Religion and Mental Health
1961 Report for the NIMH project
In the mid 20th century, there was little interplay between theology and psychological research. Only five percent of seminaries in the USA included psychiatry in their curriculum. Herr spearheaded efforts to address this deficiency. Under his direction, a new counselling program for clergy was devised at Loyola in the early 1950s.
A larger interdisciplinary multi-site project was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health beginning in 1956. Its objective was to devise a counselling program for seminarians and clergy based on research in the behavioral sciences. This was a unique project to receive government funding as it was a multi-faith collaboration with the goal of improving the mental health of the nation.
Herr was co-principal investigator with Rabbi Fred Hollander of Yeshiva University, New York and Rev. Hans Hoffman of Harvard University. Herr was tasked with developing a psychology curriculum for Catholic seminarians and priests. Materials were created on the psychodynamics of personality and religious development, family dynamics, personality maladjustment, and interview techniques. By 1959, 740 seminarians and priests had participated in Herr's study. The curriculum and related materials developed at Loyola were adopted by numerous theological schools throughout the country.