The Catholic Therapist

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

What if the grind isn't the path to freedom — it's the thing keeping you from it?

In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) sits down with Dr. Tim White — psychology professor, researcher, and self-proclaimed workaholic — to explore what it actually means to rest in a culture that has forgotten how.

Drawing on the theology of the 8th day of creation, Joseph Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture, and the latest research in psychology and blue zone longevity, Adam and Tim make the case that leisure isn't a reward you earn through hard work. It's the foundation everything else is built on — including worship.

Topics covered:
• Why "work will set you free" is a lie from Auschwitz to Silicon Valley
• The Genesis story and what was lost — and restored — through Christ
• What real rest looks like (hint: it's not Netflix or a beach vacation)
• Flow states, play, and why winners in sports look completely incoherent
• Mindfulness with God as a secure attachment figure
• "The opposite of sin is not virtue but praise" — and what that means practically
• Blue zones, enjoyment, and why leisure-centred living actually helps you live longer
• Practical steps for stepping out of the productivity trap and into Sabbath rest

If you've been burning the candle at both ends and wondering why you still feel empty, this conversation is for you.

Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com
Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

Have you ever wanted to journal but didn't know where to start — or tried and gave up because it felt too rigid, too vulnerable, or just not for you?

In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) sits down with Amber from the Catholic Counseling Institute to unpack the surprising depth of journaling as a tool for mental health and spiritual growth.

From the neuroscience of narrative storytelling to inner child check-ins, morning pages to sketchbooks, this conversation covers journaling in all its forms — with warmth, humor, and real clinical insight.

Topics covered:
• The neuroscience of narrative and why journaling releases serotonin
• Adam's simple emotional check-in method: sad, mad, glad, afraid
• Free-association morning pages, sketchbooks, and non-word journaling
• The Catholic history of journaling from early Church Fathers to modern saints
• How to journal about trauma safely — without retraumatizing yourself
• Inner child and parts work journaling for deeper self-awareness
• AI and journaling: a thoughtful caution with practical guidance
• A summer challenge to build a daily check-in habit

Whether you're brand new to journaling or looking to deepen your practice, this episode offers something for everyone seeking a more honest, compassionate relationship with themselves.

Have questions? Visit my website: adamcrossmft.com
Adam Cross, LMFT #116623

What if the religious doubt, the obsessive confessing, the fear of receiving communion — isn't a sign of weak faith, but actually reveals how deeply you love God?

In this episode, Catholic therapist Adam Cross, LMFT (#116623) joins Amber from the Catholic Counseling Institute for a wide-ranging conversation on scrupulosity — one of the most painful and misunderstood struggles in Catholic life.

Together they unpack the clinical reality that scrupulosity is rooted in anxiety and OCD, not poor faith — and they share what actually helps people heal, from ERP therapy and parts work, to the role of medication, spiritual direction, and a healthy God image.

Topics covered:

• What scrupulosity is (and isn't) — theologically and clinically
• Intrusive thoughts: the difference between temptation and desire
• The lifeboat analogy: when coping strategies become obstacles
• ERP for scrupulosity: sitting with uncertainty instead of seeking certainty
• Reassurance seeking — and what families can say instead
• SSRIs, GeneSight testing, and the Church's view on medication
• Nervous system regulation and experiencing God's peace

Healing is possible. This conversation is proof.

Have questions? Visit adamcrossmft.com Adam Cross, LMFT #116623