Trust Counts

Trust Counts
...Community in Dialogue
Who We Are
Austin J. Joyce, DMin, MFT*
Chaplain

I was born into a military family. My father served in the Navy as a corpsman beginning in WW II and ending active duty during the Viet Nam War. I spent the early part of my childhood living on various military bases in Honolulu, HI (my birthplace); Guantanamo, Cuba; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia, PA. From age 6 on, we resided in Philadelphia, a city and culture where the complexities of military and civilian life continually intersected and had a formative impact on what would become for me a quest for fairness, trustworthiness and self disclosure. Knowing and being known became the “drivers” in my relational quest.
My post high school educational journey began with earning a B.S. in business from St. Joseph’s College (My father had said to me, “If you’re going to go to
I was born into a military family. My father served in the Navy as a corpsman beginning in WW II and ending active duty during the Viet Nam War. I spent the early part of my childhood living on various military bases in Honolulu, HI (my birthplace); Guantanamo, Cuba; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia, PA. From age 6 on, we resided in Philadelphia, a city and culture where the complexities of military and civilian life continually intersected and had a formative impact on what would become for me a quest for fairness, trustworthiness and self disclosure. Knowing and being known became the “drivers” in my relational quest.
My post high school educational journey began with earning a B.S. in business from St. Joseph’s College (My father had said to me, “If you’re going to go to college, get a business degree, you’ll always be able to get a job.”). After a mystical encounter, I obtained an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (I thought, ”Maybe they will have answers to my ‘divine madness’.”); and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) with a focus on family therapy from Colgate Rochester Divinity School (“ Now I can fix my family.”) . Then I obtained certification as a Chaplain (“If I can’t fix my family maybe I can fix someone else.”) and credentials as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Recently I was certified as an Equine Assisted Psychotherapist and now combine private practice in family therapy, work as an Equine Assisted Psychotherapist and chaplaincy at a VA hospital.
* Deceased: Yet still with us in spirit, memory, influence and through his stories and writings.
Publications:
● “Ethical Imagination: Repairing the breach”, in Martin Buber and the Human Sciences, co-authored
with Barbara R. Krasner, Ph.D., Brunner/Mazel, 1996.
● Truth, Trust and Relationships: Healing Interventions in Contextual Therapy, co-authored with
Barbara R. Krasner, Ph.D., Brunner/Mazel, 1995.
● “The Decalogue: A context for growth”, Journal of Christian Healing, April 1995.
● “Truth and Trust in a Medical Setting”, Journal of Christian Healing, Spring, 1994.
● “Between Truth and Trust: Elements of direct address”, in Family Therapy: Christian Perspectives, co-authored with Barbara R.
Krasner, Ph.D., edited by H. VandeKemp, Baker Books, 1991.
● “Male Invisibility”, Journal of Christian Healing, Fall, 1990.