Emily Dowdell, PsyD
Emily Dowdell is a licensed psychologist practicing in Cincinnati, OH.
I founded this nonprofit with a simple but compelling conviction: the Church deserves excellence in psychological assessment. Over the years, I have worked with various diocese and religious communities and have seen how high quality evaluations can support healthier vocations and stronger formation programs. At the same time, I have seen how uneven access to competent evaluators has left many dioceses and religious communities without the support they need. That tension—between a growing need and limited resources—sparked my desire to act.
We are still growing, and we are grateful for the collaboration, expertise, and prayer that sustain us. Our hope is that, together, we can elevate the practice of psychological assessment in the Church—ensuring it remains compassionate, faithful, and grounded in excellence for generations to come.
Mission & Vision
To advance high-quality psychological assessment that is faithful to Catholic anthropology and make it accessible to religious orders and diocese across the nation. Promoting excellence means more than offering evaluations ourselves. It means building tools, training, and infrastructure that can raise the standard across the field.
Grounded in Truth.
We are committed to scientific research, using the tools of the psychological sciences to understand the current landscape of how psychology fits with formation. Our goal is to form evaluators who can integrate clinical best practices with a deep sensitivity to vocational contexts and to help admissions teams and formators interpret and apply the valuable assets they can gain from a well-done evaluation.
Informed by Science.
We are working toward establishing industry standards for the assessment process and normative data that reflects the populations we serve. Reliable benchmarks are essential for accurate interpretation, yet Catholic applicants and religious communities often fall outside existing datasets. By building stronger norms and consistent procedures, we aim to improve the validity and clarity of evaluations across the board.
Guided by Wisdom.
We are committed to supporting diocese and religious communities through our evaluation services. Many dioceses and communities—especially those in rural or economically challenged regions—struggle to access competent assessors. Our future vetted directory will connect communities with local evaluators. We also offer remote evaluations and hope to develop a fund to subsidize cost so that no community is left without access to high quality evaluations.
Support Our Mission
Invest in Excellence in the Psychological Assessment of Seminary & Religious Discerners