Recently, I saw a video on YouTube by Conservative Talk Show host Matt Walsh where he spent twenty minutes disparaging the practice of therapy, Normally I would not even bother to respond to something like this, but since Mr. Walsh has such a large influence on people, I decided that I needed to say something. He started the video by saying that "If you are in therapy, you are probably wasting your time." He then talks about how mental health issues have increased, while more and more people are going to therapy. He makes the point by way of analogy that if therapy were indeed helping people, then we should see a decline in mental health issues. Since we do not see this decline, he concludes, therapy must not be very useful. While he does admit that correlation does not always mean causation, his point is invalid because he is operating under the assumption that these people are going to therapists and that their issues can be easily resolved. On the contrary, mental illness is a lifelong disease that can only be treated with medication and therapy. People who have mental illnesses understand that they will have to be on medication and see their therapist for the rest of their lives because it is not going away any time soon. However, the success of medication and therapy appears in the fact that these people can properly function in society. What was his analogy you wonder? He talked about how one year the Baltimore Ravens fired their strength and conditioning coach because they realized that their players were still getting hurt at remarkable rates. He equates this to therapy somehow, but this is a false analogy. A better analogy would be a doctor telling someone that they have lifelong diabetes and so they need to take insulin shots for the rest of their life. Now, the insulin shot is not going to cure this person, but if they properly use it, then they will be able to continue living normally. This is exactly how mental health treatment is.
He then shows a video of a woman who is twice divorced talking about how therapy has helped her and he further disparages this woman by saying that therapy obviously did her no favors. However, Matt does not know this woman from Adam nor does he know her story. How does he know that she was not in an abusive relationship twice? He does not. How does he know that this woman was not sexually abused by her former husband? He does not. He is merely assuming that she has blame for her divorce and that she is just playing blame avoidance because she does not want to take responsibility for her behavior. But, he offers no reason for us to believe this. All that he has is this woman's video and his own meandering assumptions about her.
Next, he talks about how therapists are not more insightful and wise but instead are "more confused" than the people they are counseling. His justification for this is the fact that many therapists are gender-affirming. He says this as if he believes that unless a therapist is right about everything they believe they cannot possibly be of any help to anyone. However, I would be willing to bet that he would not require this same standard for police officers. He would not expect a police officer to know everything there is to know about the justice system to be a good police officer. I am sure that even Mr. Walsh would admit that a police officer can be wrong about one aspect of the law and still do his job well. In the same way, a therapist can be wrong in one aspect and still be good at giving wise counsel. Furthermore, he acts as if there is no such thing as Christian conservative therapists who are not gender-affirming.
He finally concludes the video by saying that people just need to "get over themselves and get a hobby". He says that these people need to stop focusing on themselves because "life is hard and yours probably is not as hard as you think". He also says that the best thing we can do is keep our problems to ourselves with "quiet dignity". This is a gross simplification of mental illness and it is extremely detrimental to anyone who takes his advice. First, I would like to say that for most people in society, sure this kind of advice would actually work. However, for people who have mental illnesses (Which are most likely the people going to therapy), we actually do need someone who can guide us in learning how to manage our symptoms. Otherwise, we would be emotional trainwrecks who would either hurt themselves, hurt others, or commit suicide. Telling us to bottle up our emotions instead of talking it out with a professional is horrible advice. What Matt Walsh is essentially doing is akin to telling a diabetic to just "grow up" and stop taking his insulin shots.
Before I end this blog, I would like to discuss three benefits I have found from going to therapy. These are not the only three benefits, but they are the three main ones I have found for myself. If you can think of any more benefits, please let me know in the comments below. The three benefits are the following:
1) It Gives Me A Safe Place To Express My Feelings Without Judgment
When I say this, I am not referring to "safe space" like the SJWs talk about. What I am referring to is the fact that when I see my therapist, I am free to tell her anything that is on my mind without fearing that she will think any less of me. Instead, she offers me encouragement and gentle guidance when needed too.
2) It Draws Me Closer To Christ
I know that this sounds weird to say, but when I am not in therapy, my mind is cluttered with all kinds of intrusive thoughts and it makes it very difficult for me to have any kind of intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Once I leave my therapy session, however, I feel like my mind is cleared up and I can easily focus on drawing nearer to Him.
