To make a comparison between “Talking Therapy” and the Catholic Sacrament of Confession, both begin with talking to a trained person about negative thoughts and feelings to make positive changes.
One is free while the other has a fee, and rightly a good therapist deserves their compensation. The priest on the other-hand is accustomed to waiting for his reward.
Talking with a True priest is done secretly, behind closed doors to diminish the pain of accusing ourselves of sinful deeds.
The talking therapy technique is face to face giving the professional an opportunity to categorize the situations as mental health problems in general. Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behavior. Counseling of this type is probably ideal for people who are healthy but need help coping with a current crisis. While the person choosing Confession knows already, because of their faith, on the effect of their behavior due to their human weakness.
Both the priest or an occupational therapist will admit talking always helps people who are distressed by a complicated past or are currently having a conflict of conscience.
The most significant difference and benefits with the Sacrament of Confession are knowing we receive a restart in life, a brand new page to begin again. How do I know? The Bible tells us so! Speaking to the Church, “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”[John 20:23] Retained in the sense of the word meaning the penitent had no sorrow.
I imagine “sorrow” would be an emotion therapist enjoy seeing within their patient’s recovery, especially when dealing with “guilt.”
Protestants like to laugh at Catholics, and that too is good therapy, laughter is natural medicine. It lifts our spirits and makes us feel happy. They laugh at Catholics who often receive the Sacrament of Confession and leave the confessional with their RESTART; only to fall again. But in honestly those who opt an adventure of “Talking Therapy” also take that same walk over and over.
Remember too, those of you who believe in God, better to receive from Him an “E” for effort, than a “D” for despair.
