A personal, reflective talk by Betsy Guerra (a clinical psychologist and mother) describing the limitations of psychotherapy alone and the role of faith in helping people overcome barriers. Guerra uses clinical anecdotes and her own grief after losing a daughter to argue that faith (in God, self, or purpose) can lift people past emotional walls where psychology alone cannot.
Chapters
A few years ago, I was giving a speech at a high school and a teenager asked me what is the hardest part about being a therapist. I didn't even have to think about it. The most difficult thing about my profession is that there are times that I am trying to warn a person that there's a precipice and they're gonna fall. And I'm in their faces and I'm like, don't go that way, don't go that way in their faces. But they go by me and they walk towards the cliff and it's excruciating to see someone fall off and feel that there was nothing I could do to save them. And it's even more painful when years later, they come back with clarity. That's what pain gives you. And there's so much that has already been lost. I've been doing this for over 20 years and I've had clients that believe in God, in the universe, in themselves, in the electric power, whatever they want to believe in. And I've had people that are self proclaimed atheists. And I remember this one client that was an atheist and he was in severe pain and he was also very depressed and suicidal. This young man worked so hard that his efforts paid off. He was no longer suicidal. After few months he had engaged in better social relationships. He joined some clubs at school which allowed him to share his gift. He was very creative and he got to a point where he got to his maximum potential. But when he got here, there was a big wall and this was as much as he could do on his own. This wall is too tall to be able to climb. When we get to our maximum potential as human beings and we hit that wall, we need somebody to grab us and lift us and take us to the other side of the wall. And that's when sky's the limit. That's why there's so many people that do things that we can't even imagine are possible. That's why we fly in an airplane. That's why there's electricity. That's why there's all these amazing things that we enjoy. Because of people that believed, because of people that had faith in God, in themselves, in the poss, in a goal, in a vision. Having faith is the most important thing in our process of becoming a better version of ourselves. And I have experienced it personally. When I lost my daughter, I didn't think I could live without her. And it got to the point that I lost hope. But I had faith and I had faith in that. I didn't have to be strong or have what it took to be happy again. I had somebody that was stronger than me, all powerful, all merciful, that loved me like crazy. And I knew that he was going to take me past that wall. And we all have that wall in our lives. We all have something that stops us from being better, from being happier, from fulfilling our purpose. We have a wall. And faith is what removes that barrier. Where psychology ends faith.
