{"id":323,"date":"2009-08-20T11:06:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-20T11:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/analyze-this-a-catholic-psychiatrist-on-the-mind-and-mountains.html"},"modified":"2009-08-20T11:06:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-20T11:06:00","slug":"analyze-this-a-catholic-psychiatrist-on-the-mind-and-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/analyze-this-a-catholic-psychiatrist-on-the-mind-and-mountains.html","title":{"rendered":"Analyze this: a Catholic psychiatrist on the mind, and mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s something<\/a> you don’t hear about very often: a Catholic psychiatrist who has, in effect, made the mind his ministry: <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Dr. Tom Welch, keen of mind yet mild-mannered, has emerged as a champion of compassion.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old Catholic psychiatrist \u2014 in addition to keeping a private practice and teaching \u2014 tours the country helping Catholics move past the most tenacious of stigmas.<\/p>\n

We should be as comfortable talking about mental illness as we do discussing arthritis or a broken bone, says Welch, a member of St. Philip Neri Parish in Portland.<\/p>\n

After 14 years of practice, Welch knows that there is really little difference between people with mental illness and everyone else. A little brain chemistry usually does it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all struggle and we all have areas where we are not yet to the place we want to be,\u201d he says, sitting in his tasteful yet modest office, a former Catholic elementary school classroom at St. Philip Neri. \u201cFor some people, those areas may just be more visible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who are mentally ill, recovering from addiction and maybe in trouble with the law \u2014 those are his kind of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy working with people with severe mental illness,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are the underdogs. They get left out. They get discriminated against. They are the most deserving.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an act of discipleship for Welch. He knows Jesus sought the outcasts and he tries to follow the way of the Lord, as demanding as it is. He considers his time with these people a \u201cglimpse into the divine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He does not advertise himself as a \u201cCatholic psychiatrist.\u201d Nor does he toss scripture quotes around in therapy sessions. But if a patient seems open and if it would be helpful, he can speak the insightful language of faith.<\/p>\n

For example, one man spoke of his life struggles as climbing a mountain. He seemed to think that God was a vengeful force who wanted to keep him off the heights.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Welch recalls saying. \u201cI think God is big on getting to mountaintops.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Visit the Catholic Sentinel link<\/a> for the rest. <\/p>\n

PHOTO:\u00a0<\/span><\/b> by Ed Langlois \/ The Catholic Sentinel<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s something you don’t hear about very often: a Catholic psychiatrist who has, in effect, made the mind his ministry: Dr. Tom Welch, keen of mind yet mild-mannered, has emerged as a champion of compassion. The 44-year-old Catholic psychiatrist \u2014 in addition to keeping a private practice and teaching \u2014 tours the country helping Catholics…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-links-r-us"],"yoast_head":"\nAnalyze this: a Catholic psychiatrist on the mind, and mountains - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/analyze-this-a-catholic-psychiatrist-on-the-mind-and-mountains.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Analyze this: a Catholic psychiatrist on the mind, and mountains - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here’s something you don’t hear about very often: a Catholic psychiatrist who has, in effect, made the mind his ministry: Dr. Tom Welch, keen of mind yet mild-mannered, has emerged as a champion of compassion. 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