A friend of mine and I were talking about the effects of religion on people’s lives. One thing that came up was if the act of confession makes it less necessary to go to therapy. Both our WAGs thought it did, but we couldn’t find any cites. There is lots of guilt and redemption in catholicism, but it feels logical that confession would unload a lot of personal guilt. If anyone have a cite which tells how devout followers of different religions se psychotherapy, it would be very welcome.
tG
I don’t have any stats to cite, but as a practicing Catholic, I don’t see any reason that Catholics would be less likely to see a secular psychiatrist, if it seemed called for.
Most priests I know have had at least some training in secular psychiatry, and none would hesitate to refer a parishioner to a secular psychiatrist if that parishioner showed any signs of mental illness.
A Catholic who had only “normal,” ordinary, garden-variety personal problems might seek out a priest rather than a cliched, Freudian, “lie on the couch and tell me about your mother” analyst… but he wouldn’t view the priest as a substitute for a real medical doctor.
On the other hand, the ability to confess and recieve consolation itself probably does promote mental health and healthy attitudes. I know I’d be quite off my rocker if I couldn’t do so.
Not a total catch all in mental therapy, but World Wide Marriage Encounter is helpful for married couples and couples who are planning to marry in the Catholic Church. Ms. Rex and I went on a retreat before we got married (a requirement of the church). I also have heard from married couples that went to Marriage Encounter and claimed it definitely improved their marriage.
Actually, a lot of referrals for counseling are made in the confessional. So, it may turn out that Catholics are more likely to go to counseling than other groups.
Peace.