Dick Cole

professor of psychology

on faculty since 1979

Phone: 708.239.4754
Fax: 708.597.5858
E-mail: dick.cole@trnty.edu

Education

Ph.D., Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1986
M.A., Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1977
B.S., The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina, 1973

Professional and Personal Interests

When Dick Cole graduated from college, he planned to attend seminary with a specialization in counseling. To prepare for further education, he spent six months living on a kibbutz in Israel where he also studied Hebrew.

That experience changed him in unanticipated ways. Upon his return to the U.S., he earned a master’s degree in counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary. After joining Trinity in 1979, he completed work for his Ph.D. and continued his interest in clinical work.

Cole practices psychotherapy on a part-time basis at Chicago Christian Counseling Center. He believes that keeping up with the changes in the professional world is important in helping his students find their way into the counseling profession.

“I see my task as helping the students get a sure foundation, a place to stand, to see and evaluate the world of psychology. I tell my students that God is the author of the psychological domain, and it is our job to know it and take care of it.”

Cole enjoys helping students discover their abilities and seeing them rethink their assumptive framework about the world.

“I believe that God is in control of all of creation. He gives us the privilege of helping Him take care of this creation. My job is to help educate those who will ‘tend the garden.’”

Courses Taught

• Advanced General Psychology
• Basic Helping Skills
• History and Systems of Psychology
• Human Sexuality
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Introduction to Psychology
• Multi-cultural Counseling and Therapy
• Psychology of Religion
• Topics in Psychology

Professional Society Membership

• Evangelical Teachers Training Association
• American Psychological Association

Papers Published and/or Presented

• “A Phenomenological Investigation of the Therapeutic Relationship and Its Implications for Psychotherapy Research.” Submitted for publication (with tentative acceptance) to the Journal of Phenomenological Psychology.
• “A Response to Narramore and Carter,” Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 78-82. 2000.
• “Against the Integration of Psychology and Theology: A Bold Proposal for an Alternative Paradigm,” Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 210-219. 1998.