I just returned from the first secular psychotherapy conference Ive attended in years. I loved it. It felt like coming out of the cave of narrow-minded religion into the sunlight of free thought. Well, almost.
My personal highlight was meeting renowned existential psychiatrist and prolific author, Irvin Yalom. He seemed so at ease with himselfnothing to prove and much to share. He encouraged us to look beneath symptoms for the inevitable collision of personal yearnings with the givens of existence: death, meaninglessness, isolation, and the burden of freedom.
When someone asked how a man in his mid-70s grappled with his fear of death, Yalom remained at peace as he explained that athe- Life in the Cave ism removed any fear of hell (denial really does worktemporarily), and that living in the moment with the resolve to generate no more regrets provided an experience of meaningful satisfaction.
Psychiatrist Colin Ross, a specialist in dissociative disorders, endeared himself to no drug companies by claiming the single disease model, so useful in medicine, has no counterpart in mental illness. Pathological dynamic forces, triggered and sculpted by early trauma, are the real culprits in addictions and dissociative identity disorders, not bad brain chemistry. Resocialization through intense educational and experiential treatment is a better paradigm for intervention than medication.
Stanford psychiatrist, David Burns, author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, echoed Ross as he insisted that Zoloft (and other mood-lifting drugs) have no more power to lift moods than placebos, and that relating well is the healing factor in therapy. He spent the bulk of his talk training us in empathy, sensitivity, and other skills of good relating.
Several impressions stick a week after the conference:
The secular presenters I heard seemed more comfortable awith themselves and less defensive for their theories than a lot of Christian therapists I know, including me. Were so intent on claiming biblical authority for our views that we tend to substitute proclamation for thinking. We start teaching too soon and stop wondering.
Putting a holy God to the side (or eliminating Him altogether) frees therapists to treat caring as a teachable technique, and thus avoids dealing with the unholy mess of self-centeredness. Training, not repentance, becomes the way to relational power.
Personal happiness, relational satisfaction, and the fulfillment of felt meaning are the three-part goals of therapy. Bringing pleasure to God, whether in a difficult marriage or a boring life, has no place in secular therapeutic aims. The former goal, I realized, is reachable without concerning oneself with outdated ideas like sin, atonement, and suffering now/bliss later.
I think Ill go back to my cave. The darkness of Gods light warms my soul more than the brightness of Godstripped thinking.
I want to attract Yalom and Ross and Burns to peek into my cave by living with the hope of joy that goes far beyond subjective happiness, by relating with self-denying love that generates true community, and by repenting in daily brokenness over my self-obsessed ways that frees me to live for ultimate meaning.
But I do want to respect their views and learn from them. And I do. However, I still like my cave, and I believe that God has much to show all of us from there. It takes an open mind, yes, but it takes more than that to learn these things of Godit takes a broken and contrite spirit as well. Web counselor plays a vital role for the welfare of society.
_Larry Crabb, Ph.D., well known author, speaker, and psychologist, asks hard questions and seeks to understand the path to true wholeness. His book, Shattered Dreams, launched New Way Ministries, through which he offers training in Spiritual Direction and explores the mystery of Spiritual Formation. He is pleased to serve as Spiritual Director of AACC._
