Babies on the Therapeutic Couch – Dr. Paul J. Dean

Psychotherapy doesn’t necessarily require the probing of one’s past any more. Of course, that development depends upon the age of the patient. Consider this new trend with a couple of excerpts from a news piece out of London with a few thoughts to follow.

According to the Telegraph in an article entitled “Babies on the Couch,” “Tots as young as a few months old are being taken for psychotherapy, and not just in America…”

In a specific case: “Toby was eating well, sleeping soundly and was, generally, at one with the world. He did, however, have a seemingly insoluble problem that was causing him quite a bit of anxiety: he wasn't bonding with Sahar, the woman he loved most in the world. Therapy seemed the obvious, 21st century solution. Over the next 11 months, he spent several sessions with Dr Stella Acquarone, a psychologist and psychotherapist, at her private mental health clinic. Not only did his difficulties disappear, but his relationship with Sahar flourished into a loving, life-long bond.”

Don’t miss this:

“Toby began his therapy when he was just one month old, at Dr Acquarone's parent-infant clinic at the School of Infant Mental Health in Hampstead, north London. His parents are among an increasing number who believe that good mental health cannot be established early enough.”

Or this:

“For Miss Mientakeivitch, 34 when Toby was born, the bond between mother and son was not established at birth. Suffering post-natal depression, she had panic attacks and suicidal thoughts at what she, wrongly, believed was her incompetence as a mother.”

“In America, where therapy is, perhaps, still more common than in Britain, the notion that one had to wait until a child was at least five before tackling emotional problems is now considered out of date. "There is a growing awareness that we can identify mental health problems in infants and toddlers and that early intervention is very important," says Dr Joy Osofsky, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Louisiana State University, one of America's foremost experts on infant mental health.”

What are we to make of such convoluted thinking?

First, consider the age at which Toby entered psychotherapy: just one month. The baby cannot even roll over but can begin therapy and be given a psychological diagnosis? Such a notion points to the psychologized worldview embraced by most. No biblical doctrine can be more easily defended by a vast measure of overwhelming evidence gleaned through simple observation than that of the total depravity of man and the accompanying noetic effects of sin. It is that reality that fuels the mad rush into psychological oblivion.

Second, how does one “establish good mental health” at the age of one month? “Well Doc, my experience in the womb wasn’t all that great. It was generally damp and cramped. I couldn’t wait to get out. Do you think I’m claustrophobic?”

Third, is it not reasonable to assume that a panicked and suicidal mother would have trouble bonding with her one month old baby? The immediate conclusion or underlying assumption was that something must be mentally wrong with the child: a child who was otherwise a healthy baby, (one who was “eating well, sleeping soundly and was, generally, at one with the world).” A psychological mindset is no benign opinion or set of opinions. Such a mindset necessarily eschews personal responsibility and seeks to lay blame at the feet of someone or something else. Furthermore, it seeks to create problems where there are none. Of course, when real problems exist, the root and cure are missed completely. Christian leaders and indeed all Christians who integrate worldly philosophy into their counseling must carefully consider the presuppositions upon which psychology is founded and the resulting applications that are by nature destructive of genuine health of the soul. “Blessed is the man who walks not after the counsel of the ungodly (Ps. 1:1).”

Fourth, Dr. Joy Osofsky asserts, "There is a growing awareness that we can identify mental health problems in infants and toddlers and that early intervention is very important.” As always, the question remains: what is the objective data upon which this assertion is made? Awareness is the wrong word. There is no doubt a growing faith commitment to a false worldview in opposition to Christ, but certainly not awareness. In the end, we must remember that “in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3).”

Dealing With Pride: The Root of Most Problems - Part Two - Dr. Paul J. Dean

Previously, we looked at one major way that God has given us to put down pride in our hearts. A number of implicaitons were gleaned to help in this endeavor as well. Today we offer a few more ways to deal with the root of most of our problems.

Second, we can put down pride in our hearts with an understanding of God's grace. In v. 7, Paul broadens the application. Not only does he refer to the way in which we are to judge others, but he refers to the way in which we are to judge ourselves. Moreover, he refers to the fact that all we are and that all we have is by grace. "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" Paul's point, by way of question, is simply this: "how can we judge anyone, including ourselves, better than another in light of the fact that all we are has been given to us by the grace of God?" An understanding of our depraved condition and the grace of God as the only means of transforming that depravity is the great equalizer. We as human beings are prone to compare ourselves to one another. The more we understand grace, the less apt we will be to make these false and sinful comparisons.

Paul asks three questions to make his point. First, "for who makes you different from anyone else?" The obvious answer here is "God." He is the One who makes us to differ from another. He has determined where and when we were born. He determined the influences upon our lives. He is the One who worked His providence in our lives. He is the One who decided to save us and gift us as He pleased. He is the One who works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. Thus, an understanding of God's grace causes us to understand that God is the One who makes us to differ from others.

