The Model of the Person
A complete view of the person.
Every Presence+ helper is formed in one account of what a person is, drawn from psychology, philosophy and theology together, so care starts from a person's dignity and strengths, not only a diagnosis. It is also what lets each helper see where their own scope ends and another's begins.
Vitz, Nordling & Titus (eds.), A Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person, Divine Mercy University Press, 2020.
Eleven premises
Created, wounded and redeemed; made with eight capacities and callings
1 · theology
Created
Inherent dignity and goodness, made in God's image
2 · theology
Fallen
Real harm from original, personal and social sin
3 · theology
Redeemed
Healing, meaning and hope through Christ
4 · philosophy
Personal unity
A unity of body and soul, male and female, developing over time
5 · philosophy
Fulfilled through vocation
Called to goodness, to a committed state, and to work and service
6 · philosophy
Fulfilled in virtue
Cardinal, theological and intellectual virtues; character
7 · philosophy
Interpersonally relational
Family, friendship, community, relationship with God
8 · psychology
Sensory, perceptual, cognitive
Senses, memory, imagination, the capacity to evaluate
9 · psychology
Emotional
Emotions as good, regulated, and the ground of emotion-based virtues
10 · psychology
Rational
Intelligence, truth-seeking, kinds of knowledge, beauty
11 · psychology
Volitional and free
Moral responsibility, self-determination, the kinds of love
Why a shared model
One map, so every helper can see their own territory on it
A psychiatrist, a pastor and a coach each carry a partial account of the person. Trained only in that account, each tends to apply it to everything. A shared model gives every helper the same map, with their own scope as one region of it.
That is the practical reason the Model matters for STEP. It is what makes early and honest disclosure of scope natural rather than a disclaimer, and what lets a referral up or down the steps be a handoff between people who understand each other.
The full treatment of the Model, its research program and its formation curricula live with Divine Mercy University, the first university with the Model in its curriculum.
How the Model and the research fit together
The contextual model explains how help works; the Model of the Person explains who the person is and what flourishing means.