{"id":238311,"date":"2016-04-18T13:57:27","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T18:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=238311"},"modified":"2016-04-18T18:45:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-18T23:45:14","slug":"healing-path-catholic-psychotherapy-quick-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/healing-path-catholic-psychotherapy-quick-takes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy – Quick takes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mary<\/a><\/p>\n

These are my take-a-ways from the annual Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference, The Face of Mercy: The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy,\u00a0<\/em><\/a>which happened in Austin this past weekend. I’d like to distill a bit of the core message I experienced, and at the end, I’ll also\u00a0share\u00a0a few of the great\u00a0resources we were given (Disclaimer – these are just the initial, broad brushstrokes of my impressions, I lack more reflection and serious study to distill all the good information that was presented).<\/p>\n

\"Sue<\/a>

Sue Baars, President of CPA, gives the welcome, and connects the theme of the Year of Mercy<\/p><\/div>\n

What makes the difference between a Catholic psychotherapist, and a non-Catholic or secular psychotherapist?<\/em> I’ll offer two ideas, two threads that appeared throughout the conference. The first thread I noted that was woven through the myriad of presenters,\u00a0theories and psychological issues was this: the Pascal Mystery. As Catholic psychotherapists, our central understanding of the human person cannot be separated from the Pascal Mystery – the death and resurrection of Christ.\u00a0<\/strong>Why should that make a difference to the way we practice, or to the way we relate with our clients? One presenter, Allison Ricciardi\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0put it this way: we face suffering by keeping our eyes on the joy to come. She quoted this passage from Hebrews:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,<\/span> fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,<\/strong> despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2<\/a>)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"CPA<\/a>

I think the CPA logo illustrates this Pascal Mystery well – A white flowers blossoms from Christ’s crown of thorns<\/p><\/div>\n

Christ endured the cross for the joy set before Him,\u00a0<\/em>that is, He endured suffering out of an incredible abandonment to the divine Love of God, knowing that His good Father would bring new life and joy out of the pain and suffering. And if as therapists, we too allow ourselves to be caught up into that Pascal Mystery in our own suffering, we will slowly grow the spiritual muscle (which is more, I think, about the strength to abandon oneself to God), that will enable us to speak with the authority of hope and peace to people in the midst of suffering. Since Christ came, the human person is no longer confronted with meaningless suffering – or rather, all suffering that is senseless can be transformed in Christ, that we may have the strength and endurance to let ourselves be transformed by the suffering.<\/p>\n

This means for me that we can also approach with deep reverence and respect the suffering of the other – we do not need to anxiously attempt to mitigate all symptoms, but rather lend a calm and warm presence, where, connected to the other, we can open the space for the other to interpret, understand and make use of the painful moments in life towards his\/her own life aspirations and values.<\/p>\n

This may seem like a lofty call for us as therapists, but it’s really the same call Christ gives to every Christian, each in his\/her own measure – come, take up your cross, and follow me – not just into the grave of dying to self, but into the glory of My resurrection.<\/p>\n

I was really struck by Fr Paul Check’s<\/a>\u00a0living example of this. When a woman in the conference asked a very tender and personal question of suffering during a Q & A session, Fr Paul responded with deep compassion and peace. He was not anxious, he was clear, and you could\u00a0sense the warmth in his voice. In response to her vulnerable question, he gently offered her the Pascal Mystery, and in this he offered her strength, hope and compassion, while at the same time respecting her own free will choice to take up her cross, to take up her part in the Mystery. I think he lived out a small, beautiful example for all of us there.<\/p>\n

When we hold this inner experience of the human person in the Pascal Mystery, we can also keep our eyes fixed on the joy of the prize – a transformed and healing human person. Another quote that was used by several presenters all through the weekend was from St Iraneus:<\/p>\n

“The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” St Iraneus<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Jennifer<\/a>

Jennifer Madere, local Catholic therapist, presents on trauma and faith<\/p><\/div>\n

That’s what we’re going for- fully alive! Transformed, transforming, growing.<\/em>\u00a0As Jennifer Madere<\/a> said, we are called as therapists to remove the obstacles to growth, to help heal the psychological foundation of the human person, so that from solid foundations, a greater life in Christ may flourish. \u00a0Our goal is not a symptom free life of indulgence, according to the pleasure principle that “feeling good” is the ultimate meaning of human existence, and the relativistic approach of “anything goes”. We’re going for\u00a0a human person fully alive – to walk with others in such a way that they may grow to better walk their own calling before God as His child, reaching towards the fullness of their life missions, whatever that may be – in pleasure, joy and pain – through desolations and consolations, in the midst of complex and transforming human relationships. It is to walk\u00a0with them as they embrace the Pascal Mystery in their lives. And that full life, that transformed life, gives great GLORY to God.
\n\"CPA<\/a>The\u00a0second thread showing the\u00a0difference it makes to be a Catholic psychotherapist, was woven through the conference in a \u00a0much more subtle way- \u00a0The image of Mary! Mary, Mother of Good \u00a0Counsel,\u00a0<\/strong>is the image and patroness of the CPA. And her image was present throughout the weekend. And what does Mary have to teach us as Catholic therapists?<\/p>\n

Mary is, by God’s design, the humble\u00a0intercessor, the faithful\u00a0mediator of grace <\/a>for all the children of God. How is she a model for us as therapists? Like Mary, we can intercede<\/strong> for our clients by praying for them, by offering their lives silently to Christ. Ultimately, they are all children of God whom He has entrusted temporarily to our care. Like the Blessed Mother, we have no merit of our own<\/strong>. \u00a0We are no different than our clients in that we are all pilgrims on a journey, sinners ever on the road to sanctity. This dispels the fallacy of the doctor-patient, the hero-victim, the savior-saved. \u00a0We know who the real Savior is, and we allow Him to work!<\/p>\n

