Kate Motaung

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder? All of us worry about things like health, money, or family problems. But people with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, are extremely worried about these or other things, even when it seems there is no reason to worry. This is a type of worry that disrupts your life most days. Many people with GAD have physical symptoms that can include headaches and being tired all of the time. Anyone can be diagnosed with generalized

Part 1 of a 4-Part Series Men struggling with pornography often arrive for counseling with two basic fears: First, that pornography is threatening to take over their lives, if it hasn’t already. Second, that they are going to be shamed for their character, then instructed simply to read their Bible and pray more. Another simplistic but common treatment approach is to focus on the act itself and corresponding behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Steps are formulated to identify cognitive-behavioral triggers

Sexual addiction is the inability to stop sexual behavior, even when it damages your life. It involves engaging in excessive sexual fantasies and urges in response to anxiety, depression, or stressful life situations. Sexual addiction is characterized by repetitive but unsuccessful attempts to control or significantly curtail these fantasies, urges, and behaviors. Engaging in sexual behavior without regard for the risk of emotional or physical harm to yourself or others is another hallmark of sexual addiction. This article is

The Bible instructs us “to be anxious for nothing,” but that is easier said than done. In our high-tech, high-speed world, we are forced to run faster and faster just to keep up. Countless magazines and Internet sites provide us with ways to deal with the urgency we feel to get it all done. They offer meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises as ways to relax, in addition to unplugging and turning off. Women are told that they can have it all –

There are a number of things that differentiate Christian counseling from traditional secular psychotherapy – and foremost among them is prayer. Prayer, in the Christian context, is uniquely suited to Christian counseling. The reason I say this is because in a sense prayer and Christian counseling both derive their power and influence from the same source – namely, a relationship. Is Prayer Really Powerful? If you come from a Christian background, and perhaps even if you don’t, you will

When people ask me about the Christian marriage counseling that I offer couples in my practice, they want to know what works. The truth is that Christian marriage counseling, perhaps more so than individual counseling, needs to work. Of course, all therapy needs to work and needs to be of the same high quality and caliber, but there is nevertheless a difference with marriage counseling. Important as it may be to have highly qualified counseling, the reality is that, aside

Christian Counseling vs Secular Counseling Okay, so the title may be better stated as: “Why does psychology sometimes fail where Christian counseling would succeed?” The truth is that psychology  ?  in the sense of professional psychotherapy  ?  does work. And yet, sometimes it fails. This leaves us with the question: Why does secular counseling work for some and not for others? What is the difference between Person A, who has an addiction, gets counseling, and stops, and Person B

Left untreated, trauma destroys lives. Living with someone with PTSD can be extremely difficult. It can cause so much stress for family members that they may not be able to cope, and may eventually leave or divorce their partners. Fallout from this disorder is far-reaching and is devastating to all associated with it. What Causes PTSD? Post-traumatic stress can affect anyone, including those who have not experienced the horrors of battle. According to the American Psychiatric Association, PTSD occurs

A Christian Counselor Speaks Again Part 2 of a 2-Part Series The next time you feel depressed, anxious, stressed, or worried, take a moment to notice what it is that feeds your thoughts. It is highly likely that your mind is full of negative thoughts. There is a very strong correlation between what we think and what we feel. In psychology, these types of thoughts are called cognitive distortions. This term simply means that what you are thinking about

In the introduction to his book Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine writes: “… trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence. Not only can trauma be healed but with appropriate guidance and support, it can be transformative.” Our Childhood Experiences Shape Our Lives We are all the sum of our experiences, as well as of the memories of those experiences. If we are lucky enough to have been born into a

A Christian Counselor Speaks Part 1 of a 2-Part Series We all have negative thoughts from time to time, but this is especially true of people dealing with anxiety and depression. Cognitive distortion is a term used to describe a pattern of thinking that habitually shifts life events into a negative framework. These distorted messages or automatic thoughts occur so rapidly that we hardly notice them, let alone stop to question them. Furthermore, we come to believe that these

A Christian Counselor Explains As a couple and family therapist, I believe that family therapy is the best option in many circumstances. Although there are times when individual or couple work is preferred, or more appropriate, I am convinced that family therapy has serious benefits. In this article, I want to introduce you to new possibilities and perspectives that are not always considered. Over the past two years I have worked intensively with children and families experiencing multiple difficult