CPA Guidelines for Best Practices in Seminary and Religious Assessment

The psychological evaluation of discerners of religious and priestly vocations is an important component of the admissions process to determine suitability and risk, and to ensure that representatives of religious organizations are capable of the demands of priestly ministry or religious life. It is the authors’ opinion that these assessments should be conducted by competent psychologists or counselors with expertise in both psychology and theology. As members of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA) Seminary Psychology and Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG), we have collaborated to outline baseline and aspirational guidelines for clinicians who wish to provide psychological evaluations for discerners of religious and priestly vocations. These guidelines are meant to provide an overview of best practices. They outline important aspects of confidentiality, referral-specific considerations, selecting appropriate test measures and procedures, writing comprehensive reports, and providing meaningful recommendations and feedback.