Just because I Go To Therapy Doesn't Mean I Don’t Love God

By: Alicia, Therapist Bae

God & therapy can coexist

So you want me, a strong black woman, to admit that I have moments of weakness? You want me to show vulnerability and express my truest and most hidden emotions? You’re going to provide me with a nonjudgmental space where I can talk about my trauma without worrying about you telling my secrets? You’re okay with me believing in God and still coming to talk to you? You sure? Because if so, then yeah, I want to try therapy. 

Believe it or not God sis, therapy can be just that; a safe space to talk. Yes, we are taught and have abided by the cultural allegiance to “give it to God '' and to “pray about it” and we plan on continuing to do that. But in 2020, we need to dig deeper and allow God and therapy to co-exist. A therapist will never be able to replace the foundation we have built with God and we shouldn't want it too. We are well aware that our strength comes from none other than the Savior Himself. Yet, we can’t allow cultural stigmas to hinder our growth as women and leave us to continue to suffer in silence! That’s tacky and we are not doing it this year! You are deserving of a healthy and healing life as well. 

God sisters you are strong and fearless women but you are still emotional beings underneath the many layers you wear. Underneath our brown skin lay invisible and internal scars that scab over and over again because they are untreated. Think of your mental health like an untreated wound. Think about how dangerous and risky it is to leave a wound untreated and how it can lead to complications and more serious problems if proper treatment is not given to it. Your emotional scars are the same way; you too have emotional wounds that need tender loving care.

Doctors can label our headaches and other somatic symptoms as stress but did you know it can really just be the weight of our unseen pains. It’s not as easy as taking a pill to make it all go away. We need to process it. We need to sit in it, feel it, and leave it in a space where it can be held, protected and honored. It’s okay to use a therapeutic space to talk about our childhood traumas and the personal or family secrets that have kept your family in toxicity all these years. You can cry without being judged there. You can explore healthy communication styles to use with your loved ones. We can use it as a personal growth setting and find out more about your truest selves. Whatever reason you choose, just know you won’t have to do it alone. God will be right there with you. He’s never left us and he certainly won’t leave us now, even in the therapy room.