The Spiritual First Responders Project

Spiritual meaning-making and mental healthcare for the spiritually homeless and deconstructing

Are you experiencing faith deconstruction?

You are not alone. There are so many people across the religious and political spectrum who don’t know what religious space to call home anymore. Many of us still have deep spiritual desires, but nowhere to express or explore these desires, leaving us spiritually frustrated. Many of us also want to prioritize our own mental health in our spiritual process, but may not have access to spiritually-sensitive therapists for those experiencing faith deconstruction.

We want to meet this need.

Through a 2-year project beginning in 2024, a team of 2 theologians, 5 psychologists, and 20 clinical mental health counselors will be expanding a public impact study of the effectiveness of spiritual practices fused with mental healthcare in group settings for the spiritual flourishing of those experiencing deconstruction.

Let us help you reconstruct something new and beautiful. There is no minimal belief requirement to join the ride.

We do not expect you to become more or less religious in the process. We just want to help you find mentally-healthy spiritual fulfillment. Whatever it looks like. You belong here and you can flourish.

This project is funded by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The project is being run out of Richmont Graduate University.

The Project Leader is Preston Hill (theologian) and Project Personnel include Mary Plisco, Amanda Blackburn, Donnie Davis, Aaron McLaughlin, Daryl van Tongeren (clinical and research psychologists) and John Swinton (theologian).