Senior Isabel Porres represented Newman at a religious conference, presenting the topic of her senior thesis: The Complementary Roles of Confession and Talk Therapy.
Photo by Isabel Porres
The American Academy of Religion’s Regional Conference was held at the University of Denver in the Rocky Mountain-Great Plains area on March 28, 2025. Porres applied in November under the encouragement of her advisor, Dr. Joshua Papsdorf, and was accepted as the only non-Denver University student on a panel with five other undergraduates. Her presentation was among several others given that day, all focused on religious topics.
Porres, a theology major preparing to pursue her MA in counseling, wanted to focus the topic of her thesis on how spirituality and psychology work in tandem.
Isabel Porres
“In order to be healthy, we need to think about and consider both of these aspects–the body and soul,” she said. Her presentation emphasized the importance of spiritual guidance through sacraments like confession, but argued that it is not a substitute for therapy; we need both.
“Most priests are not psychologists, so they don’t know how to counsel in that way,” she said.
Her panel, which Porres had been warned by her advisor probably wouldn’t have a large audience, had an unusually large turnout of around 60 people. She said other conferences that day had, at most, 12 audience members. Despite this, she said it made it less daunting because the setting felt less intimate and more casual.
Her 8-minute presentation was received well by most. Porres’ dad, however, who joined her at the conference, noted audience members who were talking and snickering during her speech. Porres said she didn’t notice it, and that at the end of the panel, she received compliments from other audience members.
“One gentleman came up to me and said, ‘I was really touched by your talk. It was really human. It spoke to the human condition,’” she said.
Porres will finalize her thesis before the end of the Spring semester as she prepares for her graduate studies at Divine Mercy University in Virginia, a school where psychology is taught from a Catholic perspective. Porres hopes to continue bridging the gap between faith and mental health as a Catholic therapist.
“I’m excited to see the final thesis as Isabel wraps it up,” Dr. Papsdorf said. “I hope she’ll continue to share the insights of her work with both Catholics and mental health workers as she moves forward in her studies and career.”
