The “Psychology Serving Marriage and Family Ministry” seminar will take place from May 2-5, 2011.

Thornwood, NY, February 22, 2011 – Sacerdos Institute is sponsoring an upcoming seminar for those involved in marriage and family ministry and in forming those who perform this ministry.

Sacerdos is a Mission Network program seeking to support priests in their role as servants and spiritual leaders and servants of communion in the heart of the Church.

“The event is designed for diocesan and religious priests, deacons, seminarians and consecrated men and women, especially those involved in seminary formation, counseling and marriage and family ministry,” said Sacerdos Director Fr. Alex Yeung LC.

The “Psychology Serving Marriage and Family Ministry” seminar will take place at the Thornwood Conference Center, 582 Columbus Ave., Thornwood, NY, on Monday, May 2, 2011 starting at 6:30 pm and ending on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 9:00 am.

The speakers at the event will be from the Institute for Psychological Sciences in Arlington, Virginia and the Institute for Marital Healing in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.  IPS is a Catholic graduate school of psychology offering a curriculum that integrates the science of psychology with insights about the human person from theology and philosophy. The mission of the Institute for Marital Healing is to strengthen Catholic marriages and families by educating spouses, marital therapists and clergy about common causes of conflicts in marital self-giving and effective approaches to alleviating such conflicts.

"We´re excited about the quality of presenters at this year´s seminar” said Fr. Alex. “The Catholic psychological model of the human person developed by the IPS faculty finds practical applications in so many pastoral areas we priests are grappling with today. The unique contribution by the experts at the Institute for Marital Healing will not only expand our horizons, but will give hope in helping the wounded people who come to us seeking counsel.”

Speakers and their topics will be:

• Gladys Sweeney, M Ed, PhD, IPS Founder and Academic Dean, “Healthy Families: The Key to Affective Maturity” and “Losing a Child to Suicide: Trusting in God’s Mercy.”

• Paul Vitz, PhD, IPS Professor and Senior Scholar, “Psychology of Hatred and Forgiveness.”

• Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD, Director, Institute for Marital Healing, “Divorce Prevention,” and “Priestly Ministry to Depressed and Anxious Spouses.”

• Peter Kleponis, PhD, Assistant Director, Institute for Marital Healing, “Addressing the Pornography Plague in Catholic Families,” and “Priestly Ministry to those with Same-Sex Attractions.”

• Alex Ross, PhD, IPS Professor and Dean of Students, “Social Psychology Grounded on a Catholic Anthropology: A Tool for Ministry.”

• Joanna Marino, PhD, IPS Assistant Professor, “Catholic Conceptualization and Treatment of Eating Disorders: What a Priest Should Know.”

For more information contact Fr. Alex Yeung at 914-749-3949 or toll free at 877-SACERDOS or at ny@legionaries.org.