Research
RESEARCH PROJECTS | PUBLICATIONS | SUPERVISION
If you're passionate about learning at the intersection of Theology and Psychology, CTP is for you.
CTP supports members and partners as they undertake cutting-edge inter-disciplinary research. We believe investing in research is key to expanding our knowledge base and stimulating our teaching and training.
We produce a regular newsletter to share our position on various topics, and we host an Integrative Symposium on the integration of theology and psychology.
Research Supervision
We offer supervision to PhD and Masters students as well as post-doctoral research students/assistants. We are seeking researcher students who are interested to undertaking research projects investigating the intersection of faith and psychology.
TO ENQUIRE ABOUT OUR SUPERVISION OFFERS, PLEASE EMAIL CTP@MST.EDU.AU WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: ‘SUPERVISION REQUEST’
Current Research Projects
Ironic Thriving: An Integrative Conversation
We are delighted to announce that our Director, Michael Bräutigam, has been invited to participate in a visiting scholarship program at Princeton, NJ (USA). The program, Thriving in Diverse Contexts, is a study program on psychological science for researchers in Christian Theology. Together with other scholars from around the globe, Michael will pursue research, both online and in person, at Princeton from June 2023 to May 2025.
In his project, Michael focuses on understanding human wellbeing following the impact of the Covid pandemic. Michael aims to carve out the underlying mechanisms of thriving that are activated in the context of adversity, combining recent research into cognitive dissonance theory, positive psychology, and post-traumatic flourishing with biblical-systematic theological approaches toward an integrative theory.
To find out more about this program visit:
Christian Spirituality and Eating Disorders: An Exploratory and Co-Design Approach to Prevention, Whole Person Care and Recovery
Eating disorders are serious conditions that have a profound effect on almost every aspect of life for those who experience them, and an impact that extends to their loved ones. Religion and spirituality appear to have a nuanced relationship with the experience of eating disorders. However, currently religious and spiritual aspects are rarely addressed as part of a whole person approach to eating disorder care.
We are seeking to support the integration of Christian spirituality in eating disorder prevention and care, for people who would like this approach. We will be hearing from people with lived experience of eating disorders, their loved ones, healthcare providers and pastoral carers about their experiences in this space. Together, we plan to build on these insights to develop a resource supporting Christian spiritual integration in eating disorder care where this is desired.
This project lead by Dr Hayley Thomas represents a partnership between researchers at The Centre for Theology and Psychology, The University of Queensland, The University of Notre Dame, and Flinders University, and is supported by a grant from The John Templeton Foundation.
You can find out more information and participate in this study by clicking on the button below:
TO ENQUIRE ABOUT OUR RESEARCH, PLEASE EMAIL CTP@MST.EDU.AU WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: ‘RESEARCH INTEREST’
Published outcomes from this research can be found at:
- Thompson, K., Williams, D., Kimber, T., Matthews, D., Grossmann, M., Brautigam, M. (2023). Psychological assessment of cross-cultural mission candidates in Australasia. Journal of Psychology and Theology.
Click here to view article
- Thompson, K., Kimber, T., Williams, D., Matthews, D., Grossmann, M., Brautigam, M. (2022). A scoping review of psychological assessment in mission and ministry candidates. Journal of Psychology and Theology.
- Thompson, K., Matthews, D., Williams, D., Kimber, T., Grossman, M., Brautigam, M. (2022). The impact of the COVID19 pandemic on Australasian mission organisations. Australian Journal of Mission Studies, accepted 18 Oct, in press Dec 2022.
