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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This is an important topic, Ralph. The jackass, and I use the term deliberately, <a href="http://www.cbcmoscow.com/about-cbc/meet-the-staff/">Mike Lawyer</a> who conducts the Biblical Counseling arm of Christ Church is willing to share information gained in counseling sessions with other church officers (if the requisite degree of contrition is missing) and of course attendees of Greyfriars Hall sit in on the session as well. Even worse than <a href="http://kbotkin.com/?s=mike+lawyer&search=Go">that former clients have read a thinly disguised story of their counseling on-line</a>. How’s that for unbelievable breach of confidence? The following paragraph is an example close to home. Anyone care to guess the identity of the “local pastor and philosophy professor? More ass kissing from the toadies: I guess that practice never grows old.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><h3><b><font size=4 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> </span></font></b><font size=4 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.cbcmoscow.com/2015/09/25/relate-all-the-classical-loci-of-theology-to-counseling-2/" title="Permanent Link to Relate all the Classical Loci of Theology to Counseling.">Relate all the Classical Loci of Theology to Counseling.</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></h3><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.cbcmoscow.com/author/m-lawyer/" title="Posts by m.lawyer">m.lawyer</a> September 25th, 2015 <a href="http://www.cbcmoscow.com/2015/09/25/relate-all-the-classical-loci-of-theology-to-counseling-2/#respond">No Comments</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p><strong><b><font size=4 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>God</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p><font size=4 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>I was in a classroom in college, listening to a debate between a local pastor and a profligate philosophy professor. After a particularly exciting exchange between them, the professor finally said, “What makes you so confident in what you are saying about God and the things of God?” The pastor slowly stood up, and in a very quiet and bold voice said, “I’m confident because I know him.” The professor just sat down. He had nothing to say. I was blown away. What an incredible answer! What a great gift. That is exactly what our great God has called us to. To know him, to worship him, to share him and his knowledge with others.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Rose Huskey<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Nielsen, Ralph (nielsen@uidaho.edu)<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, October 10, 2015 3:07 PM<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> vision2020@moscow.comof<br><b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Vision2020] Assessing risk in sex offender cases<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I don’t expect much success in this or similar cases where religious “therapy” is employed to fix a purely secular problem already screwed up by religious nonsense. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div><div><div style='border:none;border-bottom:double #D6D6D6 2.25pt;padding:0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;margin-bottom:15.75pt;min-height: 60px;float:left'><h2 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:4.5pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:31.5pt'><b><font size=6 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:28.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'>Has Your Therapist Tried to 'Save' You?<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></h2><div style='margin-bottom:5.25pt;max-width: 540px;float:left'><p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:15.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>An interview with the Secular Therapist Project founder <o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#999999" face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#999999'>Posted Nov 12, 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div><div><div id=block-system-main><div><div><div><div><div><div style='margin-bottom:.25in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><div style='margin-bottom:15.0pt;float:left'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.5pt'><font size=2 color="#666666" face=Arial><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666'><img border=0 width=639 height=89 id="_x0039_8F441BB-070D-411A-836B-74188AC61990" src="cid:image001.png@01D1036E.F314AF40"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Most mental <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/health" title="Psychology Today looks at health"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>health</span></font></a> professionals would agree that their <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/religion" title="Psychology Today looks at religious"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>religious</span></font></a> beliefs should have little direct relevance in their professional interactions. Yet according to Dr. Darrel Ray, too many professional therapists are injecting religious and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/magical-thinking" title="Psychology Today looks at supernatural"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>supernatural</span></font></a> concepts into the care they provide clients. This problem is only getting worse, he says, as fundamentalist colleges produce more graduates who see religious proselytizing as an acceptable means of “treating” clients. Dr. Ray, an author whose books address the intersection of psychology and religion, has responded by launching the <a href="http://www.seculartherapy.org/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Secular Therapist Project,</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> a web site that tries to connect potential clients with therapists who will adhere to secular, science-based treatment and avoid supernatural and theistic approaches. The following is a recent exchange I had with Dr. Ray.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: What is the Secular Therapist Project and why do you say it is needed?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Darrel Ray: After I published my books <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-God-Religion-Distorts-Sexuality/dp/0970950543" target="_blank"><em><i><font color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Sex and God</span></font></i></em><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, and <a href="http://www.thegodvirus.net/" target="_blank"><em><i><font color=black face=Arial><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The God Virus</span></font></i></em><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, I was overwhelmed with requests from people asking for help finding a secular therapist. I began helping people and soon found that it is almost impossible to determine if a therapist is truly secular and uses evidence-based methods. A therapist may be well-trained, he or she may have received advanced degrees from the best schools, but that does not guarantee they are not influenced by belief in supernatural beings or New Age ideas. Many people wrote me saying they went to a therapist for months only to have the therapist recommend that they pray, go back to church, or use some New Age method.