Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Ph.D., has been professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1978. He has served as director of training of the
Counseling Psychology program and director of the Marital Assessment, Therapy, and Enrichment (MATE) Center.

He has published well over 100 scientific articles or chapters, has written 13 books and edited three others on forgiveness, on relationships (including marital and family)
enrichment, and religious values in marriage and family therapies. His books published by InterVarsity Press include: When Someone Asks for Help; Marriage Counseling, To Forgive Is Human, and Hope-Focused
Marriage Counseling. Dr. Worthington is the editor of  Marriage and Family, a Christian journal for the American Association of Christian Counselors. He also directs a nonprofit corporation called "A Campaign for Forgiveness Research," to support research on forgiveness.

He frequently speaks to both national and international audiences and has made over 60 presentations nationally or internationally and over 50 presentations regionally within the last three years. He has appeared on CNN and PAX-TV on programs about his research and personal experience in forgiveness. He has also been featured in
People magazine, in USA Today, and quoted in Time
magazine.

Dr. Worthington has been a member of Christ
Presbyterian Church since 1978, where he has served as
elder, as director of Christian Education, as clerk of the
Session, and as a Sunday school teacher.

Symposium Schedule

The symposium is free and open to the public. It will be
presented in three sessions:

Wednesday, January 19

10 a.m. "Integration in the Twenty-first Century"
11 a.m. Response by Sherwood Lingenfelter, Ph.D.

Thursday, January 20

9 a.m. Poster Session
10 a.m. "Unforgiveness, Dispositional Unforgivingness, and
Getting Rid of Unforgiveness"
11 a.m. Response by David Augsburger, Ph.D.

Friday, January 21

10 a.m. "Forgiving and Reconciling"
11 a.m. Discussion

Purpose of the Lectures

The Fuller Symposium on the Integration of Faith and
Psychology was established to encourage the discovery of
new connections between the Christian faith and the
disciplines of psychology. The symposium's three lectures
are presented by an individual who has contributed  notably to the discovery of the connection between the life of faith and the field of psychology, its theories and practice. This symposium is one program in Fuller Theological Seminary's mission to relate evangelical faith to life beyond the church--to academic disciplines, to the marketplace, to public policy, and to the needs of the human family throughout all nations, creeds, and cultures.

Lecture Overviews

Lecture 1 "Integration in the Twenty-first Century"

Dr. Worthington proposes that postmodernism is characterized by pockets of isolated, localized truth. Integration of faith into psychology involves multidisciplinary integration, which is far more extensive integration than ever before. Multidisciplinary integration requires training not only in science and practice, but also in leadership, which necessitates building wisdom in trainees. Wisdom involves knowing how to apply knowledge, which is evermore readily available, in love.

Lecture 2 "Unforgiveness, Dispositional
Unforgiveness, and Getting Rid of Unforgiveness"

Everett Worthington defines unforgiveness as a cold emotional complex and presents a brief model of how unforgiveness develops. He describes dispositional unforgivingness as a relatively stable proclivity to respond
to a perceived hurt or offense with unforgiveness. People do not usually like to feel unforgiving, so they try to get rid of it. They can successfully get rid of unforgiveness in over 20 ways--many of which are consistent with Christian
scripture. Some empirical studies of unforgivingness as a disposition and the personality characteristics it is related
to will be presented.

Lecture 3 "Forgiving and Reconciling"

In this lecture, Dr. Worthington explains that forgiveness can occur when the transgressor is absent or present and
that different methods are needed in each case. He examines the effectiveness of studies to promote forgiveness of an absent person and then shows that applying the same methods are not as effective when both
partners are present. He also discusses ways to promote forgiveness and reconciliation when both partners are present.

Registration

Friday Schedule for Mental Health Professionals

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Registration for CE credit
8:30 - 9:10 a.m. Integration in the Twenty-first Century 

Everett Worthington, Jr., Ph.D.
9:10 - 10:00 a.m.
Unforgiveness, Dispositional Unforgivingness,
and Getting Rid of Unforgiveness

Everett Worthington, Jr., Ph.D.
10:00 - 12 noon
Forgiving and Reconciling [see description]
Everett Worthington, Jr., Ph.D.
12 noon Alumni/ae Lunch

Payton Hall, Room 101
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Response by Randall Sorenson, Ph.D., Rosemead
School of Psychology
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Infecting Culture with the Virus of Forgiveness

Everett Worthington, Jr., Ph.D.
3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion with audience participation