TravelingChris Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I was looking for a therapist for my daughter with anxieties and specifically was looking for Christians. One therapist responded that she is a Christian and I said I need one for my daughter since part of her phobic problems include God and Heaven since she has issues with infinity and very large places. I didn't want an atheist to pooh pooh her concerns. So I found a therapist very near my home who practices and is willing to take my insurance and see her. NOw I have found out that she is LDS and so my only question deals with if she would say something else about heaven or the vastness of God then we would. I don't really know what you all believe about infinity and God's vastness and heaven. She has other phobias too like tsunamis and spiders but her most troublesome one is the whole universe/God/heaven one and I would like it dealt with since it troubles her so much but don't want other beliefs imposed on her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (edited) That's a tough one. I hope others will come and chime in. Latter-day Saints believe in eternity and infinity, for sure. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, etc. However, one big difference is that we believe God has a body. LDS don't believe in the creeds (Nicene, Athanasian), and the doctrines of the creeds don't make much sense to most LDS. So even if the counselor is professional and doesn't purposely try to insert her beliefs, she might have a tough time with dealing with any of your daughter's beliefs that stem from the creeds. Edited July 21, 2009 by Sara R clarifying pronouns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 If you're not LDS, you might want to find a therapist who aligns closer to your own beliefs. Nothing against LDS, but her world view is going to come through, which might be more confusing for your dd in the long run. Can you do a google for biblical counselors in your area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 My husband is a Pastor and also has been working towards NANC certification. NANC is a National group of Biblical Counselors. Here is a list of counselors that you can contact http://www.nanc.org/Directory.aspx . I highly recommend you look into this. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 (Former LDS here.) I agree with Sara that the vastness of God is the issue that might be a concern. This is one of the key differences between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity. Now, I don't know that it necessarily follows that the therapist would intentionally or unintentionally undermine your family's beliefs about God. I would like to think that a professional would be very careful about that with a minor child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I would say just sit down with her and ask how she will handle those kinds of issues. You need a therapist you can feel comfortable discussing things with, regardless of their worldview. Also, I'm not sure I could make any sort of blanket statement about how LDS therapists in general would handle issues like that. I think it really depends a lot on the specific individual. As Sara pointed out, there are some differences between LDS beliefs and those of creedal Christianity. However, I think most LDS people (therapists or otherwise) would find the idea of ANY therapist imposing their religious beliefs on a vulnerable patient to be highly unethical and repulsive. For one thing, while our beliefs are an important facet of our lives and we like to share them with other people around us in the hopes that they will find the same joy and peace that they bring us, we also believe strongly in respecting other people's beliefs. One of our articles of faith states, "We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." In other words, we expect other people to let us believe and worship as we choose, and we in turn believe it is wrong to coerce others into sharing our beliefs. I would certainly hope that any LDS therapist would ask about your family's beliefs and be supportive of them, and work with your daughter to overcome her fears within the context of her own belief system. As an LDS mom (though not a therapist), if I had a child of my own who expressed fears concerning the vastness of eternal time and infinite space and God's unlimited governance of the whole, unimaginable expanse of it all, I think I'd probably approach it with them by pointing out that it's not all a scary, empty, echoing, dark void, God fills infinity and eternity with many things--trees and flowers and kittens and fudge and all their favorite things, and houses, and parents and others who help keep us safe and comfortable. And wonderful things we've never seen yet and can't even imagine, but we'll find out about them in heaven. I'd probably focus on the idea that God loves them just like mommy and daddy do, and God wants to keep them safe not only on earth and in mortality, but forever and ever through all time and all space. And since God can reach through all time and all space, on earth and in heaven, God is able to keep them safe no matter where they are. But God organizes eternity and infinity into manageable, safe segments, like your bedroom and your house, and this earth, and I'm sure heaven is arranged in a safe way too. It's not terrifying emptiness, it's just a lot of different small places hooked together, and they hold wonderful things, and Heavenly Father really truly loves us and wants us to feel safe. I don't know how that matches up with your family's particular beliefs about God, heaven, eternity, infinity, etc., but as an LDS mom, that's probably the sort of thing I'd say to one of my kids. I don't know if any of that helps, and I can't speak for how your particular therapist would approach it. I would recommend sitting down with her and asking, though, no matter what her faith is, because not only are there differences in belief between faiths, there are also differences in understanding (and tact) between individuals within the same faith. I wouldn't let a therapist discuss issues like that with my child either, until I'd had a good chat with the therapist about their approach and was comfortable that they'd respect our beliefs. Give her a chance to discuss this with you, because I would guess that she'll be sensitive to your beliefs on this and work with you. But if you don't feel comfortable with her after talking it over, by all means find another therapist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 MamaSheep, I loved your description of the universe and infinity! Those issues used to scare me a little when I was young and I think you did a great job of making them more concrete and manageable, not to mention appealing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 MamaSheep: What a great response! Thanks for sharing what your thoughts were. I thought what you wrote was so beautiful and easy to understand :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Chris- I just pm'd you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 MamaSheep, I loved your description of the universe and infinity! Those issues used to scare me a little when I was young and I think you did a great job of making them more concrete and manageable, not to mention appealing! MamaSheep:What a great response! Thanks for sharing what your thoughts were. I thought what you wrote was so beautiful and easy to understand :) Aw, y'all are sweet. I was just thinking that hearing how a real live LDS person might answer that question would give the OP some insight into whether she would be comfortable with an LDS therapist or whether it was time run for the hills. But I'm always happy to discuss my take on things if people have questions, so long as it's a friendly discussion and not a bash fest. People here seem to be very respectful of one another's differing beliefs, which is one of the things I like about this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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