Combining psychology and religion released an

awesome muse within Dr. Tommy Davis. He shares that powerful voice in a new album titled &uot;You Are Still Loved.&uot;

From smooth soul to rocking Southern gospel to evocative narrative, the music and oratory

deliver messages Davis learned growing up in Natchez and then in his studies that culminated in a doctorate in psychology.

From age 5, Davis sang in churches along with his mother, the late Rosine Davis. And he listened to the words preached in sermons by men he hoped to emulate one day.

&uot;I was very involved in the religious community and at an early age,&uot; Davis said, taking time from a visit in Natchez with his father, Tommy Davis Jr., whom he describes as &uot;one of the most consistently committed people I know, an exceptional role model.&uot;

His religious upbringing was intense, he said. &uot;Most of my life I wanted to be a minister. Then in the 12th grade I did a high school term paper on Freudian psychoanalytical theory, and I said, ‘this guy has some answers.’&uot; He was 16 at the time and knew he would pursue psychology.

Davis, now a resident of Philadelphia, Pa., said he understood the struggles that may arise between psychology and religion. His mission, however, was to bring them together. The recently released CD is the culmination of that ambition.

&uot;Psychology helps people to deal with challenges and reach their goals,&uot; he said. &uot;Through everything I’ve done, the common thread has been my religious upbringing.&uot;

His career has taken him to the college classroom, the inner cities of New York and Philadelphia, juvenile justice and health centers and to the written word, as he has written for books and journals on resiliency and families.

Today, he is director of an assessment and evaluation center of a community health agency that focuses on the urban population.

A 1976 graduate of North Natchez High School, Davis earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology from Northeast Louisiana University, now Louisiana State University at Monroe. After completing two more master’s degrees along the way, he completed his Ph.D. in analytical psychology at City University of New York in 1997.

&uot;I have seen hundreds of families struggling,&uot; Davis said, describing his work in Harlem, the South Bronx and Philadelphia’s inner city. &uot;I’ve seen depression, problems with children and finances, so many people who had problems to overcome.&uot;

The idea for his album came to him five years ago. Calling upon talents of many friends and colleagues in Philadelphia, he began to make plans &045; and to create songs and narratives that carry out his theme, &uot;You Are Still Loved.&uot;

&uot;Here is something to help people grow, to inspire them to develop their gifts,&uot; Davis said. &uot;We all have gifts. I like to call them blind gifts that we have to identify and then be courageous enough to express them in their fullest.&uot;

The lyrics of each song have a message. &uot;The title song says that it doesn’t matter who you are or what your situation, you are still loved and you have it in you to achieve what God has planned for you,&uot; he said.

He dedicated the album to his parents. One song, &uot;I Want To See You Again,&uot; is especially for his mother, he said, recalling that the loss of his mother was a challenge for him and helped to shape his ideas about helping others in grief.

&uot;People wonder whether you should talk about pain and suffering,&uot; he said, adding that,

indeed, people should share.

&uot; Experiences of loss and pain are something we have in common with everyone else. We have to keep pressing on to realize our goals,&uot; he said.

The 18 tracks on the CD include seven that are his spoken word. &uot;I talk about how to deal with negative thoughts and how we sometimes get in our own way, about the power of relationships and how God is manifested in those relationships and about how not to give up. I talk about strategies of how to press forward.&uot;

Familiar music includes a lively &uot;Down By The Riverside&uot; and the moving &uot;What A Friend We Have in Jesus.&uot; Most of the other songs are original, written by Davis.

The album is available in Natchez at Cover to Cover Books and More, 401 Main St., Inspirational Bookstore, 18 Kelly Ave., and Turning Pages Books and More, 208 Washington St.