Have you ever read a passage from the Gospel and asked yourself, "I wonder what Jesus was feeling in this passage? What emotions was he experiencing here?"

(I would be willing to bet it isn’t all that often.)

For some reason, it’s easy to forget that Jesus actually felt things as we tend to gloss over the real experience of Jesus. 

In his humanity, he knew what it was to feel sadness, joy, and amusement … the sting of rejection, anger, apprehension…

To...

As we wrap up this month dedicated to bringing more awareness to topics surrounding mental health, I’d like you to meet another one of our CatholicPsych clinicians and IDDM mentors who has been available to help those who suffer with mental illness. 

This week I’d like you to meet Sandra Czybora, LMHC. Sandra lives in New York, has been working at CatholicPsych as a psychotherapist for a little over three years now, and also provides Mentorship through our new model of care...

"Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter."
These wise words are from a sermon given by St. Charles Borromeo back in the 1500's, but I thought them a timely reminder for our present day.

There's definitely a lot of "chatter" in our modern lives - in the news, in social media, in our own heads. We're living through turbulent times, and all the change and uncertainty can amplify the "noise" of anxious ruminations, contributing to feelings of overwhelm.  

...

A short reflection for Epiphany, 2021. 

The year 2020 reminded us that it’s really scary to not be in control; to live in time where things can change rapidly from moment to moment.

We learned that what we take for granted now might be gone tomorrow, and that we have no way to know what will happen in our future.

With everything going on in the world right now, it can feel dark and frightening. So many people I've spoken to find themselves entering this new year with more...

We're officially heading into the last couple weeks of 2020... and I'm thinking we're all feeling ready to put this stressful year to rest.

With Christmas approaching next week though, you may be feeling as if you can't rest just yet because of all that needs to be done to prepare for the holiday.

It's important to recall simple ways we can increase peace and joy in our lives and the lives of those around us as we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation: one of the most incredible events ever...

~ Guest Blog Post by CatholicPsych Therapist Chantal Leger ~

Recently, as I was praying with the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, I received a beautiful reflection on our common tendency toward anxiousness. Now, let me begin by making it clear that I am not referring to any clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder, but rather to the natural human tendency to stress and overwhelm that we all feel.

In the Gospel, Martha and Mary are two sisters who respond to Jesus’ presence...

Our Lady of Guadalupe is such a fascinating apparition of the Blessed Mother. First of all, she poses a real problem to non-believers as she left behind scientifically scrutinized, undeniable proof of a miracle. There is no honest way for “I’ll believe it when I see it” atheists to exist (or protestants who don’t believe in the importance of Mary for that matter). If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google is your friend. Look up “scientific...

How many times have you set out to get somewhere and you surprise yourself when you get there? “Oh wow, I’m here already?!” If you were driving, you might wonder if you actually stopped at a certain red light because you have no recollection of it, or you wonder in amazement at the fact that you know a route so well you can travel it without thinking about it. Chances are, you were still thinking, just not about where you were going. Your mind was probably...

You might be surprised to learn that the final post in the series about feminine brain strengths is actually about worry. As a psychologist, I rarely talk about worry as a strength.

I should qualify here that I am talking about a little worry, not to be confused with the excessive worry that constitutes anxiety.

In fact, I don’t even like using the word worry, but there is great value in being able to see certain tendencies as part of a spectrum and not necessarily entirely different...