Last week, my cell group had a pretty emotional discussion. Well, I say emotional but really most of it came from me/was me being emotional. Since this involves mental health, which is something I’ve been pretty open about here, I felt like this is a good place to process everything. By the publish date, you can tell that this took some time for me to think through, even though the session was helpful in clarifying certain things.
Note: This also involves Christianity, and I can already hear some people wondering why I’m going to talk about it here (or maybe not. I doubt I have a very wide readership). Well, firstly, this isn’t one of those Christian to Christian incidents that we have to learn to solve between ourselves, and secondly, I don’t think Christianity is so weak that me thinking through a possibly difficult aspect would harm it.
So basically, we’re working through this workbook called Personal Basics for the Journey, so that we are prepared to talk through the basics of the faith. The seventh session, “Walking in Victory” was deeply hurtful to me because no matter how I read it, it seemed to be referencing mental health. The passage in question was on demonisation, which was defined as being “subject to demonic influence.”
What concerned me was the line that when faced with trauma, “what a psychologist may do is to allow you to go into the basement of your life and talk about your past. You cry and find temporary relief. There is no real release.” These lines read to me as saying that therapy having no real power, which was odd because I’ve benefitted tremendously from CBT.
That alone was concerning, but it was the section “How do we know if we are under the influence of demons?” that hit the hardest. There were nine questions which included:
“Do you have unusual recurrences of bad habits?”
“Do you have irrational fears and phobias?”
“Do you have any compulsive emotional hang-ups?”
It’s possible I read too much into it, having to identify some of my irrational fears and thoughts, but the questions came across as saying that people like me, with mental health issues, are demonised and that (from the section before) that therapy does not play a big part. And the fact that they use the example of someone traumatised from molest as an example that therapy won’t work made my hackles rise.
No matter how many times I read the passages, the message I got was “mental illness is from the devil and therapy/counselling won’t work”. Which upset me (to put it lightly) because okay, you’re dissing counselling, but you’re also adding to the stigmatisation of an already stigmatised community when the Church itself should be inclusive and a hospital and a respite for those who need it (see: Matthew 11:28).
After I read this (way before the session last week), I started asking around – not just in my Church but from other Churches and even theological students/graduates. From what I understand, pretty much all mainstream Churches encourage counselling in conjunction with spiritual healing. And from what I heard from theological students, the concept of demonisation isn’t as mainstream as the book puts it. My take on this is that if you’re going to see the devil behind everything, you’re giving him too much power. As C.S. Lewis brilliantly puts it in The Screwtape Letters:
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. “
I could be wrong, given that I’m not a subject matter expert, but the way the section talks about demonisation, it feels like the second error that Lewis mentioned.
Given that I just wrote almost 600 words on why that session was deeply hurtful to me (as someone who does have mental health issues and who gained a lot from counselling), it shouldn’t be a surprise anymore that the cell group session was very emotional for me. I was glad to hear that the position of my Church is that people should seek help for mental health issues and that counselling is a valid and good step to take. Apparently, the point of the chapter was that it’s sin that causes demonisation and that it wasn’t talking about mental health, even if I did read it that way.
Well, if that’s the case, I think that:
a. The example was poor (apparently the victim of molest has been sinned against, not that any sin has been committed but the first thing I thought of was trauma, not sin)
b. If the wording is this bad, then I don’t really think this is material you should use. If I’m the only one that thinks that way, then yeah it’s my bad, but when I showed this to others, people didn’t think of sin instead of mental illness. The rejoinder was that no one is perfect, but to me, we’re not suffering from a lack of material. We can and we should be choosing material that can’t be interpreted in a way that it hurts a group that’s already suffering and that we should be trying to include. I know that there are many alternatives to this material and I believe there are others that do the same job without falling at risk of misinterpretation/hurting others.
So the tl;dr of this whole post: Mental health and Christianity shouldn’t be complicated. There is no excuse to choose material hurts (whether intentionally or because it’s just so easily misinterpreted) people who have mental health problems. As a Church, we should be welcoming and inclusive and provide a safe environment for people to be honest and able to heal. Obviously, we should call out sin in a loving manner if we see it, but your words are not going to reach people if you don’t even make them feel welcomed.
Hi again, Eustacia–I am sorry your group discussion left you feeling down. But, your conclusions seem on the mark.
As an atheist, I have no time for the Devil. Personally, I believe that humankind does have free will and is responsible for the good and the evil that all of us are exposed to. Years ago in America, there was a TV comedian who always use to say “the Devil made me do it” when explaining the predicaments he got into. Like that comedian, I believe the Devil is just an excuse and various religions want their followers to believe that the church’s path is the only source of protection from the Devil. I conclude that is nonsense because, of the thousands of religions practiced on this planet, it is more than likely that most people are not in the “right” one. To say that this path is true but that path is not is a bit pretentious and parochial, IMHO. Even so, following that path won’t won’t protect you from mankind.
