Why do most people speak highly of their psychotherapist and their healing
process? In an article entitled “Freud is a Fraud,” Chris Noble, MD, had
written:
• Speculation was and is at the heart of psychoanalytic theory and practice.
However, unlike scientific speculation, which leads to testable hypotheses and
controlled experiments, psychoanalysis was developed mainly by unscientific, if
not anti-scientific, minds. One searches in vain among the analysts for any
semblance of the typical concerns and attitudes of scientists. There is no
concern for testing their claims, which are put forth dogmatically rather than
tentatively. Skepticism about their work is rare; bravado and bold assertions
are common.
Psychotherapists now widely accept the many findings that the relief that their
clients derive is not the result of their theoretical approach or even of their
particular practices, but of the empathetic relationship they form with their
clients.
Some practices are even widely regarded as arrogant:
• Freud's theories and practice can be attacked not only for his ideas and
methods, but for his arrogance and contempt for his patients and colleagues. (Noble)
Freud had even stated:
• "I can't help being convinced that my dear fellow men, with few
exceptions, are worthless." http://somniloquy.online.fr/TSI3/freud.html
The real Freud wasn’t the one that his patients had been seeing. In the midst
of the Vietnam War, I had asked my psychiatrist to write a letter claiming that
I was unfit for military service. He gave a copy to me. I was glad to read that
the letter made an excellent case for my psychological unfitness. During our
next meeting, I thanked him for his convincing letter. He answered, “I meant
every word of it.”
The curtain had been pulled back, and I was devastated to discover what he
really thought about me. He saw me as Freud had seen his clients—as
“worthless.”
I too saw myself as worthless—as irreparably damaged, despite his positive
affirmations of me during our counseling sessions.
Years later, after I had a life changing encounter with Jesus, I returned to
college and obtained a degree in social work and did my fieldwork in a
community mental health center. I would sit in as the psychotherapists would
share their cases and receive feedback.
The mask was put aside, and they condescendingly joked about their clients. I
was surprised by the contrast between what I was seeing in these meetings and
the face they wore with their clients.
However, there is a place for criticism, as long as it is cradled in God’s
love. He painfully humbles us so that we can accept our inescapable awareness
of our unworthiness without flinching. This requires the assurance of His love
and acceptance. This enables us to pass on His consolations to others:
• Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able
to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we
ourselves are comforted by God. (II Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV)
To receive these comforts, we need to recognize that we desperately need them.
However, when we experience this, we come to understand that we cannot look
down on others because everything good we possess comes as God’s gift (James
1:17).
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