Spirit and Trauma

Spirit and Trauma
Author: Shelly Rambo
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0664235034

Rambo draws on contemporary studies in trauma to rethink a central claim of the Christian faith: that new life arises from death. Reexamining the narrative of the death and resurrection of Jesus from the middle day-liturgically named as Holy Saturday-she seeks a theology that addresses the experience of living in the aftermath of trauma. Through a reinterpretation of "remaining" in the Johannine Gospel, she proposes a new theology of the Spirit that challenges traditional conceptions of redemption. Offered, in its place, is a vision of the Spirit's witness from within the depths of human suffering to the persistence of divine love.

The Inner World of Trauma

The Inner World of Trauma
Author: Donald Kalsched
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2014-02-25
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 131772545X

Donald Kalsched explores the interior world of dream and fantasy images encountered in therapy with people who have suffered unbearable life experiences. He shows how, in an ironical twist of psychical life, the very images which are generated to defend the self can become malevolent and destructive, resulting in further trauma for the person. Why and how this happens are the questions the book sets out to answer. Drawing on detailed clinical material, the author gives special attention to the problems of addiction and psychosomatic disorder, as well as the broad topic of dissociation and its treatment. By focusing on the archaic and primitive defenses of the self he connects Jungian theory and practice with contemporary object relations theory and dissociation theory. At the same time, he shows how a Jungian understanding of the universal images of myth and folklore can illuminate treatment of the traumatised patient. Trauma is about the rupture of those developmental transitions that make life worth living. Donald Kalsched sees this as a spiritual problem as well as a psychological one and in The Inner World of Trauma he provides a compelling insight into how an inner self-care system tries to save the personal spirit.

Trauma-Sensitive Theology

Trauma-Sensitive Theology
Author: Jennifer Baldwin
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2018-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 149829684X

The intention of Trauma Sensitive Theology is to help theologians, professors, clergy, spiritual care givers, and therapists speak well of God and faith without further wounding survivors of trauma. It explores the nature of traumatic exposure, response, processing, and recovery and its impact on constructive theology and pastoral leadership and care. Through the lenses of contemporary traumatology, somatics, and the Internal Family Systems model of psychotherapy, the text offers a framework for seeing trauma and its impact in the lives of individuals, communities, society, and within our own sacred texts. It argues that care of traumatic wounding must include all dimensions of the human person, including our spiritual practices, religious rituals and community participation, and theological thinking. As such, clergy and spiritual care professionals have an important role to play in the recovery of traumatic wounding and fostering of resiliency. This book explores how trauma-informed congregational leaders can facilitate resiliency and offers one way of thinking theologically in response to traumatizing abuses of relational power and our resources for restoration.

Trauma and Grace

Trauma and Grace
Author: Serene Jones
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0664234100

This substantive collection of essays by Serene Jones explores recent works in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of the myriad ways both individual and collective violence affect one's capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus' death is remembered. Of particular interest is Jones's focus on the long-term effects of collective violence on abuse survivors, war veterans, and marginalized populations, and the discrete ways in which grace and redemption might be exhibited in each context. At the heart of each essay are two deeply interrelated faith-claims that are central to Jones's understanding of Christian theology: first, we live in a world profoundly broken by violence; second, God loves this world and desires that suffering be met by words of hope, of love, and of grace. This truly cutting-edge book is the first trauma study to directly take into account theological issues.

Sacred Wounds

Sacred Wounds
Author: Teresa B. Pasquale
Publisher: Chalice Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0827235399

Trauma therapist Teresa B. Pasquale offers healing exercises, true-life examples, and life-giving discussion for anyone suffering from the very real pain of church hurt. Pasquale, a trauma survivor herself, understands the immeasurable value of our wounds once we've acknowledged them and recovered in community. That's why the wounds are "sacred," and the hope this book offers is a powerful message to anyone suffering from this widespread problem. This book explores the nature of emotional wounds, trauma, and spiritual hurt that come from negative religious experience. Some of the features are: Stories from a wide range of persons hurt by negative religious experience Healing and contemplative practices to help readers explore their own spiritual story and practical ways to move towards personal healing A journey through the experience of trauma in religious settings and how it is both relatable to other forms of trauma and distinctive -- outlining both facets An exploration of the author's own personal and professional understanding of hurt, trauma, PTSD, and the power of resiliency and healing

Resurrecting Wounds

Resurrecting Wounds
Author: Shelly Rambo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2018-10
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9781481306799