Far be it from me, however, to offer criticism about any particular religion. After all, I could be wrong. Individuals must come to their own conclusions about existence by applying analytical precepts to The Word. If they are satisfied with the results of their investigation, then so be it.
Having said that, I think you should be reassured that there is absolutely nothing about the Devil inherent in mental health issues. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a fool. Do not listen to such people and continue with your CBT sessions. I have also undergone therapy over a course of 10 years with an excellent and caring psychologist and I found the experience highly rewarding. Neither the Devil nor the church had anything to do with it. It was a personal journey and I hope you find it a positive influence!
Hi Warren, the discussion was actually very positive! It cleared up the stance my Church had on that chapter, which is basically my stance. I think the only thing we didn’t see eye to eye on was the amount of grace we should extend to the material – I do not agree with its use but they do think there is some value (in the earlier chapters, not in this one – everyone agrees that it was badly put and very misleading). My bad for the misunderstanding, this was a tough post to write and I was afraid that some parts would come across the wrong way (but I also felt like it was important to process so I decided to go ahead and publish :p)
Thank you very much for your encouraging comment! I am definitely seeing my counsellor whenever it’s necesssary (:
Hi! I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience 🙁 But it does look like you had a nice reflection/growth experience from it.
I was raised in a Christian home (though consider myself more spiritual as an adult) and am also training to be a psychologist (almost done!). I’ve never found the two areas to be incompatible … it’s frustrating to hear that the book was depicting things this way.
Ultimately, a good psychologist will (1) engage in person-centred care, honouring the person. That means respecting their religious beliefs, amd making referrals to faith leaders for additional support if needed. (It would be HIGHLY unprofessional and unethical for me to pretend that I can be a spiritual counsellor — but the two CAN work in conjunction!)
… and (2) engage in evidence-based practice. It sounds like the sort of psychology discussed in your book is movie/TV psychology where you go and rant for an hour. As you know 🙂 real therapy is really hard work … but, at the end, the ultimate goal is to give strategies to help people think more helpful thoughts. Sometimes this does involve processing (eg, difficult past events) — but a lot of the time it also means learning new habits, new ways of relating/thinking, and “just doing it” (as one of my patients said!)
I hope the rest of the sessions have been peaceful and a good experience!
Hi! Yes, my experience with counselling matches what you say. My counsellor isn’t a Christian, but he is respectful of my beliefs and doesn’t recommend anything he thinks I’ll be uncomfortable with.
Yes, real therapy is more than ranting – I had to confront a lot of thoughts and learn how to deal with them in a constructive manner.
It’s probably because I’ve been to counselling that I had such a strong reaction to the text. Probably God putting me there so the rest of the cell didn’t get confused 😊
That’s a good way of looking at it! Who knows?! Maybe some people who have been struggling will be inspired by your sharing to seek extra support!
I must admit I m not completely sure about what you mean, but I think materials / resources that we use as food for our christian walk are very impt as well.. if there’s anything that is condemning, we might want to double take on using the resource. My personal take that any good resource it should convict, compelled, comfort us:) cheers eustacia, I think you’re doing a great job at therapy, counselling, getting help. God would always want their children to get help when we are in need, like when we are sick – we see the doctor right? Same concept as that. I hope you feel better after getting to know more and asking around, it is also a good experience for you to find out more from other people/church/theology students then just accepting what it is, as it is.
Thank you for the encouraging words! Yes, I agree that the materials we use are very important and we should be discerning.
I also like the analogy of a doctor for physical health! I agree that mental health should be treated the same way – if we’re sick, see a professional and if need be, take medicine. There shouldn’t be any stigma involved
Unfortunately, I have come across the view you interpreted from the section of the book you are studying. It goes along with the idea that someone with mental health issues is weak or or damaged. I am with you. Even if the decision is made to supplement the material your group uses for that particular section, I would prefer that happen than risk someone else coming across it who views it similarly. What if that person doesn’t speak up like you did, and instead internalizes it?
For the most part, my experience has been much like you and Em describe when it comes to counseling. It should be client-centered and evidence-based. When I was more directly working with clients (in my case families) as a social worker, one of the big pushes was to have the client identify or build a healthy social network that could help and support them through the rough spots. Faith-based groups often are one of those links.
I am so glad you found support in your group and that you were able to provide them with a different perspective. Whether the author(s) of the section meant it the way you saw it or not, who knows. But at least now you know where your church stands, and it’s by your side, which is how it should be.
Thank you for the supportive comment! Yes, it’s definitely good to know that my Church is on my side since they are a large part of my support network. It’s sad that this is still happening so I’ll keep speaking up whenever I see it.