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by Cherry Pedrick, RN
I called on my pastor for counseling twice before seeking psychiatric help. He offered spiritual counseling which was very helpful, but he didn't recommend psychiatric help. I told him about some of the OCD symptoms I was experiencing during my first counseling visit, but I downplayed their significance. Neither of us recognized them as the beginning of a serious illness requiring therapy. It wasn't until it interfered with my job that I sought psychiatric help. I believe my recovery would have been quicker, smoother and less painful had I sought help earlier. (For those who know me, this was not the pastor of the church I attend now) Why didn't my pastor recommend help? Because I didn't reveal the severity of my symptoms and they were intermingled with anxiety about my past, low self esteem issues and spiritual problems. People with OCD tend to be very secretive about their obsessions and compulsions, and I was no different. We are afraid people will think we are strange or crazy. I was secretive even to myself, afraid of what I might find if I looked too deep. The obsession I described in "OCD and Religion" (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3428... occurred about two months after I started seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist. My pastor counseled me and I was relieved for a few minutes. But the obsession over the communion wafer kept intruding my mind as we talked. I rephrased the questions about the communion wafer and asked him again and again. He reassured me no one could be hurt. "But just in case, do they throw them out after the service?" I asked. He assured me they did. According to principles of cognitive-behavior therapy I learned about, giving me reassurance that the communion wafers were not contaminated, and that they were all thrown out after the service, may not have been the best advice. Asking for reassurance was a form of checking, and I had already drilled my husband about it the night before. Some behavior therapists recommend that reassurance not be given at all. In my case, it has been helpful for my family to offer reassurance once. Usually I would ask the question again, or rephrase it. After learning about cognitive-behavior therapy, they would reply, "I already answered that question and I won't answer it again." I withheld this information about cognitive-behavior therapy from my pastor! Why? I wanted to keep him as a resource person to give me immediate relief of my obsessive thoughts, thus relieving my anxiety temporarily. Only later did I realized how deceptive and counterproductive to my own recovery I was. This is why it may be helpful to communicate with the therapist concerning the treatment, and how you can best assist. You may need to have the person sign a release form giving you permission to discuss the case with the therapist. Go To Page: 1 2 |
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