Paul Pruyser

Who was Paul Pruyser?

Paul W. Pruyser, Ph.D. clinical psychologist at the Menninger Clinic, influenced by James, Freud, Otto, and Winnicott, one of the most famous contributors to the psychological theories of religion. He created the Psychology and Culture model, which discusses the 3 "Worlds" in which we live - The Autistic, The Illusionistic, and The Realistic. In his book The Minister as Diagnostician, Pruyser affirmed the theological expertise and clinical authority of hospital chaplains on interdisciplinary healthcare teams, and presented the following diagnostic variables: awareness of the Holy; providence; faith, understood subjectively; grace or gratefulness; repentance; communion; and vocation.