When Prayer Isn’t Enough

This is the story of my journey through the place where faith and psychotherapy co-exist. Throughout most of modern history, the field of psychology has not played nice with the ideas of faith and religion. In the early years of psychology, Sigmund Freud relegated faith to a simple form of neurosis that operated as a form of defense mechanism, which suppresses primitive urges (Rizzuto, 1981). Since then, the American Psychological Association has declared that faith and religion are an important part of understanding an individual’s diversity and ability to cope. In other words, for the first time, psychology and faith are officially not at war. However, that seems to be far from the reality of many churches in our present time.

Several years ago, before I entered the field of psychotherapy, I encountered a personal difficulty that eventually led me to become severely depressed. I found myself sitting at my workstation, staring at the computer screen in a daze for most of the day. I knew things were becoming bad when I would find myself randomly crying while I was driving on the road. On one occasion, I began sobbing so much that I had to pull over to the side of the road until I was calm again. Something was definitely wrong.

I sought the counsel of some church leaders and they gave me scriptural examples and tips on how to get better. I don’t know how many times I heard people tell me that I needed to “Let go and let God.” I am sure they all had good intentions but the problem was that I was not getting better. It seemed like nothing I did was working. It did not matter how much I prayed, how much I read the Bible, or how many church events I went to, I could not get out of my sadness. It was in this valley that I knew exactly what the writer of Psalm 73 meant when he or she wrote, “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.”

I felt like a failure. Where was my faith?

Fortunately for me, though I had no faith, God was faithful. Through a series of events, I was able to connect with a counselor to begin the hard work of healing. I discovered old wounds that had never healed and family secrets that were long forgotten. It was in this raw and real encounter that I finally understood what the Apostle John meant when he wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” When we expose our pain and our darkness to God and his people, the darkness has no chance.

It was through this experience that I discovered that there are no simple answers to each person’s problems. For some, prayer alone is enough. For others, they need to understand a scriptural truth. For others, it’s community. Some are healed by supernatural miracles, others are healed by the miracle of modern medicine. For me, it was the miracle of psychotherapy. Jesus himself did not have one way of healing those around him. He used touch, revelation, a spoken word, and even… mud. Now, I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting a new age definition of Biblical healing, not at all. What I am suggesting is that Biblical restoration was eclectic but there was always a common denominator, truth and love.

So, are you REALLY saying that sometimes prayer isn’t enough? That is exactly what I am saying because, almost always in scripture, prayer causes some sort of reaction. When we pray for healing and God heals us instantly, then our reaction should be thanksgiving and appreciation. Other times, it may mean confessing our own wrongdoing. Sometimes, it may even mean reacting by seeking help. There will be a time in all our lives, where we will need healing. My hope is that, as children of God, we would not limit the power of God’s healing hand to simple solutions. Rather, we would seek the abundance of opportunities to see God work through all the resources he has provided. Yes, even counseling.

Author Description (If you need one)

Andres Chou is a Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology at Azusa Pacific University. Currently, he is working as a Psychology Clerk at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. His passion is integrating faith and counseling to bring restoration to individuals, marriages, and families.

References:

Rizzuto, A. M.  (1981). The birth of the living God.  Chicago:  The University of Chicago Press.

What Does It Mean To Be An Ally?

There are many forms of systemic oppression occurring both in the United States and around the world, where those in the dominant group reap unearned benefits based solely on their pre-disposed genetic identities. It is common for people to feel overwhelmed by it, or feel as if there is nothing they personally could do to stop or prevent this kind of discrimination from happening, however, one way to overcome this feeling of immobilization is to become an ally. Becoming an ally not only benefits those in non-dominant groups, but it also can instill hope and change within oneself. It can provide you with a new sense of being, direction and purpose.

So what is an ally? A common definition of an ally is a member of a dominant group in society (e.g. heterosexuals, men, able-bodied individuals, White Americans, Christians) who make a conscious effort to dismantle any form of oppression for those in the non-dominant group (e.g. homosexuals, those with disabilities, minorities). An important community to serve as an ally for is LGBTQ people. LGBTQ is a commonly used acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer or questioning. LGBTQ individuals experience unique life stressors that often result in various forms of physical and psychological distress. Stressors such as internalized homophobia, heterosexism or anti-gay hate crimes can lead to chronic stress and other health disparities for an LGBTQ person. Unlike racial or ethnic minorities who grow up living with family members from their same cultural group, LGBTQ individuals are generally isolated and virtually always in the minority group due to their sexuality.

