Psychologist and Researcher Mark A. Yarhouse to join Wheaton College as Rech Chair in Psychology


November 26, 2018

Mark Yarhouse headshot Wheaton College announced today that psychologist and researcher Mark A. Yarhouse, Psy.D. will join the College’s School of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy as the Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Chair in Psychology. Yarhouse will begin his appointment in July 2019.

Yarhouse currently serves as the Rosemarie S. Hughes Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychology at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he has been a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology since 1998. The appointment will be a homecoming for Yarhouse, who was in Wheaton College’s first graduating Psy.D. cohort in 1998.

“I cannot overstate how pleased we are that Mark Yarhouse is joining the Wheaton faculty,” said Wheaton College Provost Margaret Diddams. “Mark is a renowned psychologist and researcher, and we are delighted to welcome him back.”  

Yarhouse’s primary scholarly contributions have been in the areas of integration and the study of sexual and gender identity and faith. Yarhouse was named Senior Fellow with the CCCU to conduct a study of students navigating sexual identity and faith at Christian colleges and universities. He was invited to write the featured white paper on sexual identity for the Christ on Campus Initiative edited by Don Carson for The Gospel Coalition. Yarhouse has also been a consultant to the National Institute of Corrections on issues related to LGBTQ persons and provided input to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as part of a consensus panel from the APA.

He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is author or co-author of several books, including Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender Issues in a Changing Culture.

Yarhouse is an alumnus of Calvin College (B.A., Philosophy and Art, '90) and Wheaton College (M.A., Theological Studies, '97 and the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, '98). Yarhouse was in the first graduating cohort of Wheaton College’s Psy.D. program.

“Wheaton College is a unique community committed to developing the whole student through scholarship, spiritual development, and professional training in the graduate school,” Yarhouse said. “It is a privilege to accept this opportunity to serve students as they seek to fulfill their educational goals and vocational assignment.”

The Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech Chair in Psychology was established in 1984 by Dr. and Mrs. Rech, both alumni of Wheaton College, to advance the integration of psychological theory and practice with Christian theology. As a senior scholar and clinician, the Rech Chair provides important leadership for the School of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy through active pursuit of integration scholarship that influences Wheaton students, faculty, the discipline of psychology itself, and those in positions of church and Christian leadership. The Rech Chair also holds a core faculty appointment in the School’s APA accredited Psy.D. program. Dr. Yarhouse follows Stanton Jones, Mark McMinn, and Jamie Aten as the fourth scholar to hold this endowed chair position.