About

Faculty, staff, and students from Santa Clara as well as other universities (e.g., Stanford, UC Berkeley, and the Graduate Theological Union) participate in a variety of collaborative research, teaching and outreach projects. The intention behind ASI is to bring creative, thoughtful and rigorous scholarly pursuit to better elucidate the relationship between spirituality and well being.

The Institute started in 2002 as the Spirituality and Health Institute.

 

Santa Clara University Faculty and Staff Participants

Visit the professors' pages below for a brief biography and to learn about their interests.

• Thomas G. Plante, Psychology (Director of ASI)
• Diane Dreher, English (Associate Director of ASI)
• David Feldman, Counseling Psychology
• Aaron Willis, Ignatian Center

Faculty Participants from Other Universities

• Oliver Bochettaz, English
• Doloras Gallegher Thompson, Stanford University
• Doug Oman, University of California at Berkeley
• Susan Phillips, Graduate Theological Union
• Peggy Pizzo, Stanford University and the Graduate Theological Union
• Kathleen Wall, Sophia University
• John Richard White, Alliant University/California School of Professional Psychology
• Jaime Wright, Religious Studies

Recent Books:

Contemplative Practices in Action: Spirituality, Meditation, and Health
Plante, T. G. (Ed.). (2010). Praeger/Greenwood.

Healing with Spiritual Practices: Proven Techniques for Disorders from Addictions and Anxiety to Cancer and Chronic Pain
Plante, T. G. (Ed.).(2018) Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC-CLIO.

Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased: Psychological, Scientific, and Theological Perspectives
Plante, T. G. & Schwartz, G. E. (Eds.). (2021). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.

Living Better with Spiritually Based Strategies that Work: Workbook for Spiritually Informed Therapy (SIT)
Plante, T. G. (2024). San Diego, CA: Cognella.

The Psychology of Compassion and Cruelty: Understanding the Emotional, Spiritual, and Religious Influences
Plante, T. G. (Ed.).(2015). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC-CLIO.

Religion, Spirituality, and Positive Psychology: Understanding the Psychological Fruits of Faith
Plante, T. G. (Ed.). (2012).  Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC-CLIO.

Spirit, Science and Health: How the Spiritual Mind Fuels Physical Wellness
Plante, T. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.) (2007).  Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwood.

Spiritually Informed Therapy (SIT): Wisdom and Evidence Based Strategies that Work
Plante, T. G. (2024). San Diego, CA: Cognella. 

SHI Bibliography

For further information about the Applied Spirituality Institute, please contact Tom Plante at tplante@scu.edu.