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FAQ on the Healing Practice

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Could you give some helpful guidelines regarding telephone and e-mail communications between patient and practitioner? A: Individuals contact Christian Science practitioners with a wide range of needs, come from diverse backgrounds, and represent all levels of spiritual understanding and development. Knowing what and how much to say to a patient, and how to say it, is a skill that develops with practice—no matter how long one has been a practitioner.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: How do I accurately uncover the error that needs addressing in a patient's thought without trying to psychologically diagnose the patient? A: In Christian Science treatment a practitioner is not humanly searching to find out what is wrong in a patient's mind. In other words, treatment is not one human mind trying to find out what is wrong in another human mind.

FAQ ON THE HEALING PRACTICE

Christian Science teachers respond to Frequently Asked Questions that have come up at workshops on becoming a Christian Science practitioner. Q: How do I address feelings of inadequacy in healing some challenges presented to me? A: Feelings of inadequacy can creep in when the practitioner feels he or she has some great work of healing to do through a personal sense of ability.

FAQ ON THE HEALING PRACTICE

Q: Many times it seems easier to pray for others than to pray for ourselves. How can I consistently pray for myself, and how important is it to do so? A: Praying for oneself might be compared to a mechanic who keeps his own car tuned up so he can get to work to help others every day; or a teacher who keeps herself informed in order to instruct others.

FAQ ON THE HEALING PRACTICE

Q:  Sometimes my friends ask me in a casual way to pray for them, and I'm not always sure what to say—I'm not sure about the difference between Christian Science treatment and prayer. A: How wonderful that your friends feel your love and interest in them enough to come to you and ask you to pray! It isn't uncommon to have someone make this request of a friend whom they know includes prayer as a daily part of life.