Christian psychotherapy

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleХристиянска психотерапия
3. Language term Bulgarian
4. lemma author Nachev, Ivaylo
5. lemma category Scientific theories and disciplines > Psychology-Psychoanalysis - Complementarity
6. lemma work Груева, Таня [Author]. Christian psychotherapy
7. lemma manifestations Christian psychotherapy - София: Нов Човек, 2009.
8. Keywords psychotherapy and religion - Christian psychotherapy - psychotherapy and religion - psychoanalysis
9. Lemma body

   1. The book explores the Orthodox mental care traditions and the possibilities for reconciliation between the Christian experience and the modern medicine. It combines a Biblical analysis, an overview of historical cooperation and current developments with the aim to show the contribution of the Christian psychotherapy.

      The author approached the subject from the psychology of religion point of view. Tanya Grueva sees a fusion between the Orthodox tradition and science as a promising possibility for improving psychological health. The contribution of Christianity is that it gives new dimensions underlining the organic link between mental illness and spiritual life. According to the author, many psychiatrists sought answers in religion and cooperation with theologians, because of the increased number of disorders over the lasts decades. On the other side, the care for health and soul is intrinsic for the Orthodoxy, which puts it very close to medicine. The Orthodoxy has various therapeutic methods which can be updated and used in contemporary practice. Speaking as someone with more than ten years practice in a clinic in Sofia, Grueva argued that faith can be crucial in the process of mental healing and that the Bulgarian Church should address this problem.

      Chapter One examined medical practices and examples of healing in the Bible. It also studied the link between illness and sin in the Christian scriptures and between faith and various mental disorders. Attention was devoted to various passages that encourage the Christian care for sick people. The author argued that the principles of psychotherapy are present in the Bible. Furthermore, various examples are given to underline the significant role of the Church in health care in the past. Grueva also reflected on repentance and confession as means for mental balance. Chapter Two focused on the role of Jesus Christ for restoring mental harmony. Its point of departure is that the damaged harmony between God and men is the main reason for spiritual suffering. The author considered the power of Jesus’ word and the word as the most common method of healing even today. Grueva acknowledged the disagreement with the main stream of secular interpretations which are inclined to view episodes of healing in the New Testament as a result of suggestion or autosuggestion. The book also reviews Biblical episodes of exorcism and the increased interest in occult practices and shamanism. The third chapter tackled the question regarding the healing deeds of the so called Seven Saints (“Свети Седмочисленици”), the late 9^th - early 10^th century apostles of the Slavic alphabet, and also looked at the figure of Saint John of Rila as a healer.     

      Chapter Four examined the methodology of the Christian psychotherapy. According to the author, its methods are generally more cautious than the traditional psychoanalysis, which in some cases can be painful to the patients and furthermore the Christian psychotherapy does not have side effects like other much more invasive methods, which, for example, include the use of narcotic substances. It was also reflected on the meaning of the religious experience and its repercussions on the mental state. A number of methods were studied in detail: Bible therapy, healing with word, prayer. The author also argued in favor of methods of the traditional (folk) medicine as an addition to the methods of the modern medicine. Attention was devoted to aspects of the work of psychotherapists and priests. In theory, the methods and goals are quite different, but this does not make the cooperation impossible. In the practice, despite cases of cooperation, many psychotherapists are atheists or skeptical about religion and generally speaking, the medical materialism is well present. However, combining the efforts of psychotherapists and priests would help many people to change their way of life.           

      Chapter Five shifted the focus and examined the traditional medical psychotherapy.  It traced the historical development of modern psychology, noting that current achievements are based on thousands of years of human experience with well-known phenomena sometimes described with new terminology. The author argued that the fundaments of the Bulgarian psychotherapy have been laid by sections of the monastery hospitals several centuries ago. In more detail were examined the ideas of Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. According to Grueva, the psychoanalysis could bring improvement in some cases, but its capacity should not be overestimated. From the point of view of the religious psychotherapy, it cannot compensate the lack of spiritual life. In order to sort out the positive sides of modern psychology it should be “associated” with the Orthodox traditions. Self-knowledge is one possible point for interactions between the two. Part of the chapter dealt with the use of hypnosis by various modern methods, a violent and forceful intervention from a Christian point of view, according to the author. It is necessary that modern science should include notions from the Christian anthropology.

      Chapter Six summarized traditions of the Bulgarian Orthodox church in the mental care field and elaborated on the perspectives for future work. The author presented a few more recent successful attempts of Orthodox priests to participate in the care for mental disorders. It was also elaborated on the experience and possibilities of care for underage people. Looking at the history of healthcare in Bulgaria one sees a strong and continuous link between medicine and Church, between physicians and clerics. The current developments allow us to speak of gradual revival of the traditions, according to Grueva.