Laura Howe
From Hope Made Strong, this is the Care Ministry podcast, a show about equipping ministry leaders and transforming communities through care. Supporting those in your church and community not only changes individuals lives, but it grows and strengthens the church. But we want to do this without burning out. So listen in as we learn about tools, strategies and resources that will equip your team and strengthen hope.
I'm Laura Howe, and welcome to the Care Ministry Podcast. I'm curious, Have you ever talked with someone who is nervous or apprehensive to go to therapy? Yeah, me too. I it's I think it's pretty common. And the reason can be different for everyone. I hear people say that they don't want to talk about their feelings or other say they don't have time money, or think they're in a bad enough situation to require that.
But then there are a lot of people that just don't trust therapy. And let's be honest, there were and perhaps even are still some pretty weird or messed up therapy practices. But today I want to talk to you about cognitive behavioral therapy. Why you might ask?
Well, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT is probably the most common therapeutic practice today. It's considered a gold standard model for mood disorders like depression or bipolar, anxiety disorders, PTSD, substance abuse, personality disorders, and eating disorders, just about every clinician will incorporate components of CBT with their clients.
And because this is such a common practice in therapy, I want to share more about it so that you as a ministry leader are able to be aware of current therapy modalities, and also so that you can support those in your church who might be hesitant to go to therapy, or maybe you yourself, you can support people by demystifying what therapy is or what to expect.
You can confirm that therapy is valuable and break down stigma and you could reinforce the same principles that are shared in therapy. Now, while CBT was developed by Aaron Beck, I believe that it is successful because it's based on biblical principles and was modeled by Jesus. But first, let me give you a quick synopsis of what cognitive behavioral therapy is, compared to traditional talk therapy, where a client has the freedom to explore and talk about many issues often delving deep into the past.
CBT focuses on what is happening right now in your present life. CBT works to change how an individual perceives the world and behaviors by focusing on thoughts, values, attitudes, and beliefs. Really, the idea is quite simple. If thoughts guide how we view and react to life, then by changing how we think we can change how we feel and deal with life's problems. The notion or belief is that with the help of the therapist, you become more aware of inaccurate or negative or distorted thinking, then by having this awareness and by implementing some practical tools are skills, you will begin to view challenging situations more clearly.
And then you're able to respond to them in a more effective way. The type of distorted or negative thinking that is identified in therapy are things like black and white thinking or jumping to conclusions all or nothing thinking or even having self sabotaging thoughts and behaviors. And there are many others with these are the most common. And I'm sure this is starting to sound familiar. Yes, most of us have these type of thoughts. But also, I was thinking of the familiarity of this concept of changing your thinking so that you can change your behavior. That probably sounds familiar because it's a biblical concept.
Now, the first scripture that comes to mind is Romans 12:2, it says do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, or even in Proverbs 23:7 where it says "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." And then even proverbs 4: 23, it says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flows the springs of life."
And when I look up the word heart it also see that it's commonly translated as a mind or understanding. So it's like, keep your mind with all vigilance are keep your understanding with all vigilance. For from it, it flows the springs of life. The idea is that our thoughts are powerful, and could direct our emotions and ultimately our behavior or choices. This is a biblical concept.
We are created spirit, soul, and body. These three things are interconnected. And when you make changes in one area, then you will see changes and others. There's an example in the Bible where Jesus demonstrates what would be similar to current CBT's therapies. It's actually a really familiar story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 38.
We begin the story when Mary and Martha hosted Jesus and his disciples in their home. The story starts out with Martha welcoming them into her home, she was excited to have such a man of honor visiting her. I'm going to be honest, considering the state of my house right now. And the fact that I need groceries, I don't think I would be as confident if a guest preacher was coming to town, let alone Jesus. But Martha, she was confident in her ability to host Jesus and the company that followed him. Then almost right after that, in verse 40, it says that Martha was distracted.
And when I looked that up, it says that she was over occupied and driven about mentally, Martha's thoughts were distracting her. In just a moment, she went from a confident house to being anxious and troubled, and those aren't my descriptive words. But when Martha went to Jesus with her stress, he identified the root of her trouble, that it's being anxious and troubled his her anxious thoughts and being troubled. It wasn't her work of hosting or all the work necessary for hosting. It wasn't that her sister was sitting at Jesus's feet, but it was her distorted thoughts that distracted her. Jesus brought correction to Martha's thoughts, and show the contrast that Mary was in a good position, Mary's mental state and her behavior was appropriate. Mary didn't have to change just because Martha was overwhelmed. Jesus pointed out the distorted thoughts, asked Martha to consider what would be appropriate and reasonable, and then challenged her to shift her thoughts. This is Jesus modeling Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT. It identifies distorted thinking, and it asks you to reflect if it's an appropriate if that's an appropriate response or an appropriate line of thinking. And then it encouraged us to change or adapt your thinking.
So that therefore your behavior or in your feelings, and your outcome is more positive. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is not reaching into the distant past. But rather it's looking at the current thought patterns that are at the root of behavioral issues. And I think Philippians 4:8 describes it best just says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about the such things, and the God of peace will be with you."
So friends, if you are nervous about attending therapy, or maybe you're hesitant to refer others, I hope that this description of the most common practice of CBT is able to bring you a better understanding of what will be discussed at therapy, or how it aligns with a word of God. You can have a therapist and love Jesus, and you can speak to a therapist and receive pastoral support at the same time. They don't have to be exclusive from each other.
So I hope today's episode, although it was a short one is helpful for you to better understand what counseling is and what cognitive therapy is all about. And that the reason it works is because it's based on biblical principles. If you've enjoyed today's podcast or or if you could think of someone who needs this encouragement, maybe they're hesitant to go to counseling or or maybe they're nervous if it will align with their belief system.
Do you mind sending them this podcast encourage them that they don't have to be scared or nervous about going to therapy, but actually, what is going to be discussed actually aligns with the word of God and will support them in their faith? Thanks so much. Thanks for listening and take care
