A pioneering mental health clinic exclusive in the Harrisburg, PA area is offering those with psychological, behavioral, or relational problems a way to overcome these problems through a Christian-based psychotherapy. Imago Dei Clinic is currently the only clinic of its kind. Imago Dei means "image of God." This unique type of psychotherapy is based on the teaching that every person is created in God's image.
Developed by clinical psychologist Dr. G. C. Dilsaver, Imago Dei Psychotherapy (IDP) locates psychology within a Christian understanding of the nature of the human person. IDP seeks to restore in a person the image of God, which consists of a person's reason and free will, when that image has been distorted by mental and emotional disorders.
The clinic, which opened on September 15, 2005, offers therapy for individuals, married couples and families, and addresses the entire gamut of mental illnesses, including those that involve mood, such as depression and mania, psychotic disorders, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, conduct and behavioral problems, and anxiety and stress.
IDP can also help individuals embrace life circumstances, assist married couples in alleviating marital discord and deepening their love for each other, and help families strengthen familial bonds.
Imago Dei Clinic's main office is located on 20 Erford Rd. Lemoyne, directly across the river from Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania Capital Buildings. But the Clinic draws from more than just the local population. Imago Dei Clinic's patients come from far and wide, including Lancaster, Scranton, State College, Pittsburgh, and the Washington, D.C. area. Imago Dei Clinic also offers marital and individual sessions that consist of 1-3 days of intensive all-day therapy. These intensive sessions have drawn patients from as far away as California.
Dr. Dilsaver, in addition to a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, also has an advanced degree from the John Paul II Pontifical Institute in Marriage and Family. He developed IDP through his study of psychology, philosophy, and theology, with the premise that psychological science depends on philosophy for its understanding of human nature, and that a correct philosophy finds its validation in traditional Christian theology.
"Imago Dei Psychotherapy defines mental health as the ability to perceive, receive, reflect on, and act upon the real," he said. "In accord with the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, the real is understood as being, and being emanates from the Supreme Being that is God."
One aspect of IDP that differentiates it from other forms of psychotherapy is that it recognizes the spiritual as an essential component of mental health.
"Image Dei Psychotherapy views certain personality structures as a false self that needs to be diminished in order to achieve mental health," Dr. Dilsaver said. "These false personality structures are secreted as a defense against the pain of our existence, which is an existence that is subject to limitations, suffering, and death. If we can die to these false selves, the true self or the imago Dei becomes dominant and we are able to spiritually transcend our existence. Paradoxically, when we are able to transcend our existence we are also able to tolerate and fully embrace it."
IDP also aims to refrain from focusing on labels when it comes to diagnosing a person's mental illness, and reminds patients that their disorder does not define who they are.
"Psychologists can label people according to a handful of personality types. As such, it is not personality type that makes a person unique. Rather, uniqueness is found in being in the image of God," he said.
Though IDP is based on traditional Christian anthropology, the psychotherapy has benefited non-Christians and even those with no specific religious belief.
"The traditional Christian understanding of human nature is true for all people regardless of their personal beliefs, thus IDP is efficacious for all people," Dr. Dilsaver said. "In any case, IDP's content is more philosophical than theological. My specific competency as a psychologist is not to bring patients into the faith; but to help them rectify their reasoning ability and make free choices in accorded with that reasoning. As a result, they are able to see the truth and choose the good, and are poised to encounter the ultimate truth and good, which is God."
Dr. Dilsaver has written a textbook, Imago Dei Psychotherapy, which will be published in the near future and distributed through a major book publisher. He hopes this publication will facilitate the effort to train more therapists in IDP so the clinic can expand it presence. Already there have been inquires from other parts of the country as to the possibility of an Imago Dei Clinic coming to their area.
Dr. Dilsaver lauds the presence of clinicians who are committed Christians or who overtly practice as "Christian psychotherapists." "They follow moral and spiritual guidelines that can only enhance the therapeutic process."
However, even with the presence of such practitioners, until now there has not been developed a systematic psychotherapy that thoroughly locates the science of psychology within the Christian worldview. It is Dr. Dilsaver's firm belief that efforts such as Imago Dei Psychotherapy will eventually transform clinical psychology. "When the science of psychology is located within the traditional Christian understanding of the human person, it's going to reach its full therapeutic efficacy."
(For more information on Imago Dei Clinic, call 717-920-0988)