“En muchas nulidades, los psicólogos nos planteamos si se hubiera evitado el fracaso del matrimonio con terapia familiar”
"In many annulments, we psychologists ask ourselves if the failure could have been avoided with family therapy."
Clara de Cendra, expert witness of the Tribunal of the Rota of Madrid, affirmed at the University of Navarra that many cases respond to "a great immaturity".
"In the expertise of the nullity proceedings, we psychologists ask ourselves if the failure of the marriage could have been avoided through family or couple therapy". This is what Clara de Cendra, psychologist and expert witness of the Tribunal of the Rota of the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid, said today on the occasion of her participation in the X International Symposium of the high school Martín de Azpilcueta, graduate 'The training of the matrimonial will: anomalies, pathologies and normality'.
In that sense, she added that, in her professional facet as a therapist, she attends "more and more people who want to do therapy since courtship because they realize that there is a difficulty. This helps us financial aid to strengthen them for the marriage commitment. On the other hand, in the case of families who come with their children, we can do preventive work if necessary.
With respect to the psychological expertise he carries out for the Rota, he pointed out that an important volume of the processes has to do "with a very strong immaturity", which contrasts with the fact that marriage is being entered at an increasingly older age.
"We try to look for the causes in the psychobiographic development -he continued-. The relationship that person has had with parents and siblings, the dynamics of the family, the types of communication, the way in which he or she develops in the affective plane... These factors provide us with data of whether or not the person has had strategies to resolve the main identity crisis that occurs at the end of adolescence and early adulthood, and which leads to maturity."
Psychological disorders
Regarding the psychological disorders applied to the causes of nullity, Clara de Cendra highlighted the importance of "making a separation between the spiritual, psychological and physical dimensions in order to, as far as possible, psychologically investigate the motivations and decision parameters of the person, their emotions, their fears... This financial aid to discern whether we are faced with a psychological disorder or a dubious exercise of freedom".
120 interdisciplinary experts, including academics, psychologists and ecclesiastical judges, have participated these days in this symposium organized by the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarra. Some of them are Carlos Morán, judge Dean of the Tribunal of the Rota of the Apostolic Nunciature of Madrid; Laura Armentia, defender of the Bond in that tribunal; and José Tomás Martín de Agar, judge of the Court of Appeal of the Vicariate of Rome.