Nathan Carlin

Nathan Steven Carlin (born 1979) is a scholar of medical humanities with interest in psychology of religion.[1][2] He is the Samuel Karff Chair and a professor at the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he directs the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics.[3][4]

Carlin is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Humanities.[5] From 2018 to 2019, he served as chair of the faculty senate of McGovern Medical School. He was awarded the 2025 Health Humanities Visionary Award by the Health Humanities Consortium.[6]

Education

In 2001, Carlin earned his BA in European history from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.[7] Four years later he completed his Master of Divinity Degree at Princeton Theological Seminary,[8] where he focused on studying pastoral theology. From PTS, he went on to earn his MA (2009) and PhD (2010) in psychology of religion from Rice University[5] in Houston, Texas.

He was influenced by Donald Eric Capps, Thomas R. Cole, and Robert Dykstra.[9][10] Carlin has co-authored and co-edited books and articles with these mentors and other colleagues, focusing on psychological and religious matters that arise in clinical contexts.[11]

Scholarly publications

Carlin has published 12 books and many articles. His work falls into five overlapping themes:

  • applying psychoanalytic perspectives on culture and individuals (see The Gift of Sublimation[12] and Religious Mourning[13] below);
  • doing theoretical work in medical humanities, with a focus on religion and medicine (see The Secularization of Medicine[14] below);
  • using theological and psychological resources for cultivating happiness and living a good life (see 100 Years of Happiness[15] and Living in Limbo[16] below);
  • incorporating religious and psychological resources to improve clinical care, writing for an audience of chaplains (see Pastoral Aesthetics[17] and "Reflections for CPE Students in Psychiatric Settings"[18]); and
  • teaching health professions students using experiential material from patients, family members, and health professionals (see Contemporary Physician Authors,[19][20] "The Suffering of Physicians,"[21] "Doctors and Dr. Seuss,"[22] and Medicine, Meaning, and Identity[23] below). The latter category has, in recent years, become the focus of Dr. Carlin's writing, which is currently oriented toward developing core texts for medical humanities (see Teaching Health Humanities[24] and Medical Humanities: An Introduction).[25]

Personal life

Rev. Carlin is married to Keatan King, also a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).[26] Rev. King is Associate Pastor at St. Philip Presbyterian Church and has served as chair of the Board of Trustees of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.[27][28] They have two children.

Bibliography

  • Banner, O., Carlin, N., and Cole, T. (eds.). Teaching Health Humanities. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.[24]
  • Capps, D., & Carlin, N. Living in Limbo: Life in the Midst of Uncertainty. Cascade Books, 2010.[16]
  • Carlin, N., & Capps, D. 100 Years of Happiness: Insights and Findings from the Experts. With Donald Capps. Praeger Press, 2012.[15]
  • Carlin, N., & Capps, D. The Gift of Sublimation: A Psychoanalytic Study of Multiple Masculinities. Cascade Books, 2015.[12]
  • Carlin, N. & de Medeiros, K. (eds.) Journeys of Life: Engaging the Work of Thomas R. Cole. Wipf and Stock, 2024.[29]
  • Carlin, N. Contemporary Physician-Authors: Exploring the Insights of Doctors Who Write. London and New York: Routledge, 2022.[19]
    • Review: Jack Coulehan[20]
  • Carlin N. Doctors and Dr. Seuss: Restoring the Patient's Voice. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2015 - cambridge.org[22]
  • Carlin, N. The meaning of life. Pastoral Psychology, 2016 - Springer[30]
  • Carlin, N. Pastoral Aesthetics: A Theological Perspective on Principlist Bioethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.[17]
    • Special Book Forum in Pastoral Psychology, December 2021[31][32]
    • Review: Gaia De Vecchi[33]
  • Carlin, N. Pathographies of Mental Illness. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022.[34]
  • Carlin, N. Reflections for clinical pastoral education students in psychiatric settings. Journal of religion and health, 2018 - Springer[18]
  • Carlin, N. Religious Mourning: Reversals and Restorations in Contemporary Psychological Portraits of Religious Leaders. Wipf and Stock, 2014.[13]
  • Carlin, N. Secularization of Medicine: Ritual, Salvation, and Prophecy. Oxford University Press, 2025.
  • Cole, T., Carlin, N., & Carson, R. Medical Humanities: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2015.[25]
  • Cole T, Carlin N. The suffering of physicians. The Lancet, 2009[21]
  • Flaitz CM, Carlin N. Living in limbo: Ethics and experience in a conversation about persistent oral lesions. Texas dental journal, 2013 - europepmc.org[35]
  • Lomax JW, Carlin N. Utilizing religious and spiritual material in clinical care: Two cases of religious mourning. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 2016 - psycnet.apa.org[36]
  • Ray, K. & Carlin, N. Medicine, Meaning, and Identity: Essays from Early-Career Physicians. Oxford University Press, 2025[23]

