Terruwe and Baars

This page serves to introduce the two theorists that largely inform how Jeff approaches the therapeutic relationship and the modalities he uses with his clients that integrate well with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), self psychology (Kohut), and attachment theory.

Scroll down for a list of recommended resources.

Dr. Anna Terruwe

Anna A. Terruwe, MD, PhD (1911-2004)

Dr. Conrad Baars

Conrad W. Baars, MD (1919-1981)

Dr. Anna Terruwe and Dr. Conrad Baars were two 20th century Dutch Catholic psychiatrists who integrated Catholic spirituality and the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas into their conceptualization and treatment of what we now explore in anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, scrupulosity, unwanted sexual behaviors, and attachment wounds - to name a few.

While Anna Terruwe practiced in the Netherlands until her death in 2004, Conrad Baars worked in the United States after being liberated from a Nazi concentration camp in which he was detained for his noncombatant service with the Dutch resistance. Upon discovering Terruwe in the 1950s during a return trip to the Netherlands, he began learning from her, translating her works, and promoting her theories until weeks before his death in 1981.

Their Approach

Terruwe and Baars offer a Thomistic approach to the relationship between the intellect, reason, will, and emotions in understanding normal human flourishing and suffering. Deviating from the prominence of Freud’s approach to emotional repression, they incorporated Thomistic teachings on the emotions into their theory with the principle that the emotions are meant to be guided by reason. One can find in paragraphs 1762 though 1775 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church this same teaching.

Terruwe and Baars are also well known for what they called the frustration or deprivation neurosis, a syndrome that develops from the lack of affirming love from caregivers that results in deep-seated feelings of insecurity, inferiority, inadequacy, low self-worth, and unlovableness which manifest throughout adulthood. This need, either left unmet or met inconsistently (think attachment theory), leaves one feeling deprived of the experience of oneself as being lovable and good, resulting in a frustrated need that moves one to find in unaffirming ways the very affirmation they lack. Their theory around this phenomenon Pope St. Paul VI called “a gift to the Church” following the presentation Terruwe and Baars gave to the 1971 Synod of Bishops on the crisis in the priesthood (published as an article here).

For more on the life and work of Terruwe and Baars, consider reading the 2024 article “The impact of Anna Terruwe on the work of Conrad Baars.”

Prayer of Abandonment written by Dr. Conrad Baars

God my Father,

I thank you for all that you are

and all that you do for me through your Son, Jesus.

In Jesus’ name, Father,

I place myself entirely in your care.

I hand over to you my self –

my mind, memory, will, emotions, body, sexuality.

I hand over to you every person in my life,

every situation, every relationship, every concern.

I trust you to care for me and others in the most loving way.

As I have emptied myself, and handed everything over to you,

I ask you, Father, to now fill me with your Holy Spirit

and all the gifts and fruits of that Spirit.

I ask this through Jesus, your Son, and my brother,

in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Resources

Below is an incomplete list of books and articles by Terruwe and Baars, including both Jeff’s own materials and articles and podcasts from contemporary professionals and theologians.

Books by Terruwe and Baars

You can find these on used book online retailers for usually $5-10.

  • Born Only Once (Baars, 1975)

  • Healing the Unaffirmed (Baars & Terruwe, 1976)

  • Feeling and Healing Your Emotions (Baars, 1979)

  • Psychic Wholeness and Healing (Terruwe & Baars, 1981)

  • Doctor of the Heart (Baars, 1996)

Baars Articles for Listening and Download

These I offer for quick download with YouTube recordings here.

  • Baars (1971). The psychiatrist – Friend or foe of the pregnant woman? The Linacre Quarterly (38)4, 261–263

  • Baars (1972). The role of the Church in the causation, treatment, and prevention of the crisis in the priesthood. The Linacre Quarterly, (39)1, 49–61

  • Baars (1982). Psychic wholeness and healing for the family. The Linacre Quarterly, (49)4, 346–357

Harder to Find Books by Terruwe and Baars

  • Aumann, J. & Baars, C. W. (1991) The unquiet heart: Reflections on love and sexuality. Alba House

  • Terruwe, A.A.A. (1958). Psychopathic personality and neurosis (C. W. Baars, Trans.). P.J. Kenedy & Sons. (Original work published in 1955)

  • Terruwe, A. A. A. (1959). The priest and the sick of mind (C. W. Baars, Trans. J. Aumann, Ed.)

  • Burns & Oates. (Original work published in 1955)

  • Terruwe, A.A.A. (1960). The neurosis in the light of rational psychology (C. W. Baars, Trans. J. Aumann, Ed.). P.J. Kenedy & Sons. (Original work published in 1954)

  • Terruwe, A. A. A. (1968). Emotional growth in marriage (D. Kirmse, Trans.). Paulist Press. (Original work published in 1958)

  • Terruwe, A. A. A. (1970). The abode of love (R. C. Ware, Trans.). Abbey Press. (Original work published in 1967)

  • Terruwe, A. A. A., & Baars, C. W. (1972). Loving and curing the neurotic. Arlington House

Podcasts on Terruwe and Baars

Contemporary Books and Articles on Terruwe and Baars