Cognitive Therapy
Tumaini Articles #1
In each issue of Air Currents there will be Tidbits from Tumaini, which will try and help you understand more about psychology and mental health.
Psychology (the science of the mind) can be a mysterious area for many people, and for a long time many missionaries have been suspicious of psychology, thinking that it reflects secular thinking and gives excuses for bad behavior instead of relying on God’s help.
Actually Psychology is kind of mysterious, and it reflects how complex we are as human beings, and how fearfully and wonderfully we are made by our Heavenly Father. There are many different theories and ways of practicing psychology, both secular and Christian. To easier understand the different theories, it can be said that they all deal with three areas: Thinking, Feeling, and Behavior. Different theories emphasize and start with one of these three.
Some theories start with Thinking, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It says that people have irrational thoughts that pop up automatically when there is stress like conflict, challenges, and change. For example we say to ourselves, “I can’t do this,” or “No one really likes me.” If you can identify distortions of these thoughts such as over-generalization or all-or-nothing thinking, and then replace these thoughts with rational thinking like, “I could try,” or “Maybe I could get some help,” or “If I react differently, maybe the results will be different.” Sometimes we call this Self-Talk. A counselor trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can assist with helping someone recognize where their thinking is distorted and then identifying the truth. It is more than positive thinking, and it has similarities to memorizing Scripture and meditating on God’s Word. If you can replace the automatic negative thoughts with positive ones, this will affect how you feel about yourself and your life and God, and then your behavior will change too for the better.
There are counselors at Tumaini who are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You can contact Tumaini by calling 0728606911 or by email at tumaini.ac@aimint.org
