Page 27 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 9

which is meant to initiate the reconstruction word, it connects personal being with the natu-
process, is a personal, estimative, ethical ac- ral existence of the soul in all its mental aspects,
tion in relation to evil. Considering that a man including psychic dysfunction.
was created by Word and Spirit, the traumatic
alienation of the person is healed by the word An important function of the moral word in
that brings the Divine Spirit into contact with therapy is to counteract, with its ethical value,
the human spirit, and restores the right form of the mental suffering of a patient. The ‘psycholo-
human moral law by means of the word esta- gical’ word in dialogue with the word of the spi-
blishing God’s ordinances. The moral word re- rit lets the patient enter, by means of the word,
veals to a person his/her standards of morality into human hypostasis, into such a human sha-
in regard to good and evil, and his/her personal pe that can be the place of incarnation of the
inner attitude in opposition to the evil. Word of God. This is the place for the sensible
word of good and evil. For the patient to meet
From the point of view of method, Christian mental suffering with the moral word implies
psychotherapy initiates the rising up of the mo- an inevitable acceptance of his being a victim of
ral word from the tanglement and confusion of evil as the personal will of the other. And, while
meanings, and, more often, from the inversion meeting the effects of this evil impact, trying
of the meaning in the face of iniquity. Patients to avoid cynicism but being open to purifying
report that the outline of their original intenti- suffering. This is a process of purification of
on in the case of abuse changes like in Moebius suffering by means of the spiritual power of the
strips; the meaning slips from being honest to moral word.
being protesting, from being brave to being ag- The revival of the moral word in therapy produ-
gressive, from the desire to oppose unfairness ces in the patient sorrow for evil and sin, which
to the desire to sabotage and become stubborn purifies and spiritualizes the suffering, and
or unmoving. The moral word in Christian psy- enables him to endure the unbearable suffering
chotherapy is revived to fulfil its transfigurati- and to go ‘beyond’ ‘psychic death’ and deade-
ve work on the psychic reality of a patient, his ning evil. “The soul which is not transformed
emotional and mental state. Moral word comes by repentance does not know grace”, says D.
into being as a response to the distorted state of Staniloae. Thus, the moral word brings into the
a human spirit, assessing the results of the acti- suffering the healing “gift of tears”.
vity of cynicism, hypocrisy and treachery. These
outcomes may be internal, as represented in the IV
inner dialogue of the traumatized person. A pa- How can one discover the reality of a person
tient asks himself: “Why is my right behaviour in Christian psychotherapy?
so easily denied by my own inner agressor? Why To be more accurate – how can one recreate the
does reasonable evidence not have any effect on reality of a person corresponding to his soul,
my inner abuser? Why can I not truly believe which is human nature (essence)? In Christian
that I am God‘s creature?”. In therapy he finds psychotherapy we have to differentiate between
out the effects of his own cynicism and his own mental suffering and the soul pain – the suffe-
unfaithfulness towards his deepest identity. It ring of the spiritual order, suffering from the
becomes important to face the negative values, inability of the human spirit of a person to live
which have already been rooted in his personal in harmony with the Spirit of God, in the image
structure: egocentrism, self-interest, mendacity, and likeness of God. The soul pain draws our
cowardice, the tendency towards manipulation, attention to a split with the image of God.
abuse, lucre or unlimited power. The separation of the personal spirit, in which
freedom and will have been affected by evil and
In the course of psychotherapy the moral word sin, from the divine Image always takes place in
will take its place in the person instead of rage personal history. Any history is always personal
affects, bitterness, violence, hatred and desolati- as it is created by personal narration structu-
on as chronic states of the psyche. As an active red around the experience that can be named

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