There has been extensive literature highlighting how LGBTQ individuals experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, low social support, substance abuse and suicidal ideation due to antigay attitudes or behaviors and discriminatory laws against them. Not only are they marginalized by the dominant cultural but also by their friends and family who disagree with their lifestyle. Serving as an ally to combat the oppression these individuals experience through social, political and economic means can often involve taking risks. It means being proactive and intentional and talking to other dominant group members about their behaviors that discriminate against those who are not as privileged as them.

Serving as an ally means fighting for equality and justice for all people. It means giving everyone, regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation, disability status or religion, an equal opportunity to obtain a healthy and successful life. It involves serving as role model for others and raising your voice when people are being treated unfairly. Although serving as an ally can be exhausting at times, it is one of the first steps to fighting oppression and making a change for those who do not have the opportunity to do so for themselves. To learn more about how to become an LGBTQ ally, visit www.glaad.org or www.pflag.org.

           

Drea Aoun, M.S.

Activity of the Intercommunity Counseling Center in Uptown Whittier

The Intercommunity Counseling Center in Uptown Whittier has been providing life-changing mental health services since 1976, and still finds that many in our community view mental health services as a mysterious, potentially scary experience.  What follows is an illuminating success story of one client whose personal strengths and commitment to therapy, combined with the therapist’s training in providing effective treatment, dramatically increased the client’s quality of life.  She is one of hundreds of ICC clients who reclaim their lives from the effects of anxiety, depression, and fear. 

A young woman named “Mary” came to ICC seeking relief from her anxiety.  At the beginning of treatment, Mary suffered from occasional panic attacks. Panic attacks occur suddenly and last 5-10 minutes. Common symptoms include increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Mary had suffered multiple panic attacks, and the fear of having another prevented her from enjoying life like she used to. She spent less time with her friends, felt distracted when with her family, and was less active at her church. Although Mary wanted to continue in her education, she felt as though her anxiety was holding her back.

Her ICC therapist chose to utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Mary. CBT was developed in the 1960’s by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck and is highly effective in treating many disorders, especially anxiety and depression. An important component of this type of therapy is education: providing the client with information regarding the process of therapy, expectations of therapy, and their personal diagnosis. By doing so, the therapist begins to build a trusting relationship with the client and invites the client to actively engage in treatment. The focus in CBT is on thoughts and actions: if destructive thoughts can be identified and replaced, positive actions will follow. This type of treatment is typically structured and short-term (about 10-20 sessions).  Each session usually begins with a symptom checklist to provide an avenue to track and measure change. Then the therapist and client decide on a focus for that session with the goal of achieving a new perspective and understanding. From that new perspective, the therapist and client create a homework assignment which allows the client to implement changes in day to day life.

In Mary’s treatment, the checklist helped the therapist understand what symptoms Mary experienced throughout the past week and how severe the symptoms felt. Mary and the therapist reviewed the survey each week to chart her progress and focus on particular symptoms. After reviewing the checklist each session, the therapist chose the most appropriate intervention to address Mary’s current concerns. CBT offers many effective interventions.  One that was particularly helpful for Mary is called the Interactive Model which outlines the connection between thoughts, emotions, physiology, and behavior. Together the therapist and client reached an understanding about the common trigger of Mary’s panic attacks.

For example, while spending time with family or friends, Mary would have a negative thought: “What if I can’t take care of my family well?” That thought would lead to physiological sensations such as increased heart rate, shaking, and nausea. These sensations would feel threatening to Mary, triggering feelings of anxiety and fear. Her behavioral reaction would be to retreat, isolating herself from others. Gaining insight into this pattern is a crucial and significant first step; Mary could identify this pattern as it occurred (a frequent homework assignment), empowering her to initiate a change.

The next step in therapy was to provide Mary with the tools to translate this knowledge of the interactive model into practical and positive change. The therapist introduced several relaxation techniques for Mary to practice both in and out of session. For example, deep breathing exercises were particularly helpful for Mary in stopping the pattern triggered by negative thoughts. Now she responded to a negative thought with deep breathing, thereby stopping the cycle before it resulted in a panic attack.

After 10 sessions, Mary’s hard work and commitment to the therapeutic process yielded positive results. Her symptoms gradually lessened as she consistently used the insight and tools she gained in therapy.  Mary was able to slowly re-engage with people and activities that were meaningful to her. Her anxiety no longer prevented her from enjoying time with family and friends. She also became more active in serving at her church and felt confident enough to re-enroll in her college classes. As promised, Mary is a wonderful example of how the client’s personal strengths and commitment to therapy, combined with the therapist’s training in providing effective treatment, increase the client’s quality of life!      

For more information on increasing quality of life and fulfilling potential, visit the Intercommunity Counseling Center website at www.iccwhittier.org or call ICC at 562-697-1272.   ICC is located at 7702 Washington Avenue in Whittier.