What About Psychological Testing?

[[ Hi Sister O'Neal, is it necessary to have psychological testing to become a c 603 hermit? If my diocese asks me to undergo such testing can I have my own doctor do it? Who pays for this? Do you work with candidates with or without testing?]]

Thanks for your questions. I think this is also the first time I have been asked these questions here though they do come up occasionally with candidates for c 603 profession. Generally, this requirement is left to the discretion of the diocese and they will consider a lot of things in making this a requirement if they have not already done so. Some dioceses may require such testing of every candidate either before or as a condition for accepting the candidate into a process of mutual discernment and formation. (Please note, acceptance for a period of discernment and formation is not the same as approval for admittance to profession and consecration.) Others require such testing depending on questions or concerns that arise in the beginning stages of getting to know a candidate and determining whether or not this person will be allowed to continue a mutual discernment and formation process. In all cases of which I am aware, the particular diocese has a psychologist or team who does this kind of testing and evaluation for them, and who tests all candidates for ordination, consecrated virginity, and c 603 eremitical life. (Religious communities may use the same psychologist or not, but they are independently responsible for how they approach the matter.)

If you are or have been under psychiatric or psychological care in the past, your diocese may want a report of that as part of your clinician's recommendation; ordinarily, this will not replace the need for testing in dioceses that require testing. If your diocese requires testing on a case-by-case basis, the practitioner's report will be appreciated, but it will not necessarily prevent the diocese from requiring testing if they have concerns. A report could reassure any qualms the diocese may have, but it may also raise them. Dioceses work with professionals they know and who, they believe, understand the vocations to which individuals are petitioning for admittance. Ordinarily, these professionals have a general history of successful evaluations and recommendations of candidates over the years and a relationship of trust has been built up.

You can always ask the diocese if your own caregiver can do the testing (if they are competent in this field), but my understanding is that most practitioners who treat clients or patients do not also do psychometry. Remember that what a diocese is usually asking for is not simply a report on therapy or a general evaluation of the person's mental health (though, again, these may be helpful), but a battery of psychological testing to give the diocese a full picture of the person's psychological make-up. The issue of payment is also up to the diocese; I have heard of dioceses that absorb the cost because they are the one's requiring the testing, but others require the candidate to take care of the cost. 

This Dog May Be a Good Candidate!

If your last question is whether I personally recommend testing in every case, I do not. Testing may preclude individuals who might well have succeeded with solitary eremitical life were they given the chance and sufficient assistance during discernment and (initial) formation. However, I do recommend it to the diocese/diocesan team if concerns or questions come up as to whether the person is capable of living the life and working with diocesan staff in patient, open, relatively flexible, and transparent ways in the initial stages of working with a candidate. Some psychological problems militate against the vows; others are exacerbated in the silence of solitude. And some psychological conditions will not be a problem for any of these concerns so long as the person is adequately followed medically and directed prudently. For these reasons, I personally prefer to work with the person and, if it seems prudent, consult with their own physician or psychologist first; I can also turn to this resource should questions or concerns suggest themselves. Since the work*** I and others do with a candidate tends to occur over a period of years, not months, and since it focuses on the person's growth and how they may negotiate the challenges of that in eremitical solitude, this approach to testing has been effective in most cases and eventuated in strong professions and consecrations.

** candidate is an informal term. Canon 603 does not have formal stages like candidacy/postulancy, novitiate, juniorate, etc. It does tend to require temporary profession at least two to three years before perpetual profession and consecration and a period of discernment where the person writes her own Rule. Because writing a liveable Rule requires experience of living the life, this process lends itself to both discernment and formation.

*** the work involves assisting a candidate to come to a place where they can write a liveable Rule. This involves the person gaining experience of all of the elements making up the canon (c 603), reflection on how God is working in terms of these elements in her life,  and then too, the process of writing a text that is fully liveable. Generally, this process takes anywhere from two to four years.