[kimthecatlover]

I am a Christian, and I notice that some people in the mental-health field don't really know how to deal with it..some think it's 'religiousity' or something like that..they tend to think of my faith as not really playing a part in my treatment and recovery...Why do some psychiatrists and counselors and caseworkers think like that? Just curious to know why.

[Ryan]

Well, my best guess would be that the ones who frown upon it are the ones who don't share in your beliefs. Being a Christian myself, I would think that the church would offer you a place to go for support and love and community, things in my opinion (and I'm no doctor) that are essential to recovery, and would be a very important part of your therapy. To be honest, I can't see why anyone would think that someone practicing any particular faith would not be important to healing.

Ry

[jennie]

patients that have an obsession and/or compulsion with "extreme" religiosity typically have highly judgmental and rigid thinking patterns.

NOTE: not all persons of faith are "extremely religious"

so where does the confusion take place?

there is a debate in substance abuse counseling in defining the words "religious" and "spiritual." for some counselors, they view all religious persons not so spiritual and that being "spiritual" is the means of obtaining self-actualization, and like idealized "whole-self" constructs.

for some people (even counselors), just the mere word "Christianity" is a trigger word for them. there are so many definitions of being a Christian. your definition may not be the same definition as the counselor's.

i would disagree with anyone saying to you that your faith has nothing to do with your treatment and recovery. are they not supposed to be treating the "whole-person?" if your treatment team is only concerned with one area of your life, i would as for referrals to professionals who specialize in other areas, too (example: dietician, chaplains, social workers, physicians, family therapists, etc.).

[Lexicon78]

I have run into this sort of thing myself, although I'm not Christian. I am Wiccan and they still believe it's devil worship and all that....it's not that at all. I don't think that anyone's faith should be an issue as long as it's not damaging to the person (see Jennie's post). Being close minded really is harmful to the person. I am a very open person and do not see anything wrong with believing in God or in my case, a Goddess.

[Estee1]

i am a christian and i have been lucky to find drs and mental health workers who respect my faith and encourage me to keep going with my faith. so that's really good. I wouldn't see the people if they weren't going to respect my faith. i would find someone who did respect my beleifs.

[dexter]

I also find that surprizing and disturbing. In many of my group therapy sessions we focus on how we feel spiritually, as an important aspect of our recovery.

In my groups, the talk about spirituality is very open ended. One can get into trouble talking about specific religions, people can get uncomfortable and misunderstand suggestions. I myself was raised Jewish but I don't practice, yet I find a very strong sense of non-religious spirituality very important to my life.

In my sessions we talk about spirituality as open to interpretation but DO NOT downplay those in the group who define it in terms of a specific religion. People talk about returning to church as helpful to relieving their depression and sense of connection to something larger. The therapists make sure that the discussion doesn't become one of suggesting to others that they must do the same, but also to have respect for one anothers beliefs as a healing aid, and confirmation that it does play an important role for people, religious or not.

[Lou_Pilder]

kimthecatlover,
You wrote,[...why do some...think like that...?] (your faith not playing a part in your recovery).
I would like to offer support to you about that and answer that question.
The answer that I could give to you to your question goes back over 2000 years.
Lou

[Perzephone]

I felt very hesitant to mention my spiritual life to the psychologist I went to go see... mainly because many aspects of my faith can also be considered symptoms of schizophrenia... 'magical thinking', 'sympathetic magic' meaning that a person believes something they do can have an affect on something distanced from them, 'hallucinations' - seeing things or visualizations while meditating.

[Lou_Pilder]

Perzephone,
You wrote,[..felt very hesitant...can also be considered symptoms...'hallucinations'...].
I would like to offer you support as to what you have posted here . Could you post what kind of experiance you referring to so that I can offer support diectly to that?
Lou

[SeptemberMorn]

Perzi, do these "hallucinations" and stuff... can you make them happen on purpose to "practice" your faith?? You'd think psychiatrists would understand this.

I am a christian too and do not really share my faith with T's..I dont consider myself religious, but have a very spiritual part of me..without that part of me I prob wouldnt be here..in therapy spirituality was never brought up, not sure why, but it wasn't..I was hesitant to share some things like having trust in answered prayer because that could come across as me being in denial...so I pretty much kept it to myself...not sure if that was a good thing..

[lenjan]

There are specifically "Christian" counselors, they advertise in the Yellow Pages and everything. Maybe you would be happier with one of them. I would be appalled if my T tried to bring anything resembling religion into our sessions, but obviously that's just one of many opinions.

[Perzephone]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
SeptemberMorn said:
Perzi, do these "hallucinations" and stuff... can you make them happen on purpose to "practice" your faith?? You'd think psychiatrists would understand this.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

I never 'trust' people in medical professions enough to tell them, 'Yeah, I believe that sometimes, in the right set of circumstances, I can tell the future... and spiritual entities talk through me'. There are some people that I'm ok having think of me as a whack-job (wow - that was an awkward sentence...) and then there are others that I would never, ever tell that I even have faith or spiritual beliefs.