Catholic Therapists: A New Direction for Psychology
By now we’ve all heard the stories of whistle blower priests being bullied into checking into the diocesan-approved treatment center for “evaluation.” Or perhaps the seminarian or diocesan priest branded a sexual deviant, by the shrinks hired to screen him, for opposing women’s ordination or the Lavender Mafia. More recently, priests who have been falsely accused of misconduct and removed from ministry without due process find themselves bullied into the diocesan gulag for evaluation.
Here’s an entry from the Opus Bono Sacerdotii FAQ:
22. I have a priest friend who is looking for some counseling help, but he is scared to death to go to the bishop or any other brother priest, especially any one associated with the diocese. He, and I agree, is afraid that the minute you let the bishop or diocese in, he’ll/they’ll, remove the priest and his name will be disseminated all over the media and elsewhere. Furthermore, treatment centers are just as bad since they report to the bishop and are paid for by the diocese and I’ve heard some real sad stories about these places. Do you have any advice on him seeking counsel? Are there any good priest psychologists that can be trusted and are loyal to the teachings of the Church and the Holy Father?
There are very few priest psychologists/psychiatrists available. Many qualified Catholic mental health professionals help priests in this country. To find a Catholic therapist in your area who share your convictions in integrating the truths of the Catholic faith into their practice we highly recommend visiting www.catholictherapists.com.
Residential treatment is rarely indicated unless a priest is suicidal or severely incapacitated. We have priests go to psychologists from other parts of the country, take hospitality near a counselor’s center and participate in intensive 4 day per week outpatient psychotherapy. Also many priests are treated on the phone from different parts of the country and this has been very succesful. The most common conflicts in priests are those of loneliness, low male confidence, anxiety and mistrust. I’d recommend priests read the article our advisor Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons wrote in The Priest on resolving loneliness in priestly life which can be found at www.maritalhealing.com/ResolvingLoneliness.pdf.
It’s no wonder that many priests in crisis are apprehensive about seeking help for depression or anxiety triggered by the intense trauma of being falsely accused. Some commit suicide.
Follow Fr. John Zuhlsdorf’s commentary and discussion on the abuse of psychological screening by the Lavender Mafia to keep REAL MEN out of the Catholic priesthood:
Fr John Zuhlsdorf: Holy See on use of psychology in priestly formation
As Joe Maher mentioned in his FAQ at Opus Bono Sacerdotii (read about them here), the most common conflicts in priests are:
- Loneliness
- Low Male Confidence
- Anxiety
- Mistrust
joemaher(at)opusbono(dot)org
Fr. Joe’s Blog featured a great post referencing the gulags:
Retrospective on Clergy Child Abuse
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“The highest form of resistance is to give hope to those who have none.” ~ Adam Stephan Cardinal Sapieha to then Seminarian Karol Jozef Wojtyla
The Priests in Crisis blog site is a gateway to emergency resources for faithful Catholic priests in personal crisis.
A Catholic priest in the United States does not consistently enjoy due process nor civil rights when accused of wrong doing. In a matter of days or hours, a diocesan priest may find himself without his reputation, his home, his family, his livelihood, his liberty, and his hope.
“I know now that people are being a lot more careful about what they say. They [the bishops] are realising that the blogosphere and the internet, with the way the media is today, they know that they are going to be called to account for what they say or do.” ~ Catholic Herald Interview with Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
After reading From Scandal to Hope and listening to Our Lady and This Present Darkness by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, I realized the role of the Catholic laity in helping its priests through this wintertime of the Church.
