Becoming a Better Catholic: Simcha Fisher on Therapy
Our guest this week is Simcha Fisher, a contributor to America and the author of The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning. Her recent article is called “I thought Good Catholics didn't need therapy. Then I went.”
“I didn’t think that therapy was for me,” Fisher explained. “I had a lot of foolish prejudices about what therapy could offer and who it was for.”
She said that many grow up thinking, “You can either work hard and do the right thing and not be a big baby, or else you can see a therapist.” For many Catholics, “that gets compounded by the idea that if you go to the sacraments then you definitely won’t need therapy because it says over and over again in Scripture that God will heal you.”
For Fisher, therapy turned out to be a “tool” that helped her draw closer to God: “I thought that a lot of the things that were wrong with me were spiritual problems, but it turns out that a lot of them were really psychological problems that were impeding spiritual growth.”
Her advice for Catholics seeking therapists? “Don’t look for a Catholic therapist, look for a good therapist. A good therapist will help you become a better Catholic.”
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