santa Barbara, and David G. Benner, "Psychological trauma and social healing in Croatia", Medicine, Conflict and Survival: international medical concerns on global security issues 15, no. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1999), pp. 355-67; retrieved 2013-08-05, https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3ADavid+G+Benner .
  22. Valerie E. Copping; Diane L. Warling; David G. Benner; Donald W. Woodside, A Child Trauma Treatment Pilot Study, Journal of Child and Family Studies 10, no. 4 (2001), pp. 467-75; database British Library Serials, retrieved 2013-04-21, https://www.worldcat.org/title/a-child-trauma-treatment-pilot-study/oclc/365364460 .
  23. The 1985 Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and 1999 Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling and its later editions; retrieved 2013-08-15, https://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780801021008 .
  24. WorldCat, author-name, retrieved 2013-08-05, https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3ADavid+G+Benner .
  25. Anthony W. Shelton, review of "Soulful Spirituality", Journal of Psychology and Christianity 31, no. 2 (Summer 2012), p. 178; retrieved 2012-12-28, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312154844_Review_of_Soulful_spirituality_becoming_fully_alive_and_deeply_human.
  26. Updates to the psychology and counseling encyclopedia; new titles (2012, 2013); rev. ed., Strategic Pastoral Counseling; retrieved 2013-02-07, https://www.christianbook.com/strategic-pastoral-counseling-short-structured-model/david-benner/9780801026317/pd/26318
  27. Author-name search, reader comments posted, Goodreads, retrieved 2013-02-14, https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=David+G+Benner&search_type=books.
  28. https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3ADavid+G+Benner .

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