3) It Gives Me A Sense Of Belonging
This one should resonate with people because we all desire to belong somewhere. Whether it is with family, friends, work, or whatever, we all want to feel like we belong somewhere. Well, whenever I am talking to my therapist, I feel that same sense of belonging that we all share in common. I know that I will only be talking to her for an hour, but for that hour I feel like someone genuinely cares about my well-being. And that makes all the difference.
I hope that this blog helps you understand the process of therapy better and if you are someone who was troubled by Matt Walsh's video, then I hope this was an encouragement to you. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! Soli Deo Gloria!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other CCMH Ministry Website
He then shows a video of a woman who is twice divorced talking about how therapy has helped her and he further disparages this woman by saying that therapy obviously did her no favors. However, Matt does not know this woman from Adam nor does he know her story. How does he know that she was not in an abusive relationship twice? He does not. How does he know that this woman was not sexually abused by her former husband? He does not. He is merely assuming that she has blame for her divorce and that she is just playing blame avoidance because she does not want to take responsibility for her behavior. But, he offers no reason for us to believe this. All that he has is this woman's video and his own meandering assumptions about her.
Next, he talks about how therapists are not more insightful and wise but instead are "more confused" than the people they are counseling. His justification for this is the fact that many therapists are gender-affirming. He says this as if he believes that unless a therapist is right about everything they believe they cannot possibly be of any help to anyone. However, I would be willing to bet that he would not require this same standard for police officers. He would not expect a police officer to know everything there is to know about the justice system to be a good police officer. I am sure that even Mr. Walsh would admit that a police officer can be wrong about one aspect of the law and still do his job well. In the same way, a therapist can be wrong in one aspect and still be good at giving wise counsel. Furthermore, he acts as if there is no such thing as Christian conservative therapists who are not gender-affirming.
He finally concludes the video by saying that people just need to "get over themselves and get a hobby". He says that these people need to stop focusing on themselves because "life is hard and yours probably is not as hard as you think". He also says that the best thing we can do is keep our problems to ourselves with "quiet dignity". This is a gross simplification of mental illness and it is extremely detrimental to anyone who takes his advice. First, I would like to say that for most people in society, sure this kind of advice would actually work. However, for people who have mental illnesses (Which are most likely the people going to therapy), we actually do need someone who can guide us in learning how to manage our symptoms. Otherwise, we would be emotional trainwrecks who would either hurt themselves, hurt others, or commit suicide. Telling us to bottle up our emotions instead of talking it out with a professional is horrible advice. What Matt Walsh is essentially doing is akin to telling a diabetic to just "grow up" and stop taking his insulin shots.
Before I end this blog, I would like to discuss three benefits I have found from going to therapy. These are not the only three benefits, but they are the three main ones I have found for myself. If you can think of any more benefits, please let me know in the comments below. The three benefits are the following:
1) It Gives Me A Safe Place To Express My Feelings Without Judgment
When I say this, I am not referring to "safe space" like the SJWs talk about. What I am referring to is the fact that when I see my therapist, I am free to tell her anything that is on my mind without fearing that she will think any less of me. Instead, she offers me encouragement and gentle guidance when needed too.
2) It Draws Me Closer To Christ
I know that this sounds weird to say, but when I am not in therapy, my mind is cluttered with all kinds of intrusive thoughts and it makes it very difficult for me to have any kind of intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Once I leave my therapy session, however, I feel like my mind is cleared up and I can easily focus on drawing nearer to Him.
3) It Gives Me A Sense Of Belonging
This one should resonate with people because we all desire to belong somewhere. Whether it is with family, friends, work, or whatever, we all want to feel like we belong somewhere. Well, whenever I am talking to my therapist, I feel that same sense of belonging that we all share in common. I know that I will only be talking to her for an hour, but for that hour I feel like someone genuinely cares about my well-being. And that makes all the difference.
I hope that this blog helps you understand the process of therapy better and if you are someone who was troubled by Matt Walsh's video, then I hope this was an encouragement to you. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! Soli Deo Gloria!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other CCMH Ministry Website
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