M. Scott Peck writes some important stuff in his book “The Different Drum – The Creation of True Community, the first step to World peace.” A psychotherapist himself he says, “Experienced psychotherapists usually come to recognize this truth. As neophytes they see it as their task to heal the patient and often believe they succeed in doing so. With experience, however, they realize that they do not have the power to heal. But they also learn that it is within their power to listen to the patient, to accept him or her, to establish a “therapeutic relationship.” So they focus not so much on healing as on making their relationship a safe place where the patient is likely to heal himself.” For all of us minister/lay, young or old, male or female, we need places of safety where we can be ourselves, share our fears, weep our tears and expose our true selves and find in the safe community of others a healing anointment that tells that together we are whole.
2 comments:
Those places of safety aren't always so easy to find!
You are dead right... I think the Catholic confessional could be one of those institutions the Protestants loose out on. That place where you can share anything and everything in confidentiality. I speak from ignorance about the confessional, not having gone to one myself. It is rare to find others we can be completely open with (almost impossible).
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