Course Catalogue 2026-2027

This course offers an overview of the theology and thinking of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), one of the most creative and unique Christian intellectuals of his era, whose influence has been significant into the present among both Catholics and Protestants. We will examine Pascal in the context of his cultural milieu, in terms of theology, philosophy, and ecclesial/social setting. His Pensées will be a major focus, but we will also study his writing on reason and grace and his own theology of Scripture. Attention will also be given to his colleagues and peers in the Jansenist reform movement. Assigned readings will be in English, but a reading knowledge of French will be helpful for one's own research and writing.

This course offers an overview of the theology and thinking of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), one of the most creative and unique Christian intellectuals of his era, whose influence has been significant into the present among both Catholics and Protestants. We will examine Pascal in the context of his cultural milieu, in terms of theology, philosophy, and ecclesial/social setting. His Pensées will be a major focus, but we will also study his writing on reason and grace and his own theology of Scripture. Attention will also be given to his colleagues and peers in the Jansenist reform movement. Assigned readings will be in English, but a reading knowledge of French will be helpful for one's own research and writing.

This course offers an overview of the theology and thinking of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), one of the most creative and unique Christian intellectuals of his era, whose influence has been significant into the present among both Catholics and Protestants. We will examine Pascal in the context of his cultural milieu, in terms of theology, philosophy, and ecclesial/social setting. His Pensées will be a major focus, but we will also study his writing on reason and grace and his own theology of Scripture. Attention will also be given to his colleagues and peers in the Jansenist reform movement. Assigned readings will be in English, but a reading knowledge of French will be helpful for one's own research and writing.

This course offers an overview of the theology and thinking of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), one of the most creative and unique Christian intellectuals of his era, whose influence has been significant into the present among both Catholics and Protestants. We will examine Pascal in the context of his cultural milieu, in terms of theology, philosophy, and ecclesial/social setting. His Pensées will be a major focus, but we will also study his writing on reason and grace and his own theology of Scripture. Attention will also be given to his colleagues and peers in the Jansenist reform movement. Assigned readings will be in English, but a reading knowledge of French will be helpful for one's own research and writing.

This course will provide an opportunity for students to discuss and reflect on the contemporary realities of medical practice which challenge some basic assumptions as to when death occurs and when is a person "dead". In addition, students will examine contemporary efforts to rediscover old wisdoms concerning care for dying patients and ways in which communities of faith might reclaim some of the ancient practices of ars moriendi, the "art of dying." Students examine the phenomena of chronic illness, suffering and dying from a variety of historical, biblical, theological, pastoral care, medical-physiological, psychosocial from a cross cultural perspective. Students also examine contemporary modalities of care for persons at the end of life, including tertiary palliative care, the hospice movement and ancillary "death with dignity" organizations. Course goals include developing the student's ability to care for persons with chronic and terminal illness in ways that are shaped by a variety of theological and religion-cultural understandings of suffering, dying and death. To do so with integrity, students will also explore dimensions of what constitutes health and wholeness, as well as grief and mourning and burial rituals from various religion-cultural perspectives.

This course examines the social determinants of addiction and considers the past and current influences on addiction counselling and approaches to treatment. In doing so it expands the biopsychosocial perspective of the field of psychology and addiction to include spirituality and cultural sensitivity as important determinants in assessment and treatment choices. The course will introduce students to specific assessment, interviewing and treatment modalities that are used in addiction counselling. Students will gain an understanding of the experience of addiction and the importance of the motivation to change. Students will gain an overview of relapse prevention as well as crisis intervention and the contexts of therapy for addiction treatment. Students will practice motivational interviewing and gain a basic understanding of how Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) is used in treatment programs in the greater Toronto area. Students will also wrestle with spiritual and theological understandings of addiction. This course has been designed for training professionals who will practice in institutional contexts (including addiction treatment centres, hospitals, hospices, schools, and prisons) and in congregational or social ministry contexts.