And at the same time we can know our own role – we have been given a calling, and we have been entrusted both with a license, and with the hearts of those who come to us. \u00a0Like Mary, our task is to be humble, faithful, transparent conduits of all the good graces that come from God.<\/strong>\u00a0To give our full yes! I like the way my supervisor, Dr Leah McDill, often says it – we are called to be good stewards of our license, stewards of our practice. If I as a therapist have it clear that it is Christ\u00a0who saves, it is the Spirit who heals and transforms, and it is the Father who is ultimately in charge, then I can work incredibly efficiently and fully possess my own efficacy as a therapist, and at the same time not be seduced by thinking that I am responsible for changing or healing the other directly.<\/em> For just as God wholly respected Mary’s free yes to her own mission, and just as He respects our yes, so we must respect the yes of our clients, that is, his\/her full decision to participate\u00a0in the healing process\u00a0out of his\/her own responsibility and calling. And like Mary, that reverence for the freedom of the other is not a cold, disconnected, formal respect, but rather a deep, warm, and connected reverence – a vital relationship that has the power to move hearts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A HUGE thank you to all who put on this great conference, and a friendly “Come back soon y’all!” to all the Catholic professionals, therapists and religious who visited ATX for the conference!<\/p>\n

Lastly, here are a few different resources from the conference:<\/strong><\/p>\n

CPA Website:<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/a>

Dr Popcak presenting “Making Peace in the Family”<\/p><\/div>\n

Website to find a Catholic Therapist near you:\u00a0http:\/\/www.catholictherapists.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Blogs <\/a>on the CatholicTherapists.com website<\/p>\n

\"Humanum<\/a>The Humanum Series<\/a> was also featured – this is a great conversation starter for young adults, couples or youth groups on the beauty of marriage<\/p>\n

Dr Greg Popcak’s ministry<\/a> – a very practical site for comprehensive resources for families, marriages and mental health challenges\u00a0(also here)<\/a><\/p>\n

Local Catholic therapist group: The Intuitus Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Fantastic social science resource for data about the family, marriage, and other things (associated with\u00a0Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. is Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) at Family Research Council) : \u00a0Marripedia.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These are my take-a-ways from the annual Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference, The Face of Mercy: The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy,\u00a0which happened in Austin this past weekend. I’d like to distill a bit of the core message I experienced, and at the end, I’ll also\u00a0share\u00a0a few of the great\u00a0resources we were given (Disclaimer – these… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4,90,89,88,11,91],"tags":[3112,3113,3111,3110,50,2998,646,3109,3100],"class_list":{"0":"post-238311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"category-faith-blog","8":"category-family","9":"category-marriage-blog","10":"category-resources","11":"category-young-adult","12":"tag-anthropology","13":"tag-catholic-anthropology","14":"tag-catholic-psychotherapy-association","15":"tag-catholic-therapists","16":"tag-faith","17":"tag-faith-and-psychology","18":"tag-psychology","19":"tag-psychtherapy","20":"tag-therapy","21":"entry","22":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43781,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/inexhaustible-richness-neuroscience-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":0},"title":"In All Its Inexhaustible Richness: Neuroscience and the Heart","author":"Rachel","date":"February 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A good friend of mine tagged me this week in an article on Facebook, about epigenetics and the 9 components of mental health, by Dr. Gregory Popcak. Dr. Popcak does a fantastic job of showing the organic relationship between neuroscience and the heart, our brain and theology, between spiritual knowledge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Heart in hand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/lightstock_112668.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1941644,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/book-review-of-abuse-of-trust-healing-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":1},"title":"Book Review of Abuse of Trust: Healing from Clerical Sexual Abuse","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"July 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 In the current wave of the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, it has been hard to know what to do. I have taken it on faith that the church eventually would survive this crisis and make the necessary changes to protect children and adults from abuse, because I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":124040,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/a-response-to-what-sucks-about-the-catholic-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":2},"title":"A Response to “What Sucks about the Catholic Church”","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every spring brings the Church a batch of shiny new Catholics, and every year I see the same list of complaints. No, not the ones about people \"taking your pew.\" The ones about the niggling weaknesses in the Church. Many adults who enter the Catholic Church, especially those who were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Response to \"What Sucks about the Catholic Church,\" at AustinCNM.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/acnmreponsetowhatsucks-550x394.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/acnmreponsetowhatsucks-550x394.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/acnmreponsetowhatsucks-550x394.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37312,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/02\/popewatch2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":3},"title":"#popewatch2013","author":"Rita Suva","date":"February 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"We are living in a historic time in the Catholic Church. With only two other popes having resigned before Pope Benedict XVI, we\u2019re in relatively uncharted waters concerning what will be happening in the Catholic Church in the coming weeks and months. At this point in history as Catholics, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pope","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/pope-108x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":985980,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/the-american-personality-and-our-mission-as-catholics\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":4},"title":"The American Personality and our Mission as Catholics","author":"Rachel","date":"July 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It is a day to celebrate, to be with loved ones, and to pray for our nation. Let it also be a day to reflect on who we are, and who are called to be! What is our mission as Catholics in the US? And what does it mean to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-American-Personality.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-American-Personality.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-American-Personality.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/The-American-Personality.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25307,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/10\/catholic-services-appeal\/","url_meta":{"origin":238311,"position":5},"title":"Catholic Services Appeal","author":"Scott Whitaker","date":"October 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"During November, parishes across the Diocese of Austin participate in the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).\u00a0 Now in its 35th year, the CSA has provided over $66 million of support to the ministries of the diocese.\u00a0 This year\u2019s Appeal will help support many diocesan \u00a0ministries, including a quality education for 46\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/CSAlogofinal-copy-147x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238311\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}