Eric Johnson

Eric L. Johnson is an American psychologist, academic, and pastoral counselor known for his contributions to the development of a distinctly Christian version of psychological science and psychotherapy. He is the founding director of the Society for Christian Psychology and currently serves as the Director of Training at the Christian Psychology Institute.

Education and career Johnson earned his PhD from Michigan State University. His academic career includes ten years teaching psychology and worldview studies at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul. He retired from SBTS in 2017 and was subsequently named Senior Research Professor. In May 2024, he retired from HCU to focus on the national expansion of the Christian Psychology Institute. He argues that while empirical research in modern psychology provides valuable data, it requires reinterpretation through a theological lens because it is often based on secularist and naturalist worldviews.

At the Christian Psychology Institute, his training programs focus on "Christ-centered therapy," which draws primarily from the Christian spiritual direction tradition and inner healing prayer, and is informed by classical Reformational theology and philosophy as well as modern psychology and psychotherapy.

Articles and chapters