Second, Paul asks, "what do you have that you did not receive?" This question is an expansion of the first question. If God is the One who makes you to differ, what do you have that you did not receive from God? The answer is "nothing." Everything we are and everything we have is of God and from God. Nothing we have and nothing we have done has come from our own hand or our own ingenuity. Certainly, we are responsible for our actions, yet, the good that we do and the achievements to which we attain are part of God's providential work of grace in our lives. Therefore, an understanding of God's grace causes us to understand that God is the One who has given us all we have.

Third, we have a final expansion: "and if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" This question is the natural concluding question to the preceding succession. If all that we are is by the grace of God, how can we boast in ourselves or in others? Should not we rather boast in the Lord of grace? An understanding of this truth will cause us not to boast in men and indeed will cause us to humble ourselves underneath the mighty hand of God that He might lift us up.

Thus, an understanding of God's grace, an understanding of the fact that He is the One who makes us to differ from others, and an understanding of the fact that He is the One who has given us all we have, makes boasting in ourselves ridiculous and sinful. This understanding will cause our pride to recede.

Third, we can put down pride in our hearts with an acknowledgment of God's abundance. In v. 8, Paul levels his rebuke. "Already you are full! Already you have become rich! You have become kings-- and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!" The flow of Paul's thought is thus: "you are already full of the grace of God and His giftedness in abundance. You are rich in these things! Yet, you have forgotten that these things have been given to you by grace and you have exalted yourselves as kings! You count yourselves royalty, and, you do so without us, the very ones who brought you the gospel. You have elevated yourselves above us, and indeed everyone, with your prideful attitude. How I wish that you really had become kings in the Christian sense, that is, kingly in humility before God and man. How I wish that you lived in humble submission to the only King and Lord that we might then come and humbly rule with you in His service!"

Paul makes several points. The Corinthians had been abundantly filled with the grace of God. We may glean our application here. We too may affirm the bounty God has given us. In the first place, we are rich with salvation in Christ. In the second place, we are rich with giftedness from Christ. In the third place, we are rich with royalty by Christ. In a sense, we are kings by grace. Thus, we may not be kings by pride. With so much from Christ, why should we have occasion to covet others? Moreover, knowing that what we have in Christ, though abundant, is from Christ by grace, how can we be prideful as if we supplied the abundance?

Additionally, God's grace had given the Corinthians occasion to boast in themselves so that they lorded themselves over others (in thought and in deed). Again, an understanding of God's abundance toward us will cause us not to do such things.

Fourth, we can put down pride in our hearts with a recognition of God's servants. The Corinthians were in effect discounting and discarding Paul and Apollos, the very men God had used to influence their lives. We must understand that God places different people in the body for our benefit. (He also places men and women in the world for our benefit including doctors, law enforcement officers, basketball stars, artists, musicians, etc. Rather than be jealous, we should praise God for the enrichment they bring to our lives). God uses others to influence our lives, thus, we thank God for His servants. God uses others to influence our lives, thus, we do not shun God's servants. Paul would have gladly ministered with the Corinthians. As it was, he was unable to do so because of their pride. How dangerous a dynamic is pride!

Fifth, we can put down pride in our hearts with a contentment in God's service. As we recognize that we are kings in Christ, that is, that we already rule with him positionally speaking, we can be content. We are content to be Christian kings. We may affirm that Christian kings serve the Lord. Further, Christian kings serve with others. In so doing, Christian kings serve with humility. If they serve with humility, Christian kings will serve with joy.

By way of summary, pride is put down when we have an unwavering commitment to the authority of God's word in our lives. His word tells us that pride is sin. Christians repent of sin. Further, when we recognize that all that we are is by grace, and that ultimately we deserve death and Hell, we will be apt to be less prideful. We must keep that truth in the forefront of our minds continually. In addition, if we acknowledge that we have already been given an abundant supply of everything we need, we can put down pride. How rich we are compared with lost sinners! (In our American context, even materially speaking, how rich we are compared to most of the world!) At the same time, if we appreciate the goodness of God in giving us skilled and artistic people for our benefit and pleasure (to the praise of the glory of His grace), we will enjoy rather than covet their skill or talent. How I love to watch Michael Jordan soar through the air and dunk the basketball; or listen to Beethoven make the piano come to life! Thank you Lord! Finally, when we are content with God's providence in our lives, especially regarding His call upon our lives, we will humbly serve Him with joy.

May God grant His people the grace of humility that they might be effective in His service for His glory and the advancement of the gospel. May we deal with pride in our hearts that we might find joy in Christ rather than discontentment in our circumstances.

[Scroll Down for Part One]