Jean Dalby Clift was an American priest of the
Episcopal Church and a
pastoral counselor in private practice. She was the author of books in the fields of psychology and spirituality. "Dr. Clift has had many roles in her life, including lawyer, spiritual director, pastoral counselor, author, lecturer, workshop presenter, priest, mother, grandmother, and poet." She lectured and gave workshops in the United States, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa on such topics as
pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha ...
, prayer, spiritual growth, journaling,
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
, and the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Three of her five books were co-authored with her husband, the Reverend
Wallace Clift.
Early career and education
Born February 21, 1930, in Texas, Clift received a B.A. (1950) and J.D. (1952) from the
University of Texas at Austin.
She practiced law at
Baker, Botts, Andrews and Parish in Houston, Texas, and in 1954 married another attorney at the firm,
Wallace Clift. After her husband went to
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
, Jean Clift became involved in prayer ministry. In 1964, Jean and Wallace Clift were awarded a joint grant by the Farish Foundation to study the psychology of
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
. At the
C. G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland, she studied for two years with analyst
Marie-Louise von Franz, to whom she dedicated one of her books.
Academic career
Clift applied her psychological training to the study of literature, earning a Ph.D. from the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
in 1978 with the dissertation ''Little Nell and the lost feminine: An archetypal analysis of some projections in Victorian culture''. She co-founded the C. G. Jung Society of Colorado in 1976, and remains a trustee. From 1975 to 1980, Clift was the first non-Catholic to hold the position of Director of the Center for Religious Meaning at Loretto Heights College. She also served as a faculty advisor for Loretto Heights' University Without Walls program for re-entry students, and taught short courses in religious studies and the humanities.
In 1980, she was elected president of the
American Academy of Religion
The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,
serving as a professional and learned society for scholars involv ...
, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Region. After Clift left Loretto Heights in 1980, she continued her involvement with teaching as an adjunct professor of Anglican studies until 2002, first at St. Thomas Seminary and then at the Iliff School of Theology.
In 2000, the Wallace B. and Jean Dalby Clift Scholarship Fund, to provide funds for students enrolled in Iliff's Anglican Studies Program, was endowed by Bette Lanning in recognition of the contributions made by Clift and her husband.
Pastoral counseling and ministry
Clift left Loretto Heights in 1980 to establish a private counseling practice. She joined the
American Association of Pastoral Counselors The American Association of Pastoral Counselors was a professional organization of pastoral counselors from a variety of religious and psychological traditions. In 2019, AAPC consolidated with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) ...
in 1982, and served as its president from 1994 to 1996.
She was ordained a priest in the
Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in 1988. She was a member of the Pastoral Intervention Team for the same diocese, where she was also chair of the Pastoral Counseling Guidelines for Clerical Ethics.
She gave numerous workshops on
pastoral counseling Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha ...
,
dream interpretation
Dream interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to dreams. Although associated with some forms of psychotherapy, there is no reliable evidence that understanding or interpreting dreams has a positive impact on one's mental health.
In m ...
, journaling,
spiritual growth, and
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
. She was Canon Pastor Emeritus of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado and an associate priest at the
Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness.
Publications
Books
* Australia: .
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* Republished 2004 by Wipf & Stock, . Australia: .
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Articles
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Poems and prayers
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Encyclopedia entries
* Clift, Jean Dalby; Clift, Wallace (2012). "Symbols of Transformation in Dreams" in ''Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion''. 2nd ed. (Leeming, D., ed.) Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clift, Jean Dalby
1930 births
2020 deaths
American spiritual writers
American Episcopal clergy
University of Texas School of Law alumni
University of Denver alumni
American religious writers
Women religious writers
Psychology writers
Psychologists of religion
Symbologists
People associated with Baker Botts
People from Naples, Texas