When should you see a therapist?

Now here is a surprise: a licensed clinical social worker urging us to seek out a therapist. Don't ask your Pastor for help; instead, ask him to help you find a therapist.

I highly commend to you a recent book by Greg Gifford who teaches at The Master's College: Lies My Therapist Told Me.

There are some points where I would stand firmly on "there are some mental health issues so big that you really need someone with specialized training", and other points where I would say "too often, mental health providers simply give the 'diagnosis of the month' for people to hear what they want to hear".

Regarding the latter, a couple of examples. When I was a teen, and my parents' marriage was blowing up, my brother and I visited a therapist. While we had a lot of fun playing Little John and Robin Hood with foam filled quarter staffs, what I remember best was that when all was said and done, the diagnosis was not "your parents' marriage is blowing up, hang in there", but rather "you're feeling guilty about masturbation."

I hadn't ever done that, nor did I even know what the word meant, but I smiled and nodded and went on with life.

In the same way, my stepsister and stepdad's ex-wife went to a counselor who basically insisted that all disagreements between my step-dad and his soon to be ex-wife--and with his daughter--were basically him being abusive. It cost him his family and almost his relationship with his daughter, which is thankfully now close.

So while there are certainly cases where timely mental health care can be wonderful, but it's mixed with a number of cases I've seen where I just have to ask "are you working with the same people I know?". Lots of groupthink, as a lot of de-transitioners will tell you.

This was a pretty weak article. It never really outlined when someone should see a therapist. Too many people seek help for a pastor in areas where a pastor is ill equipped and in many instances can cause harm. There are other times when people jump too quickly to a therapist to try to solve their problem. My rule of thumb is that if you are dealing with trauma or you have a legitimate diagnose condition, you should seek the help of a qualified therapist. At the same time, I encourage people to seek a therapist who is aligned to your belief system. There are plenty, plenty of therapists who are Christians (you noticed I didn't use the word Christian therapist). I also encourage you to meet with your pastor to discuss the spiritual aspects of your trauma and your diagnosed condition. In all things we need Christ. Just as someone who has a form of advanced cancer, I would encourage them to seek the care of a medical professional, while at the same time meeting with their pastor to discuss, spiritually how do you live through this condition as well (i.e. how do you put your condition in eternal perspective, how do you seek Christ in your suffering, how do you not worry from a Scriptural perspective...). But you would never seek the pastor to help with cancer treatment. Same should be for trauma. Practically no pastors truly no how do deal with the physical aspects of trauma and instead gloss it over with weak scriptural principles, when the focus is in dealing with the specific trauma.