This workshop introduces clinicians to the concept of eucontamination, a psychoanalytic-theological framework for rethinking disgust, shame, and transformation. Developed by Paul and Billie Hoard in their book Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life (Cascade, 2025), the theory situates disgust not only as a biological reflex but also as a powerful psychic and theological category that shapes identity, morality, and relationality. Through dialogue with the authors and a clinical case presentation by Angela Allen-Peck, participants will learn how Lacanian psychoanalysis reframes disgust as structurally linked to desire, lack, and the dynamics of the unconscious. The session emphasizes clinical application: how therapists can recognize the role of disgust and shame in patient narratives, how defensive idealizations function in Christian contexts, and how a posture of “eucontamination” can foster greater freedom and capacity for relational repair. Participants will engage theoretical reflection and clinical discussion, leaving with practical insights for treating clients who struggle with shame, religious trauma, and the demand for perfection.
Level of instruction
Intermediate. Suitable for clinicians with some background in psychodynamic/psychoanalytic thought.
Accessible to those newer to Lacanian concepts, but assumes familiarity with clinical practice.
Paul Hoard, PhD, LMHC, is a licensed counselor, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and associate professor of counseling psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He holds a PhD in counselor education and supervision from Regent University and a certificate in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the Greater Kansas City and Topeka Psychoanalytic Institute. He has also taught on Lacanian psychoanalytic therapy for the Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study. His scholarship focuses on Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, sexuality, white-body supremacy, perpetration-induced traumatic stress, and the theology of disgust. He has spoken and published internationally on topics including purity culture, trauma, eucontamination, play, and the intersections of theology and psychoanalysis. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Hoard maintains a private counseling practice and provides clinical supervision and consultation. He is the co-author, with his sister.
Billie Hoard, of the book Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life. Billie Hoard is a trans woman, a high school history teacher, an author, and something of an Anabaptist radical. A consummate generalist, she holds an MA in liberal arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and she writes on topics ranging from fairy tales and C. S. Lewis to theology and philosophy. She and her brother, Paul Hoard, are the authors of Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Analyze the role of disgust and shame in clinical presentations, especially within Christian cultural contexts.
2. Explain how Lacanian psychoanalysis conceptualizes disgust, lack, and desire, and apply these concepts to patient dynamics.
3. Utilize the framework of eucontamination to inform clinical interventions that foster resilience, freedom, and relational repair in patients struggling with religious trauma or perfectionistic defenses.
Conflict of interest statement
The presenters affirm that there are no conflicts of interest or commercial sponsorships influencing the content of this workshop. The material presented is based on original scholarship and clinical experience. Their only financial interest is as authors of Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life (Cascade Books, 2025), which will be referenced in the workshop content.
References:
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● Boothby, R. (2022). Embracing the void: Rethinking the origin of the sacred. Northwestern
University Press.
● Brenner, L. S. (2025). From death to love: The transformative event in Paul’s Christian discourse.
In M. Reshe & T. McGowan (Eds.), Death and love: Psychoanalytic and philosophical
perspectives (pp. xx–xx). Routledge.
● DeLay, T. (2019). Against: What does the evangelical want? Cascade Books.
● Hoard, P., & Hoard, B. (2025). Eucontamination: Disgust theology and the Christian life.
Cascade Books.
● Hoard, P., & Bland, E. D. (2023). “How am I responsible?”: Evangelical white rage and moral
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anthropology in dialogue. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003282351
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