Dr John Andersen is an adjunct faculty member at Stirling College, having completed his PhD In Old Testament Theology in 2019. John Andersen is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist with 23 years of clinical experience in private practice. He is the director of Mount Evelyn Counselling Centre.

John did his initial training in organisational psychology. His first career was in strategic business planning, marketing, and finance management. He then did a career change that involved studying marriage and family therapy at Fuller Seminary in California. After graduating, he worked as a marriage and family therapist in Nebraska, USA before returning to Australia to take up a position as Head of the Counselling Department at Tabor College Victoria. He held that position from 2000 – 2005. Since then he has built a successful private practice, while taking further studies in theology.

John’s research interests reflect his commitment to the integration of theology and psychology. This focus is reflected in his MTh thesis on Deficit Identity and Identity Transformation and PhD. in Old Testament Theology examining the dynamics of shame in the Eden Narrative. John is currently undertaking further research in psychological hermeneutics, Old Testament theology with a focus on the relationship of shame to sin, and theological anthropology with respect to integrating the concept of the Imago Dei to contemporary psychological insights into human personhood. He has just contributed a chapter on Honour and Shame in a to be published edited book entitled “The Freedom of Virtue”.

John currently is the President of the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia, the Chair of the Board of Careline Connections, a Christian telephone helpline service, and on the Board of the Asian Christian Counselling Association.

University Appointments

Casual Academic (Australian Lutheran College)
Casual Academic (Australian Lutheran College)

External Affiliations

• Careline Connections Inc. (Board Chair)
• Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (President)