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: Aren’t therapists trained to keep their beliefs out of the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/therapy" title="Psychology Today looks at therapy"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>therapy</span></font></a>sessions? </span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: Not necessarily. Certainly, the best schools train therapists to avoid imposing their beliefs on the client, but right now there are hundreds of religious schools graduating thousands of Christian counselors, licensable in most states. Graduates from <a href="http://www.liberty.edu/aboutliberty/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Liberty University</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, Regent or <a href="http://www.oru.edu/whole_person/education.php" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Oral Roberts University</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> are taught to incorporate religion into their counseling. <a href="http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcou/admissions/forms/goals.htm" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Regent University</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> and others have Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs in clinical psychology. How is it possible to get solid clinical training from a university that insists on teaching Pat Robertson’s theology to all students? This is the guy who thinks God sends hurricanes to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/punishment" title="Psychology Today looks at punish"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>punish</span></font></a> cities for tolerating gays.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Graduates of religious schools look like any other Ph.D. or MSW to the lay person, yet they are an integral part of the evangelical right’s attempt to usurp the field of counseling in the service of their religious agenda. Graduates of these universities are highly unlikely to keep their religious views out of the therapeutic relationship. Do you think a gay or lesbian person will receive effective treatment from a Regent’s University Ph.D.? Could an atheist get evidence-based treatment from a graduate of Liberty University? It is possible, but why would you risk your time, money, and emotional health on someone who probably prays and reads the Bible more than they read professional journals?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Even someone who graduated from Michigan State or UCLA may not be secular. The school a person attends says little about their supernatural beliefs. Once a person is in practice, they may start using untested and non-evidence based methods. Methods that have not seen clinical testing and peer review.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: How prevalent is this problem?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: Well, ten or twenty years ago, these religion-based programs did not exist. In the area of clinical psychology, most schools had clearly secular programs. They placed a high value on developing a non-religious relationship in the clinical setting. Those days are gone. While no one can really know how much religion influences a given counselor, we can say that hundreds of religious schools have developed counseling programs in the last twenty years, many in the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/marriage" title="Psychology Today looks at marriage"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>marriage</span></font></a> and family counseling area. It is hard to say, but there could be more licensable counselors graduating from religious schools than are graduating from secular programs right now. In any event, there are thousands of counselors who think Jesus or other supernatural approaches are the answer. There were far fewer only a few years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: So how does the Secular Therapy Project address this problem?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: Han Hills and I developed a process and procedure for helping people find secular therapists through our website, <a href="http://www.seculartherapy.org/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>seculartherapy.org.</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> It is free and confidential for the therapist and the client. It is like the popular <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mating" title="Psychology Today looks at dating"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>dating</span></font></a> sites <a href="http://www.okcupid.com/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>OKCupid.com</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> or <a href="http://www.pof.com/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Plentyoffish.com</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>. The therapist registers and describes his or her practice on the public part of their profile, along with a checklist of conditions they are qualified to work on. The therapist can reveal as much or as little as they like. No other information is available to the client; no email, no phone, no address, no websites. We want to protect the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/identity" title="Psychology Today looks at identity"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>identity</span></font></a> of the therapist as much as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: Why so much emphasis on confidentiality and protecting the identity of the therapist?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: Imagine that you are a secular psychologist or social worker in Oklahoma City. Most clients that come to you are religious and many of your referral sources are ministers or churches. If you openly advertised that you are secular, half your clients would leave and many of your referral sources would dry up. One therapist that I know in a major southern city gets 75% of her referrals from local ministers and churches. She used to be a strong Christian. She taught Sunday school for sixteen years, but is now an atheist. She wants to wean her practice away from religious sources, so she registered with us. She needs to keep under the radar or she would lose most of her current patients.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Another therapist gets many referrals from the courts. The majority of judges in his county are very religious. In his state, judges are elected, so they often cater to the wishes of the religious community. If the community learned that a judge was referring people to a secular therapist, the judge could lose the next election. As a result, the therapist has to keep a low profile and cannot reveal that he is an atheist to the judges or to the community.