The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, developed by Richard Schwartz, is a psychotherapeutic modality that has proven useful not only for trauma work, but for a wide variety of mental health issues. While IFS is relatively new, it builds on a model of the psyche/soul with deep roots in the history of psychotherapy. The idea that the psyche is composed of an internal family of autonomous parts, many of them unconscious, goes back to C.G. Jung and the French schools of hypnosis that came before him. It also has resonances Freudian object relations. But Shwartz’s method of identifying and working with these internal parts sets his modality apart as innovative, elegant, and transformative. This course offers a comprehensive overview of Schwartz’s basic theoretical orientation with a heavy emphasis on clinical practice through case studies, personal exploration, and role playing. We will pay particular attention to the spiritual dimensions of IFS and their potential use in spiritual care and spiritually integrated therapy.

The Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, developed by Richard Schwartz, is a psychotherapeutic modality that has proven useful not only for trauma work, but for a wide variety of mental health issues. While IFS is relatively new, it builds on a model of the psyche/soul with deep roots in the history of psychotherapy. The idea that the psyche is composed of an internal family of autonomous parts, many of them unconscious, goes back to C.G. Jung and the French schools of hypnosis that came before him. It also has resonances Freudian object relations. But Shwartz's method of identifying and working with these internal parts sets his modality apart as innovative, elegant, and transformative. This course offers a comprehensive overview of Schwartz's basic theoretical orientation with a heavy emphasis on clinical practice through case studies, personal exploration, and role playing. We will pay particular attention to the spiritual dimensions of IFS and their potential use in spiritual care and spiritually integrated therapy.

This course examines diverse models for assessing the acute and chronic distress that stems from the psychological, emotional, social, and/or spiritual dimensions of life. In this program, students are equipped to assess various forms of distress and to develop plans for providing therapy that are based on evidenced-based research and best practices. Students will explore theories in the field of assessment (spiritual assessment, psychological assessment, DSM-V, MMSE, and so forth) and they will engage in experiential learning opportunities (case studies, role plays, and so forth) that develop their assessment and care planning skills. This course has been designed for professionals who practice in institutional contexts (hospital, hospice, schools, prison, and so forth) and in congregational or social ministry contexts.

This course provides participants with an introduction to spiritually integrated cognitive-behavioural therapy. At the conclusion of this course, through lectures, discussions, in-vivo exercises, and graded submissions, students will have learned how to assess and treat various mental health pathologies by eliciting and changing clients' automatic thoughts and negative schemas using evidence-based CBT interventions such as case conceptualizations, structuring and psychoeducation, thought records, core belief records, Socratic questioning, behavioural experiments, depression and anxiety inventories, activity scheduling, fear ladders, and graded exposures. Unlike a purely secular CBT approach that leaves no room for clients' spiritual beliefs, this course will emphasize how CBT can be enhanced when understood through the lens of contemporary spiritual care best practices. Participants in this course will first become acquainted with how to understand spirituality and religion through a CBT lens, then learn and practice how to enhance the effectiveness of CBT by integrating a working knowledge of spiritual care issues with established CBT interventions to treat anxiety, depression, grief and loss, panic disorder, social phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Special attention will also be paid to employing established CBT interventions to treat the significant rise and proliferation of viral pandemic-related anxiety and depression.

This course offers a close and critical examination of the life and theology of the 20th century German Lutheran theologian and churchman Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The goal of the course is to understand Bonhoeffer's writings and life within the context of his resistance to Nazi ideology and its accompanying theological milieu, as well as to imagine ways in which his work might be received and engaged in our contemporary context.

This course offers a close and critical examination of the life and theology of the 20th century German Lutheran theologian and churchman Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The goal of the course is to understand Bonhoeffer's writings and life within the context of his resistance to Nazi ideology and its accompanying theological milieu, as well as to imagine ways in which his work might be received and engaged in our contemporary context.