References

  1. ↑ Carlin, Nathan (2024) [October 7, 2024]. "A Personal Introduction". Journal of Medical Humanities. 45 (4). Springer Link: 341–343. doi:10.1007/s10912-024-09902-9. PMID 39373935.
  2. ↑ "Nathan Carlin, Ph.D." McGovern Medical School. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  3. ↑ Clark, Claire. "Nathan Carlin, Pastoral Aesthetics: A Theological Perspective on Principlist Bioethics" (.mp3). New Books in Medicine (Interview). Interview with Nathan Carlin: 47:00.
  4. ↑ "Endowed chair honors Rabbi Samuel Karff, founder of UT-Houston's McGovern Center". Jewish Herald-Voice. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  5. 1 2 De La Garza, Stefan (June 14, 2024). "Dateline Rice for June 14, 2024". Rice News>Current News.
  6. ↑ "Awards - Heath Humanities Consortium". Heath Humanities Consortium. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ Zackal, Pamela Marlowe (June 20, 2024). "From Chance to Transformation". Westminster Magazine. p. 37. Retrieved November 14, 2024 – via Issuu.
  8. ↑ "Westminster Alumnus Published". Westminster College. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  9. ↑ Clark, Claire D. (2021) [January 12, 2021]. "Introduction to a Book Forum on Pastoral Aesthetics: A Theological Perspective on Principlist Bioethics by Nathan Carlin". Pastoral Psychology. 70 (6). Springer Link: 569–74. doi:10.1007/s11089-021-00984-z. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Robert C. Dykstra".
  11. ↑ "OpenAlex". openalex.org. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan; Capps, Donald (2015). The Gift of Sublimation: a Psychoanalytic Study of Multiple Masculinities. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1-4982-0301-2.
  13. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan (2014). Religious Mourning: Reversals and Restorations in Psychological Portraits of Religious Leaders. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1-62032-648-0.
  14. ↑ "SECULARIZATION OF MEDICINE : ritual, salvation, and prophecy | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan; Capps, Donald (2012). 100 Years of Happiness: Insights and Findings from the Experts. Westport: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-0363-5.
  16. 1 2 Capps, Donald; Carlin, Nathan (2010). Living in Limbo: Life in the Midst of Uncertainty. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books. ISBN 978-1-60899-522-6.
  17. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan (2019). Pastoral Aesthetics: A Theological Perspective on Principlist Bioethics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-027014-8.
  18. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan (April 1, 2018). "Reflections for Clinical Pastoral Education Students in Psychiatric Settings". Journal of Religion and Health. 57 (2): 523–537. doi:10.1007/s10943-017-0450-9. ISSN 1573-6571. PMID 28710598.
  19. 1 2 Carlin, Nathan, ed. (2022). Contemporary physician-authors: exploring the insights of doctors who write. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-52880-5.
  20. 1 2 Coulehan, Jack (2022) [January 12, 2022]. "Review of Contemporary Physician-Authors: Exploring the Insights of Doctors Who Write". Journal of Medical Humanities. 43 (4). Springer Link: 663–665. doi:10.1007/s10912-022-09751-4. PMID 36255545.
  21. 1 2 "The suffering of physicians". Retrieved November 11, 2024 – via WorldCat.
  22. 1 2 "Doctors and Dr. Seuss | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  23. 1 2 "Medicine, meaning, and identity : essays from early-career physicians | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
  24. 1 2 Banner O, Carlin N, Cole TR, eds. (2019). Teaching health humanities. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-063689-0.
  25. 1 2 Cole, Thomas R.; Carlin, Nathan; Carson, Ronald A. (2015). Medical humanities: an introduction. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-01562-3.
  26. ↑ "APCE 2021 Featured Speakers". Association of Partners in Christian Education. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  27. ↑ "StPhilipPresbyterianHouston". www.saintphilip.net. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Home". Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  29. ↑ Carlin, Nathan, ed. (2024). Journeys of Life: engaging the work of Thomas R. Cole. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock. ISBN 9798385203642.
  30. ↑ Carlin, Nathan (October 1, 2016). "The Meaning of Life". Pastoral Psychology. 65 (5): 611–630. doi:10.1007/s11089-016-0704-6. ISSN 1573-6679.
  31. ↑ "Pastoral Psychology | Volume 70, issue 6". SpringerLink. 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Pastoral Aesthetics". Reading Religion. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Nathan Carlin: Pastoral aesthetics: a theological perspective on principlist bioethics Oxford University Press, New York, 2019, 216 pp, ISBN 978-0-19-027014-8". Retrieved November 11, 2024 – via WorldCat.
  34. ↑ Carlin, Nathan (2022). Pathographies of Mental Illness. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-00-906486-6.
  35. ↑ Flaitz, Catherine M; Carlin, Nathan (August 1, 2013). "Living in limbo: Ethics and experience in a conversation about persistent oral lesions". Texas Dental Journal. 130 (8): 692–701. ISSN 0040-4284. PMID 24236390.
  36. ↑ "Utilizing religious and spiritual material in clinical care: Two cases of religious mourning". Retrieved November 11, 2024 – via WorldCat.
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