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Many of my therapist friends in New York, San Francisco or Washington, DC, often say that it is not a problem in their area. I would beg to differ. While San Francisco may not have ten Christian counselors per square mile, like Atlanta, it does have therapists who espouse New Age and other “Woo Woo” methods that are non-evidence based. Therapists in those areas also get referrals from religious judges, ministers and quasi-religious organizations like Catholic hospitals. Being an “out atheist” might endanger those referral sources.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: If it is often problematic for a therapist to be “out” as an atheist or secularist, is there any danger that a client could game the system and “out” a therapist in their community?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: I'm sure there is. There is no perfect system. At the same time, we are using a model that dating sites have used for a decade or more. Just like <a href="http://Match.com">Match.com</a>, we cannot be responsible for what happens, but we do our best to keep things safe for all parties. So far, we have seen no evidence of any “gaming of the system.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: So you have a database of therapists, but how do you guarantee that they use evidence-based methods?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: First of all, we can’t guarantee anything, but we do have a process in place to screen and approve therapists. Four very experienced secular therapists look at each application and vote on whether they appear to use secular methods. We can only go on what a therapist submits to us, what they have on their web page and any client recommendations. We really like getting therapist referrals from clients in the secular community.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: How do clients use the system?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: The client can search our database and find a therapist close by and correspond through our system. The client’s information is confidential as well. The therapist can only know what the client tells them. Client and therapist correspond through the system a few times until they feel comfortable and think there is a good fit. Then they can reveal enough to make an appointment or arrange a phone call.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><strong><b><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Q: How can mental health professionals and others help or get involved?</span></font></b></strong><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Ray: If you are a secular therapist, please register with us and tell your colleagues. If you are a patient of a therapist who seems to use secular and evidence-based methods, ask them to register. Finally, if you are looking for a therapist, look in our database first. Registering as a client is simple and confidential. Within minutes, you will know if there are any therapists close to you. If there are none close to you, many of our therapists will do distance counseling by phone or Skype.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>You can also help by donating to the project. We run this on a shoestring budget and would welcome your donations. Just go to <a href="http://recoveringfromreligion.org/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>recoveringfromreligion.org</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> and hit the donate button. You can then say that you want your donation to go to the Secular Therapy project. Secular Therapy is an outreach program of Recovering from Religion, which I founded in 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><div style='margin-bottom:.25in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>About Dr. Darrel Ray:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Darrel Ray is the author of several books, most recently <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-God-Religion-Distorts-Sexuality/dp/0970950543" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> (2012), and <a href="http://www.thegodvirus.net/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>The God Virus</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a> (2009). He received an Ed.D. in counseling psychology from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in 1978 and an MA in religion in 1974 from Scarritt College for Christian Workers. He practiced in a clinical setting for 10 years working with children, adolescents and families. In 1986 he moved into organizational psychology and became a pioneer in the social psychology of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/teamwork" title="Psychology Today looks at teamwork"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>teamwork</span></font></a> and <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/leadership" title="Psychology Today looks at leadership"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>leadership</span></font></a>development. In 2009 he founded <a href="http://Recoveringfromreligion.org">Recoveringfromreligion.org</a> (RR) with the mission of helping people over come the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/trauma" title="Psychology Today looks at trauma"><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>trauma</span></font></a> of leaving religion. RR is now a worldwide organization headed by <a href="http://recoveringfromreligion.org/pages/JerryDeWitt" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Jerry DeWitt</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, the first graduate of the <a href="http://clergyproject.org/" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Clergy Project</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, and Dr. Ray is the Chairman of the Board for RR. <a href="http://Seculartherapy.org">Seculartherapy.org</a> is an outreach project of RR.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><div style='margin-bottom:.25in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="https://twitter.com/ahadave" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Follow David Niose on Twitter</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:.25in;line-height:19.5pt'><font size=4 face=Arial><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>David Niose's new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nonbeliever-Nation-Rise-Secular-Americans/dp/023033895X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352342389&sr=1-1&keywords=nonbeliever+nation" target="_blank"><font color=black><span style='color:black'>Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans</span></font><span class=element-invisible><font color=black><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'>(link is external)</span></font></span></a>, is available wherever books are sold. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>