Why Contemplation is Healing

What does therapy actually look like — and can it really fit with your Catholic faith? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) sits down with Nora Rosales, a therapist with The Catholic Therapy Center, to give an honest glimpse inside the therapy room. Nora shares her journey as a first-generation college student and eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants — from a culture where therapy was rarely encouraged to becoming a therapist herself. Together, she and Adam unpack what makes therapy work and where God shows up in the process. Topics covered: • Why obstacles can become our greatest teachers • The power of telling your story and being truly heard • What to do when you hit a wall with your therapist • Cultural stigma, and why faith is a cultural consideration too • Seeing our parents as God sees them — and naming the wound so we can forgive • A Catholic view of self-care: loving ourselves as God loves us Healing isn't selfish: we're healed to be sent out, with our cup full, to love others well. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

What if the drama in your parish is the ministry? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) draws on his nine years as a youth minister to unpack why conflict, burnout, and other people's brokenness show up in every kind of church ministry, and how to meet them with love instead of reactivity. Topics covered: Parish politics, burnout, and human brokenness Reacting from your wounds vs. responding by the power of the Holy Spirit Doing your own healing work so conflict does not run the show Loving the difficult person, including choosing not to react right now When to set a boundary or walk away, and when to keep going Mercy, apology, and forgiveness without always requiring reconciliation If you are tempted to give up, the Holy Spirit is working through your perseverance and your love. Sponsored by Ascension Press. Alto is a monthly companion with the daily Mass readings, Lauds, Compline, and saint reflections. Get 10% off with code ADAM10: https://ascension-press.linkjolt.io/l/adam-cross Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Can you love yourself the way God loves you? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) unpacks an unexpected fruit of intimacy with God: a healthy, holy love of self rooted in being God's beloved. Topics covered: Daily Lectio Divina and time with the Word as a bedrock of faith How intimacy with God reveals how he sees us Reclaiming "self-love" as stewardship of body, mind, and soul What "die to yourself" does and does not mean Why loving your neighbor as yourself is hard when you are harsh with yourself Your God-given needs and limits as an invitation back to the Father Before we can be a gift to others, we have to know we are already a gift. Sponsored by Ascension Press. Alto is a monthly companion with the daily Mass readings, Lauds, Compline, and saint reflections. Get 10% off with code ADAM10: https://ascension-press.linkjolt.io/l/adam-cross Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Who's really driving your healing, you, or your anxiety? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) explores a pattern he sees often in the therapy room: clients whose anxiety or OCD quietly takes charge of the healing process, driven by a fear that anything less than total control means they won't be okay. Topics covered: The "listing compulsion" and the fear behind needing to share everything The anxious "healing manager" part of us that tries to steer therapy Why forcing healing becomes an obstacle to it The afraid-of-the-dark analogy for working with anxious parts of ourselves Dialoguing with anxiety through imagination, and the powers of the soul Trusting God's presence in each step of the healing process Real healing doesn't require you to manage it alone. It asks for peace, trust, and a willingness to let someone else, including the Holy Spirit, help steer. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Does trusting God's mercy mean you'll just get complacent with sin? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) unpacks a fear he sees constantly in the therapy room, especially with clients struggling with scrupulosity and OCD: that leaning into God's mercy means letting themselves off the hook. Topics covered: The fear that trusting God's mercy leads to complacency Scrupulosity, OCD, and trust issues with ourselves The two false extremes: self-reliance and mercy without relationship The good thief on the cross and salvation as gift, not merit Rebuilding self-trust after squandering God's mercy in the past Peace, not fear, as the real sign of the Holy Spirit's conviction A daily prayer practice from Fr. Timothy Gallagher The answer isn't more willpower or more excuses. It's relationship: a daily, minute-by-minute leaning into a God who is present, who loves you, and who will bring you peace. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Is it possible to fear God and trust him at the same time? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) sits down with Dr. Anthony Isacco, licensed psychologist and Director of Training for the PsyD program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, for his third appearance on the show. Together they untangle one of the most common, and most misunderstood, tensions in the spiritual life: the fear of the Lord. Topics covered: Healthy fear versus anxiety and scrupulosity Why so many Catholics struggle to admit they have a good relationship with God Pope Leo's teaching on human dignity as unearned, not achieved Discipline as an expression of a father's love, not rejection Parts work, Internal Family Systems, and integrating psychology with Catholic spirituality Practical tools for working through fear: thought records, perspective-taking, and the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity Whatever your relationship with fear looks like right now, this conversation offers a path back to trust, and a reminder that God is a father, not a master. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

What if the scariest part of a horror movie isn't the monster, but the isolation? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) reviews the horror film "Obsession" and unpacks what it reveals about consent, codependency, and what it truly means to love. Topics covered: The Twilight Zone episode that echoes Obsession's premise Why no character in the film is fully consenting to what happens to them Consent, free will, and mortal sin in Catholic moral theology Codependency vs. real love Becoming free to give ourselves as a gift The devil's lie that God doesn't care Even in suffering, we are never without choice, support, or God's presence. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT

Why does slowing down feel so unsafe, even when we know it's good for us? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) unpacks why contemplative prayer isn't just a spiritual discipline, it's a genuine tool for psychological healing. Drawing on a recent conversation with Dr. Tim White of St. Mary's University and patterns he sees constantly in his clinical work, Adam explains why clients with anxiety, OCD, and scrupulosity often struggle most to be still, and why that stillness is exactly where healing begins. Topics covered: Lectio Divina and Ignatian prayer as contemplative practices Contemplation as receiving, not analyzing Bringing God into ordinary daily moments Catholic contemplation versus secular mindfulness Fr. Jacques Philippe on God's unwavering presence Becoming childlike again as a path to healing Slowing down isn't unproductive. It might be the very thing you need most. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Catholic therapists need support too. In this episode, Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) and founder of the Catholic Therapy Center, introduces Renew: a new bi-weekly online group for Catholic therapists built on prayer, community, and shared clinical experience, rooted in the Holy Spirit and Catholic anthropology. Topics covered: The hunger for community among Catholic clinicians What Renew offers: prayer, consultation, and support Why Catholic therapists need other Catholic therapists How to join, launching August 2026 Learn more and sign up at catholictherapycenter.com. Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

What if the way you're trying to grow is actually keeping you stuck? In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) unpacks a pattern he sees constantly in his clinical work: clients who want to be better, more disciplined, more spiritually mature, but who are driven by an internal critic instead of love. That fear-based motivation, he explains, often leads to burnout, numbing, and avoidance instead of real change. Topics covered: The internal critic and where it comes from Fear-based growth versus peace-based growth Why doom scrolling and numbing out happen The "how" and "why" behind our goals 1 Corinthians 4 and the judgments of others Resting in being already loved by God You don't have to earn your worth to grow. You already have it, and that changes how you pursue every goal. Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623