How Religious Therapy Can Help While Churches Remain Closed Due to COVID-19

For many people, their religion is a big part of their life. Faith and our connection to God are how many of us get through life’s most difficult challenges.

But in recent weeks and months, as the country and world have locked down due to the pandemic, it has been impossible for people to continue to worship at their church, mosque, or synagogue. This has caused many to not only feel isolated but also anxious and depressed.

Religious Therapy: Talk to a Counselor AND God

Traditional therapy has been a means for people to deal with their depression and anxiety for decades. But religious therapy is a rather new offering and one that is helping many people during this, particularly challenging time.

While it may seem that religion and therapy are in direct contrast to each other, the truth is, faith and therapy should not be mutually exclusive. Prayers can be powerful tools for change and so can the mental tools offered by a therapist.

And while therapy will never replace a person’s religion, it can be a wonderful compliment to it, particularly to those people who are suffering right now due to the lockdowns.

Finding a Faith-Based Therapist

Faith-based therapists are themselves religious and enjoy working with clients who share a strong faith in God. These therapists encourage clients to explore psychological issues against the backdrop of religion. The client’s faith is very much a part of the treatment plan and God is right there in the room with the client and therapist.

You have a couple of options when looking for a faith-based therapist near you: You can use an online therapy network such as Talkspace to find a faith-based therapist in your local area.

If you are someone that lives in a rural area or smaller community, and you have trouble finding a faith-based therapist near you, you can always choose online therapy. This means you would connect with a faith-based therapist via online chat.

Exploring your faith in therapy is a way of knowing yourself to the fullest extent. And that in turn only deepens your faith. If you are struggling during the pandemic because you’re not able to attend your local place of worship, consider giving religious therapy a try.

And, if you’re interested in exploring treatment, please get in touch with me! 

SOURCES:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/encountering-america/201507/should-we-talk-about-religion-in-therapy
• https://www.apa.org/topics/covid-19/faith-crisis
• https://www.talkspace.com/blog/reconciling-religion-and-therapy-why-you-can-talk-to-god-and-a-therapist/