Pamela Cooper-White

Pamela Cooper-White will be the Christiane Brooks Johnson Memorial Chair in Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York beginning July 1, 2015. She was previously the Ben G and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA and Co-Director of the Atlanta Theological Association's ThD program in Pastoral Counseling.^[1] She was also ordained a Priest in the Episcopal Church in 1992 (and previously a Minister in the The United Church of Christ in 1984). The Rev. Dr. Cooper-White was the first theologian ever to hold the title of Fulbright-Freud Visiting Scholar of Psychoanalysis.

Education

She holds two PhD degrees: from Harvard University, and The Institute for Clinical Social Work, Chicago^[2] (a psychoanalytic clinical and research degree); an MA in Pastoral Counseling with distinction from Holy Names University, Oakland, CA; a Master of Divinity degree with honors from Harvard Divinity School; and a Bachelor of Music Magna cum Laude from Boston University where she studied art, voice performance, and music history and education.

Career

Dr. Cooper-White is a certified clinical Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), a National Board Certified Counselor (NBCC), a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois, a member of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR), and a Research Associate of the American Psychoanalytic Association. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Psychology, Culture & Religion Group of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Pastoral Theology. Since 2008 she has been the Ben G and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminaryin Decatur, GA. She has currently accepted to take the position of Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

Scholarship

She is the author of five books and has also published numerous scholarly articles and anthology chapters in pastoral theology - especially in the areas of postmodern, psychoanalytic and feminist theory and ethics in dialogue with both theology and clinical practice. Her recent works have delved into multiplicity of God and persons, intersubjectivity, and the use of the therapist’s self as an instrument for pastoral care (Seelsorge) and psychotherapy. Current research interests include sacred space, architecture, and the psyche; and the study of religious, spiritual, and existential themes in the history of psychoanalysis. She continues to sing professionally, and her photography has been exhibited in a number of solo and group shows and galleries.

Works

Among the various scholarly and professional articles, she has also published four books including:

• Braided Selves: Collected Essays on Multiplicity, God, and Persons (2011)
• Many Voices: Pastoral Psychotherapy and Theology in Relational Perspective (2006)
• Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling (2004)
• The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Women and the Church's Response (1995; 2nd ed. 2012) which won the 1995 Top Ten Books award from the Academy of Parish Clergy.
• Schoenberg and the God-Idea: The Opera ‘Moses und Aron’ (1985)

Awards and recognition

The Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-White is the recipient of a number of awards including:

• The Fulbright Scholar grant to do research and teach a seminar at the Sigmund Freud Foundation and Museum in Vienna, Austria 2013-2014 academic year, the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently. The Rev. Dr. Cooper-White will hold the title of Fulbright-Freud Visiting Scholar of Psychoanalysis and is the first theologian ever to receive this award. Her proposed research project is entitled “Existential, Humanistic, and Religious Themes in the Writings of Freud’s Vienna Circle and the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.”^[3]
• Sapientia et Doctrina Award for service to the church in the world, Fordham University, New York, New York
• Samaritan Spirit Award for “individuals who through their sensitive, empathic and creative service, enhance the lives of individuals, encourage growth in relationships, and promote healthy community,” Samaritan Counseling Center of Philadelphia, presented Oct. 12, 2007.
• National AAPC “Distinguished Achievement in Research and Writing Award,” for "book Shared Wisdom, and scholarly excellence and pastoral praxis, extensive writings and dedication and years of consistent leadership,” presented at the Annual Conference of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, Fort Worth, TX, April 16, 2005.
• Faculty Writing Prize, Spring 2000, Institute for Clinical Social Work, Chicago.
• Episcopal Church Foundation Fellowship for doctoral study, 1995, 1996, 1997.
• Annual Response Award for Practitioner Article, "Peer vs. Clinical Counseling," in Response: to the Victimization of Women and Children 14/1 (January 1991).
• Nomination by The Christian Century for 1991 annual award for best full-length article, National Association of Church Publishers, for article "Soul Stealing."
• VIDA award to Mid-Peninsula Support Network for Battered Women, for “excellence in multi-cultural human services,” United Way of Santa Clara County, 1989.
• Family Violence Project award, to Refugee Women's Program, "for outstanding work in addressing the problem of domestic violence," September, 1985.
• Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, 1982.

References