Origins of the Journal of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association: Integratus

Abstract

A MISSION WITHIN A MISSION As the inaugural issue of Integratus: The Journal of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association is published, we celebrate the actualization of one of the dreams of the founding members of our organization. The Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA) grew out of a small group of professionals in the Atlanta, Georgia, area who began meeting to support each other in the ethical integration of the Catholic faith in clinical practice. This original group gained recognition as a Catholic organization by Archbishop John Francis Donohue in 2002. Upon joining together with others across the United States, the first meeting of the professional organization that we now know as the CPA occurred in 2007. At that time, the eventual publication of a scholarly journal was high on the list of dreams of how the organization may one day bloom. To our knowledge, Integratus is the first journal to integrate Catholic theology and anthropology with the mental health sciences and fills a gap in the respective spheres of professional and theological scholarship.