Faculty & Staff

William Schmidt, PhD

About

William ( Bill) Schmidt, PhD is a Professor of the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago. He was the Graduate Program Director at IPS for degrees in both Pastoral Counseling and Spirituality for over ten years. He is certified as a Spiritually-Integrated Psycotherapist with Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. He is the Editor of the Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health (Taylor and Francis/Routledge). His research interests include the interface of Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality. His specific current focus addresses the theme of contemporary Pilgrimage as a resource for personal growth, transformation, and healing.

Degrees

• BA   University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Psychology)
• M.DIV. Sioux Falls, Seminary,  South Dakota
• Th.M. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
  Wake Forest, North Carolina, (Pastoral Counseling)
• Ph.D. Southern Seminary,   Louisville, Kentucky (Psychology of Religion/Pastoral Counseling)

Program Areas

• Pastoral counseling
• Pastoral theology

Research Interests

• Theory and praxis of transformation, with pilgrimage as a specialization
• Expanding theories of research for pastoral praxis

Professional & Community Affiliations

• Editor, Journal of Spirituality In Mental Health, Taylor and Francis, publishers
• Association of Clinical Pastoral Education
• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) Illinois
• Society of American Pilgrims

Courses Taught

• IPS 555 Human Development
• IPS502 Theology of The Developing Person
• IPS 474 Addictions And Methods Of Therapy
• IPS511 Internship Supervision I
• IPS 513 Internship Supervision II
• IPS 507 Pastoral Psychodynamic Assessment And Intervention
• IPS 599 Transformational Pilgrimage

Selected Publications

• Spiritual Formation in Local Faith Communities, Wipf and Stock, 2022
• The Spiritual Horizon of Psychotherapy, Routledge, 2010
• Walking With Stones, Trafford Publishing, 2012
• Spirituality in the First Century: Explorations, Inter-disciplinary Press, 2013
• Nicholson Lectures:  Atlantic School Of Theology, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2015
• “Integral Theory:  A Broadened Epistemology:” American International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Volume 3, No. 1, 2017

Comments from Students:

Professor Schmidt is an outstanding instructor. He is a person of the highest ethical and professional standards. He evidences a high degree of concern for his students, collectively and individually. He is respectful of the students' time and other responsibilities, and makes himself available in person, by email or by personal cellphone. In addition, he is friendly and easily approachable. He is a great instructor!

I love the professor's style of teaching. He also has a listening ear and responds to questions in a very insightful way. The fieldworks and teaching resources are very relevant and extremely helpful to me.

This course gave me some incredibly new insights into treating people with addictions. This is the first time I was exposed to Harm Reduction Therapy in treating addictions and I wish I had this information earlier in my career as an addictions counselor. During the course itself, I found myself in professional situations (dealing with addicts) where I was able to immediately start practicing and implementing what I was learning. The response and results were incredibly positive, beneficial and provided a great deal of healing for the subjects I had engaged. I am still amazed by the results of practicing HRT as an alternative approach to addictions. I found this to be an incredible learning experience. I would take Bill's class again, if I could.

This course help me to see the profound connections between faith development and human development which I did not consider before.

Have found this course extremely helpful in guiding me to work more effectively with my clients.

Bill Schmidt is an excellent professor and educator.  He creates a very positive learning environment.