Allen Bergin
Encyclopedia
Allen Bergin is a clinical psychologist
known for his work on psychotherapy
values. His 1980 article on theistic values was ground-breaking in the field and elicited over 1,000 responses and requests for reprints, including luminaries such as Carl Rogers
and Albert Bandura
. Bergin is also noted for his interchanges with probabilistic atheist Albert Ellis.
Bergin was rasied in a family that did not actively attend any religious services. He went to high school in Spokane, Washington
and then began college at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. He then transferred to Reed College
. The school had four Latter-day Saints in its student body that year, one of whom was Bergin's roommate and another one, Marian Shafer, he began dating. The following year Shafer decided to transfer to Brigham Young University
(BYU) and Bergin decided to do the same. Through interactions with BYU professor and Reed alumni Robert K. Thomas
Bergin learned more about the LDS Church and in March 1955 was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Thomas. After this Bergin married Marian Shafer.
Bergin eventually earned a masters degree from BYU and then got a Ph.D. from Stanford University
followed by post-doctoral resarch at the University of Wisconsin under Carl Rogers
. Bergin then became a professor at Columbia University
. While on the Columbia faculty Bergin lived in New Jersey
and served as a bishop and later as a counselor in the Eastern State Mission Presidency. It was also while at Columbia that Bergin co-edited the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change with Sol Garfield.
In 1972 Bergin joined the faculty of BYU in part due to the encoragement of Thomas.
Bergin served as president of the Society for Psychotherapy Resarch in 1974-1975.
Dr. Eric Swedin wrote, "The American Psychological Association awarded him the prestigious Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge award in 1989, citing him as a 'leading expert in psychotherapy research' and for challenging 'psychological orthodoxy to emphasize the importance of values and religion in therapy.'"
Allen Bergin also has a special place in the history of psychologists and researchers who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who traditionally work hard to harmonize scholarship and religion and to reconcile any differences between the truths discovered in science with the truths they believe to be revealed by God.
Allen and Marian Bergin are the parents of nine children, the youngest three of whom are triplets.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
known for his work on psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
values. His 1980 article on theistic values was ground-breaking in the field and elicited over 1,000 responses and requests for reprints, including luminaries such as Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology...
and Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura is a psychologist and the David Starr Jordan Professor Emeritus of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University...
. Bergin is also noted for his interchanges with probabilistic atheist Albert Ellis.
Bergin was rasied in a family that did not actively attend any religious services. He went to high school in Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
and then began college at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. He then transferred to Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
. The school had four Latter-day Saints in its student body that year, one of whom was Bergin's roommate and another one, Marian Shafer, he began dating. The following year Shafer decided to transfer to Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU) and Bergin decided to do the same. Through interactions with BYU professor and Reed alumni Robert K. Thomas
Robert K. Thomas (BYU)
Robert K. Thomas was a professor of English at Brigham Young University as well as the founder of that university's honors program and later the academic vice president of BYU....
Bergin learned more about the LDS Church and in March 1955 was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Thomas. After this Bergin married Marian Shafer.
Bergin eventually earned a masters degree from BYU and then got a Ph.D. from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
followed by post-doctoral resarch at the University of Wisconsin under Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers
Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology...
. Bergin then became a professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. While on the Columbia faculty Bergin lived in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and served as a bishop and later as a counselor in the Eastern State Mission Presidency. It was also while at Columbia that Bergin co-edited the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change with Sol Garfield.
In 1972 Bergin joined the faculty of BYU in part due to the encoragement of Thomas.
Bergin served as president of the Society for Psychotherapy Resarch in 1974-1975.
Dr. Eric Swedin wrote, "The American Psychological Association awarded him the prestigious Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge award in 1989, citing him as a 'leading expert in psychotherapy research' and for challenging 'psychological orthodoxy to emphasize the importance of values and religion in therapy.'"
Allen Bergin also has a special place in the history of psychologists and researchers who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who traditionally work hard to harmonize scholarship and religion and to reconcile any differences between the truths discovered in science with the truths they believe to be revealed by God.
Allen and Marian Bergin are the parents of nine children, the youngest three of whom are triplets.