'I Needed to Clarify Things.' Pope Francis on When He Used to See a Therapist

[steve2470]

http://time.com/4924655/pope-francis-therapist-new-book/

In a new book due to be published next week, Pope Francis has revealed that he consulted with a psychoanalyst once a week for six months in the 1970s to help him "clarify things."

The 432-page book, titled Pope Francis: Politics and Society, is based on interviews between the Pontiff and French sociologist Dominique Wolton. The Pope told Wolton that seeing a therapist "helped [him] a lot" and that he now "felt free."

"I’m in a cage at the Vatican, but not spiritually. Nothing frightens me," he said in excerpts reported by The Guardian.

When Pope Francis was seeing a psychoanalyst, Argentina, his homeland, was ruled by a military dictatorship. He was head of the South American country's Jesuit order at the time.


I know a lot of people on DU don't like the Pope or Catholicism, but at least he's setting a good example with this disclosure, imho.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Agreed. There should be no stigma in seeking/receiving treatment of any kind.

[steve2470]

2. amen! nt