EVALUATIONS FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD OR RELIGIOUS LIFE

How Can This Process Be Helpful?

When a person feels called to discern a priestly or religious vocation, an important part of this process often requires a psychological evaluation.

The purpose of this evaluation is to screen for potential psychological problems and, much more importantly, to assist the candidate in their discernment process to understand both their strengths and areas for growth in terms of their human formation.

This information can be invaluable in helping the candidate and the religious formators decide whether or not the person is ready to pursue their vocation further now, or what kinds of supports might be needed in order for the person to grow psychologically to pursue whatever vocation God has in store for them. This evaluation can also provide information to formators to guide the candidate’s ongoing formation if the person has already been in formation for a period of time.

Our Approach to Evaluation

At Deeper Roots Psychological Services, we approach this evaluation process fully informed by a Catholic-Christian anthropology, an understanding of Catholic religious culture, and a deep respect for the sacredness of religious life. In addition, we use the best scientifically-supported evaluation tools and practices recommended by the Program of Priestly Formation (PPF) and in conjunction with best practices of Catholic testing experts from the Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA). 

What to Expect

Step 1: Initial Phone Call
The process starts with a free 15-minute phone call with us to determine what information you are looking for and to discuss logistics.

Step 2: Clinical Interview
If we agree to meet for testing, we would then schedule a 1-2 hour interview when we would gather information about your life generally, your symptoms, background history, and specific concerns that you have.

Step 3: Testing
After the interview, the actual testing phase can last anywhere from 3-6 hours. This can be done all in one day or broken up into multiple testing sessions depending on both our scheduling needs. During this time, you would be filling out questionnaires and completing testing tasks with us.

Step 4: Interpretation & Report Writing
After the testing phase is completed, we will work on taking the data we have gathered and compiling it into a report. This process can take up to one month to complete, although we often can complete these reports sooner.

Step 5: Feedback Session
Finally, we would meet for a feedback session when we would share the results of testing with you, give you our best recommendations from your evaluation, and answer any questions you might have.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact us for further information.