Allen Bergin

Allen Bergin

Allen Eric Bergin (born in 1934) is a clinical psychologist known for his research on psychotherapy outcome and on integrating psychotherapy and religion. His 1980 article on theistic values was ground-breaking in the field and elicited over 1,000 responses and requests for reprints, including luminaries such as Carl Rogers and Albert Bandura. Bergin is also noted for his interchanges with probabilistic atheist Albert Ellis.

Bergin was raised in a family that did not actively attend any religious services. He went to high school in Spokane, Washington and then began college at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then transferred to Reed College. The school had four Latter-day Saints in its student body that year, one of whom was Bergin's roommate and another one, Marian Shafer, he began dating. The following year Shafer decided to transfer to Brigham Young University (BYU) and Bergin decided to do the same. Through interactions with BYU professor and Reed alumnus Robert K. Thomas Bergin learned more about the LDS Church and in March 1955 was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Thomas. After this Bergin married Marian Shafer.

Bergin eventually earned a master's degree from BYU and then a Ph.D. from Stanford University under Albert Bandura followed by post-doctoral research at the University of Wisconsin under Carl Rogers. Bergin then became a professor in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. While on the Columbia faculty Bergin lived in New Jersey and served as a bishop and later as a counselor in the Eastern States Mission Presidency. It was also while at Columbia that Bergin co-edited the Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change with Sol Garfield which was named a social science citation classic.

In 1972 Bergin joined the faculty of BYU in part due to the encouragement of Thomas.

Bergin served as president of the Society for Psychotherapy Research in 1974-1975. He also served as president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists in 1980. Bergin received the "Distinguished Professional Contribution to Knowledge Award" from the American Psychological Association in 1989, the "Oskar Pfister Award in Religion and Mental Health" from the American Psychiatric Association in 1998, and the "William James Award in the Psychology of Religion" from Division 36 of the American Psychological Association in 1990. He has acknowledged the significant influence of colleagues who have collaborated with him, particularly, Sol Garfield, Hans Strupp, Michael Lambert, and Scott Richards.

Dr. Eric Swedin wrote, "The American Psychological Association awarded him the prestigious Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge award in 1989, citing him as a 'leading expert in psychotherapy research' and for challenging 'psychological orthodoxy to emphasize the importance of values and religion in therapy.'"

Allen Bergin also has a special place in the history of psychologists and researchers who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who traditionally work hard to harmonize scholarship and religion and to reconcile any differences between the truths discovered in science with the truths they believe to be revealed by God.

Allen and Marian Bergin are the parents of nine children, have seventeen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.