The Privilege of Teaching: Some Lessons Learned From Over 40 Years Mentoring Graduate Students in the Clinical Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

This article describes some of the lessons learned by one faculty mentor to graduate students in the psychology of religion and spirituality over the course of over 40 years of teaching. The first lesson is that we are all students and teachers. By treating ourselves and each other as both teachers and learners, both teachers and students gain. The second lesson is that research in the psychology of religion and spirituality is best done in a team. Each of us comes to this area of study with distinctive histories of affiliation and experience that color our understanding and attitude. Through the collaborative process, however, we can expand our knowledge and experience, challenging and correcting misperceptions and biases along the way. The third lesson is that graduate education is a process of cultivating wholeness. A great deal is expected of graduate students-mastering challenging didactic material, building research skills, developing a clinical orientation, envisioning a career all the while attending to a personal life. The challenge is even greater for those in the psychology of religion and spirituality who must also integrate the spiritual dimension into theory and practice. A central part of the job of educators is to cultivate the soil that allows each student to grow and become a more integrated whole. Through this process, we as educators become enriched and more whole ourselves.