Tearing Down the Veil

I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but there seems to be this sense of mystery in psychotherapy that is often perpetuated in media that has unfortunately spread to the masses.

For first-time clients or clients who are misinformed, there seems to be this thought that a therapist will say the right thing and all will be right in their life. That a therapist will validate all their feelings or thoughts and they will not need to change themselves. What's often missing is an understanding that there will need to be emotional work done to see the progress they desire. To be blunt, therapy is essentially reparenting, and if we did not have the best upbringing, quality therapy, which includes appropriate boundaries, can at times feel like an injustice.

I think new clinicians can have a similar experience. They will finish their graduate work, get their license, and hope that things will fall into place. Similar to the work clients have to do in therapy, clinicians, if they are to thrive, not just survive, will have to reach new depths in their careers. As a Catholic therapist, I don't mean thrive in the sense of gaining success or achievements. I mean in the sense of letting God consume your life, including your career, and letting Him use it to transform you from within to reflect His image. I think the therapist who has not let God have the reins on their career can have a similar response to a client resisting treatment.

As someone who has worked with people for nearly 20 years, whether it be ministry, education, psychotherapy, etc., it's all just relational. For client and clinician alike, in psychotherapy, there is no mystery behind that veil; it's just human connections, no matter the modality or school of thought. That's not to say there isn't any value in the human form and how we navigate our psyche, but I don't think we should view it or therapy as a great mysterious good. The true mystery that is the ultimate good is revealed behind the tabernacle veil. That is the Word become flesh, revealing Himself to humanity in the flesh and the veil of the temple being torn in two when He made the greatest sacrifice.

"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus[d] breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”" Mark 15:37-39

For the sake of the mental health of the body of Christ, I think we need to tear down the veil on the realities of mental health. A lot of therapists have surrendered to a culture of burnout/ use and have felt the need to compete to survive in this field. Though for a Catholic therapist, our ego should not be the driving force behind our work. Nowhere in scripture did Jesus tell his disciples to go out and compete against one another. If we are to do work in His name, we cannot make a mockery of His name and use it to satisfy our ego. Yes, this surrender will require us to die to ourselves, but there is no Resurrection Sunday without Good Friday. We cannot see the true mystery behind the veil unless we embrace the crucifixion as Christ did.

So what's behind the veil? I think it depends on how you look at it. On one level, we can see the humanity and brokenness of the mental health system (Catholic mental health system as well). Though on a deeper level, if we surrender our career, we can see God revealing Himself to us in a way we may have never anticipated. Yes, there is a problem, but there is Christ offering Himself as a sacrifice to sanctify and save us all, revealing the mystery of His divinity to humanity to bring healing to all.

Pax et bonum.