Core Elements of Catholic Anxiety Counseling
Psychotherapeutic anxiety treatment is designed to help you manage and reduce the effects of anxiety through various therapeutic techniques. It typically involves:
- Emotional Support: Providing a non-judgmental space where you can discuss your fears and anxieties.
- Identifying Triggers: Understanding the situations, thoughts, or feelings that lead to anxiety.
- Cognitive Restructuring: Challenging anxiety-producing cognitions and replacing them with more accurate and balanced thinking.
- Coping Mechanisms: Teaching practical skills to reduce stress and anxiety.
What Is Different About A Holistic Catholic Approach To Anxiety Management?
Catholic anxiety counseling utilizes psychological techniques such as those mentioned above and more, and integrates them with faith and spiritual resources to address anxiety in a holistic way. Catholic counseling offers a framework of trust in God’s plan, prayer, and the peace that comes from reliance on God's providence. Key augmentations include:
Trust in Divine Providence
Anxiety can be surrendered to God, trusting that He is in control, and accepting that His plan is ultimately for the good.
Prayer and Sacraments
Catholic counselling supports client’s spiritual practices which calm the mind and invite God's presence. Prayer, adoration, and participation in sacraments like Confession or the Eucharist can also bring spiritual peace and relief from worry.
Faith Community
Church community can serve as a support system. Being part of a faith community offers emotional and spiritual support, encouraging clients to share their struggles with others in the body of Christ.
Redemptive Suffering
At CURA, we recognize the psychological validity of offering our struggles and anxieties to God and uniting our pain with Christ's on the Cross. Theological perspectives can bring meaning in our struggles and propel us to spiritual growth.
Spiritual Discernment
Anxiety can sometimes be tied to a lack of clarity in life’s purpose or direction. Catholic counseling may involve discernment of God’s will, providing clarity and reducing anxiety about the future.