Neal and I see a counselor.
No, we’re not on the brink of divorce. And I’m not on anti-depressants, either (although it might not be a bad idea and I totally don’t judge others for using them).
We see this guy, David, for a lot of reasons.
We’ve committed to visiting him at least once a year for a kind of “annual marital checkup.” With the stressors of life, parenthood, working, life, (ministry) and life, we figure this is a must if we want to stay healthy. We usually chat about what’s going on (or not going on) between us, uncovering any potential sinkholes. It’s good.
We’ve also worked with David on…me. Last spring, we did three consecutive sessions so I could better deal with my past. Stuff I thought I’d healed from, but it just kept coming back up. It was painful, but good.
Two weeks ago, I visited David on my own to discuss some theological stuff that was (most literally) driving me crazy. You wouldn’t know it by my over-analytic blog posts, but I tend to think too critically about some things…and this one issue just kept me near-nausea. So, I vented and David listened and then he monologued and the Spirit of God kind of snuck in there somewhere and gave me some rungs on the ladder leading back to sanity. It was good.
If you can’t tell already, I think seeing a counselor is good.
For your marriage, or for your singleness.
For your motherhood, or for recovering from childhood.
For relationship with people and relationship with God.
For a safe place to think aloud the things you’re hardly ever allowed to say.
Now, along the way we’ve encountered a couple doozies. This one dude would dredge up crap from my childhood and then just send me on my way. I’d stumble out of his office, reaching for anything to stop the emotional hemorrhaging. Not so good. Another guy we visited just wasn’t great. There was no chemistry so we moved on.
And found David.
And it’s been good.
Have you seen a counselor? What was your experience like?
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