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Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process, and Practice (view source)
Revision as of 20:50, 14 October 2015
, 20:50, 14 October 2015→The Selection of Patients
==The Practice of Psychotherapy==
==The Practice of Psychotherapy==
===The Selection of Patients===
===The Selection of Patients===
1. Everyone who is sent to you is a patient of yours. This does not mean that you select him, nor that you choose the kind of treatment that is suitable. But it does mean that no one comes to you by mistake. There are no errors in God's plan. It would be an error, however, to assume that you know what to offer everyone who comes. This is not up to you to decide.
1. Everyone who is sent to you is a patient of yours. This does not mean that you select him, nor that you [[choose]] the kind of treatment that is suitable. But it does mean that no one comes to you by [[mistake]]. There are no errors in God's plan. It would be an error, however, to [[assume]] that you know what to offer everyone who comes. This is not up to you to [[decide]].
There is a tendency to assume that you are being called on constantly to make sacrifices of yourself for those who come. This could hardly be true. To demand sacrifice of yourself is to demand a sacrifice of God, and He knows nothing of sacrifice. Who could ask of Perfection that He be imperfect?
There is a tendency to assume that you are being called on constantly to make [[sacrifices]] of yourself for those who come. This could hardly be true. To demand sacrifice of yourself is to demand a sacrifice of [[God]], and He knows nothing of sacrifice. Who could ask of [[Perfection]] that He be imperfect?
2. Who, then, decides what each brother needs? Surely not you, who do not yet recognize who he is who asks. There is Something in him that will tell you, if you listen. And that is the answer; listen. Do not demand, do not decide, do not sacrifice. Listen. What you hear is true. Would God send His Son to you and not be sure you recognize his needs? Think what God is telling you; He needs your voice to speak for Him. Could anything be holier? Or a greater gift to you? Would you rather choose who would be god, or hear the Voice of Him Who is God in you?
2. Who, then, decides what each brother needs? Surely not you, who do not yet [[recognize]] who he is who asks. There is Something in him that will tell you, if you [[listen]]. And that is the answer; listen. Do not demand, do not decide, do not [[sacrifice]]. Listen. What you hear is true. Would God send His Son to you and not be sure you recognize his needs? Think what God is telling you; He needs your [[voice]] to [[speak]] for Him. Could anything be holier? Or a greater gift to you? Would you rather choose who would be god, or hear the [[Ta|Voice of Him Who is God in you]]?
3. Your patients need not be physically present for you to serve them in the Name of God.
3. Your patients need not be [[physically]] present for you to serve them in the Name of God.
This may be hard to remember, but God will not have His gifts to you limited to the few you
This may be hard to [[remember]], but God will not have His gifts to you [[limited]] to the few you
actually see. You can see others as well, for seeing is not limited to the body's eyes. Some do not need your physical presence. They need you as much, and perhaps even more, at the instant they are sent. You will recognize them in whatever way can be most helpful to both of you. It does not matter how they come. They will be sent in whatever form is most helpful; a name, a thought, a picture, an idea, or perhaps just a feeling of reaching out to someone somewhere. The joining is in the hands of the Holy Spirit. It cannot fail to be accomplished.
actually see. You can see others as well, for seeing is not limited to the [[body]]'s eyes. Some do not need your [[physical]] [[presence]]. They need you as much, and perhaps even more, at the instant they are sent. You will recognize them in whatever way can be most helpful to both of you. It does not matter how they come. They will be sent in whatever [[form]] is most helpful; a name, a [[thought]], a picture, an idea, or perhaps just a [[feeling]] of reaching out to someone somewhere. The joining is in the hands of the [[Holy Spirit]]. It cannot fail to be accomplished.
4. A holy therapist, an advanced [[teacher of God]], never forgets one thing; he did not make the [[curriculum]] of [[salvation]], nor did he establish his part in it. He [[understands]] that his part is [[necessary]] to [[the whole]], and that through it he will recognize the whole when his part is complete. Meanwhile he must learn, and his patients are the means sent to him for his [[learning]]. What could he be but [[grateful]] for them and to them? They come bearing God. Would he refuse this Gift for a pebble, or would he close the door on the [[savior]] of the world to let in a ghost? Let him not [[betray]] the Son of God. Who calls on him is far beyond his [[understanding]]. Yet would he not rejoice that he can answer, when only thus will he be able to hear the call and understand that it is his?
===Is Psychotherapy a Profession?===
===Is Psychotherapy a Profession?===
1. Strictly speaking the answer is no. How could a separate profession be one in which everyone is engaged? And how could any limits be laid on an interaction in which everyone is both patient and therapist in every relationship in which he enters? Yet practically speaking, it can still be said that there are those who devote themselves primarily to healing of one sort or another as their chief function. And it is to them that a large number of others turn for help.
1. Strictly speaking the answer is no. How could a separate profession be one in which everyone is engaged? And how could any limits be laid on an interaction in which everyone is both patient and therapist in every relationship in which he enters? Yet practically speaking, it can still be said that there are those who devote themselves primarily to healing of one sort or another as their chief function. And it is to them that a large number of others turn for help.