Psychotherapy, what it really is...

-
Psychotherapy
Is a process of “welcoming” the stranger-he who is estranged from himself, away from home, wandering in an alien land-into a relationship of trust, care, and mutual respect.



Psychotherapy
Is a process of “visiting” the imprisoned, those chained to their own compulsions, shackled by self-deception, pacing the narrow cells of guilt and anxiety, and talking with them about their prospects for freedom.



Psychotherapy
Is a process of “clothing” the nakedness of those who have been stripped by illness of all pretense and self-respect, whose emptiness and failure have been laid bare to the world, who have been deprived of all protective devices, masks, barriers, and hiding places.



Psychotherapy
Is a special way of “calling” upon and sojourning within the inner frame of reference of those who wait under the conditions of helpless sickness, yearning daily for the day of deliverance.


Thomas Oden

Comments

  1. ramizApril 11, 2016 at 7:08 AM

    Thanks for sharing the info, keep up the good work going.... I really enjoyed exploring your site. good resource...
    Evanston Psychotherapy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psychological Approach or Spiritual Approach?

-
Resting in the blend of  spirit, mind, emotions, and body that I dwell in, I come into contact with the edges of this question all the time.  It is easy to lean more fully on one or the other.  Most of us have a comfortable automatic bend toward finding solutions in spirit or material ways.  Robert Mulholland, a respected spiritual formation writer and trusted Christian theologian, expands an answer to this wondering that satisfies my soul.  I hope it illuminates for you as well: "We need to realize that not only is psychology not a substitute for spirituality, but spirituality is not a substitute for psychology. While most Christians would not tend to make the first assertion, many would and do tend to make the second. As we have already noted, spiritual formation is often seen as the answer to all problems.  Often, profound, deep-seated psychological problems are met with demands for deeper faith, more rigorous obedience, more vital spirituality. ...
Read more

Finding your Cremaster

-
Image
How do you begin this cocoon business?  You have to find your Spiritual Cremaster. What in the world is that? It’s the place you start. It’s your anchor.   I’ll just let Sue tell you : “When the caterpillar begins to spin its chrysalis, it forms a spiny little protuberance at the end of its abdomen called the cremaster. The cremaster is like a button or patch of Velcro that fastens the pupa in the cocoon and holds it in place.  It’s the anchor point, the place from which the caterpillar hangs “ The still point is our cremaster. Without it, there’s no dance of transformation. It’s the place where all cocoon making starts.  We need to find the point in our soul where we go neither forward nor backward but are fastened in our waiting. We need to discover the “protuberance” from which our lives can silently hang and become new. What IS this still point?  It represents the Center, the quiet core where God’s Spirit dwells in us.  “Do you not k...
Read more

2023 Invitations of Advent

-
Image
  Let’s set aside a little time to slow down during advent and pay attention.  We are going to walk through the precious little book:  Silence and other Surprising Invitations of Advent by Enuma Okoro.  It is based on the unlikely story of Zachariah and Elizabeth and has true gems of how to integrate the whole of life into the sometimes lopsided season of Advent.  Meeting 4 Sundays for reflection on the weekly portions of the book, discussion questions for the live chat, guided Lectio Divina on a corresponding Scripture, a simple commemoration practice or ritual and lighting of the Advent candle. For this group offering, please feel invited to join with other Advent lovers for a private Facebook group with a private FB Live video every Sunday at 6PM EST 11/26, 12/3, 12/10, and 12/17.   It will be recorded if you can’t make it live.   It will include some don’t-miss points from the readings from the week. It will include a Lectio Divina readi...
Read more