Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Faculty/School

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

First Advisor

Not applicable

Advisor Role

Not applicable

Abstract

In 1965, at the Park Plaza Hotel in Toronto, at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, two good friends, David Mace, a devout Quaker, and Albert Ellis, an agnostic and sensationalistic exponent of sexual freedom, conducted a dialogue on marriage counselling. Both are well-known marriage counsellors.

They started the dialogue with a statement of their religious views. It is the opinion of the writer of this research essay:

  1. that David Mace and Albert Ellis were right in their implications; viz., that religious views are of such an essential quality that they do underlie not only views on marriage and marriage counselling but all of human functioning.
  2. that among mature professional people, to bring them into the open is far more likely to lead to improvement in human relationships than is an indefinite evasion of them;
  3. that though, undoubtedly, there is weight in the argument that joint activity between those of opposing views may also reduce hostility and promote and identification, it has not heretofore provided adequate in the inter-professional field.

From these opinions has grown the viewpoint that a deeper and more radical approach to openness in professional relationships is indicated, despite the inevitable initial psychic discomfort, and that professional people can discover in themselves the courage to develop such openness; for instance, by beginning in a realm of thoguht obviously requiring a marked degree of courage; namely, religion.

Convocation Year

1969

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