The story of Naaman
Many years ago there was a man named Naaman, who was the army commander of the king of Syria. He was a great man in the eyes of the king and highly regarded, because Syria had experienced many great victories. Naaman was a mighty and valiant man, however, he suffered from leprosy.
On one of their raids the Syrian army had taken captive a young girl from Israel, who then become the servant of Naaman’s wife. The young Israelite girl mentioned to Naaman’s wife that if Naaman would see the prophet Elisha who was in Samaria, he would cure Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman explained this to the king of Syria, who then gave Naaman his blessing to go to Israel and wrote a letter to the king of Israel which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” Along with the king’s letter requesting his healing, Naaman took with him a large amount of money and possessions as a gift, keen to be cured of his leprosy. The prophet Elisha heard of this and requested that Naaman come to see him. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha did not come out to see Naaman himself, but sent a messenger to say to Naaman “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan river, and your flesh will be restored and you will be healed”. This made Naaman angry. He thought that prophet Elisha himself would come out to see him, call on his God and wave his hand over his body to cure him of his leprosy. Furthermore, Naaman did not agree with Elisha’s choice of river to wash in and be healed. The Jordan river was dirty and there were other rivers that Naaman thought would be better to be healed in. Naaman said “couldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” Naaman left in a rage, rejecting Elisha’s simple but strange solution to cure him of his leprosy because it did not align with his preconceived expectations of how he would be cured.
Fortunately for Naaman, his servants challenged him to re-consider by saying to him, “if the prophet told you to do some great thing, you would do it, isn’t that right? Wash, and you will be pure and clean”. Naaman then wash himself in the Jordan river seven times and his flesh was restored and he was healed of his leprosy.
What can we learn from the story of Naaman?
There are similarities and comparisons that can be made between Naaman seeking help from the prophet Elisha and a client seeking help from a psychologist. Naaman was experiencing an issue affecting his physical health, while a client experiences an issue affecting their mental health. Naaman took money with him to be cured by Elisha, while a client pays for the services of a psychologist. Naaman had a preconceived expectation of how his issue would be resolved, while a client often has a preconceived expectation of how their issue will be resolved. Naaman expected the treatment process to be quick, with the actual process being longer, while a client can often expect treatment to be a quicker process than what is required. Naaman also expected the treatment process to be one where he would be passive and not active. which is often how a client can view the treatment process as well. Naaman initially rejected the solution from Elisha, similar to how sometimes a client can reject the recommendations of a psychologist. Ultimately, Naaman thought there was a better way of treatment than what was offered, exposing the deeper issue in his heart of pride. His pride and ego threatened to stand in the way of being cured of leprosy and experiencing health and happiness. It was Naaman eventually exchanging pride for humility, which allowed him to be cured. For some clients, pride can be a barrier to treatment.
As a client seeking help from a psychologist:
What are your expectations of treatment?
How long do you think treatment will take?
Do you think treatment will require you to be passive or active?
How willing and open do you think you are to any recommendations made to you?
Do you think pride is or could be a barrier for you throughout treatment?