The Gospel of John's account of doubting Thomas is often told as a lesson about the veracity and triumph of Christian faith. And yet it is a story about wounds. Interpretations of this Gospel narrative, by focusing on Christ's victory in the resurrection, reflect Christianity's unease with the wounds that remain on the body of the risen Jesus. By returning readers to this familiar passage, Resurrecting Wounds expands the scope of the Upper Room to the present world where wounds mark all of humanity. Shelly Rambo rereads the Thomas story and the history of its interpretation through the lens of trauma studies to reflect on the ways that the wounds of race, gender, and war persist. Wounds do not simply go away, even though a close reading of John Calvin reveals his theological investments in removing wounds. This erasure reflects a dominant mode of Christian thinking, but it is not the only Christian reading. By contrast, Macrina's scar, in Gregory of Nyssa's account of her life and death, displays how resurrection can be inscribed in wounds, particularly in the illumination of her body after her death. The scar, produced in and through a mother's touch, recalls a healing, linking resurrection to the work of tending wounds. Much like Christ's wounds and Macrina's scar, racial wounds can be found on the skin of America's collective life. The wounds of racial histories, unhealed, resurface again and again. The wounds of war persist as well, despite a cultural calculus that links the suffering of a soldier with that of Christ. Again, the visceral display of Jesus' wounds, when placed at the center of Thomas' encounter in the Upper Room, enacts a vision of resurrecting that addresses the real harm of the real wounds of war. The powerful Upper Room images of resurrection--encounters with wounds, the invitation to touch, and the formation of a community--present visions of truth-telling and of healing that grapple with the pressing questions of wounds surfacing in the midst of human encounters with violence, suffering, and trauma. While traditional accounts of resurrection in Christian theology have focused on the afterlife, this book forges a theology of resurrection wounds in the afterliving. By returning again and again to Christ's woundedness, we discover ways to live with our own.

Suffering and the Heart of God

Suffering and the Heart of God
Author: Diane Langberg
Publisher: New Growth Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1942572034

She's seen slave dungeons in Ghana. Genocide in Rwanda. Systemic sexual abuse in Brazil. Child abuse and domestic violence in the US. After forty years of counseling abuse survivors around the world, Dr. Diane Langberg, a world renowned trauma expert, remains certain that what trauma destroys, Christ can and does restore. This book will convince you, too, of the healing heart of God. But it's not a fast process, instead much patience is required from family, friends, and counselors as they wisely and respectfully help victims unpack their traumatic suffering through talking, tears, and time. And it's not a process that can be separated from the work of God in both a counselor and counselee. Dr. Langberg calls all of those who wish to help sufferers to model Jesus's sacrificial love and care in how they listen, love, and guide. The heart of God is revealed to sufferers as they grow to understand the cross of Christ and how their God came to this earth and experienced such severe suffering that he too is "well-acquainted with grief." The cross of Christ is the lens that transforms and redeems traumatic suffering and its aftermath, not only for the sufferer, but it also transforms those who walk with the suffering. This book will be a great help to anyone who loves, listens to, and seeks to help someone impacted by trauma and abuse. There is no quick fix, but there is the hope for healing through the love of God in Christ.

Trauma and the Soul

Trauma and the Soul
Author: Donald Kalsched
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Dreams
ISBN: 9780415681469

Trauma and the Soul, continues the work Kalsched began in The Inner World of Trauma - exploring the mystical or spiritual moments that can occur during psychoanalytic work.

The Trauma of Everyday Life

The Trauma of Everyday Life
Author: Dr. Epstein
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2014-07-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1781804567

Trauma does not just happen to a few unlucky people; it is the bedrock of our psychology. Death and illness touch us all, but even the everyday sufferings of loneliness and fear are traumatic. In The Trauma of Everyday Life renowned psychiatrist and author of Thoughts Without a Thinker Mark Epstein uncovers the transformational potential of trauma, revealing how it can be used for the mind's own development. Epstein finds throughout that trauma, if it doesn't destroy us, wakes us up to both our minds' own capacity and to the suffering of others. It makes us more human, caring and wise. It can be our greatest teacher, our freedom itself, and it is available to all of us. Western psychology teaches that if we understand the cause of trauma, we might move past it while many drawn to Eastern practices see meditation as a means of rising above, or distancing themselves from, their most difficult emotions. Both, Epstein argues, fail to recognize that trauma is an indivisible part of life and can be used as a tool for growth and an ever deeper understanding of change. When we regard trauma with this perspective, understanding that suffering is universal and without logic, our pain connects us to the world on a more fundamental level. Guided by the Buddha's life as a profound example of the power of trauma, Epstein's also closely examines his own experience and that of his psychiatric patients to help us all understand that the way out of pain is through it.

Trauma as Medicine

Trauma as Medicine
Author: Sarah Salter-Kelly
Publisher: FriesenPress
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2021-05-14
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1525597698

On a cold winter's morning in December of 1995 Sarah Salter-Kelly’s mother was brutally raped and murdered in a dark parkade by a stranger. After being found guilty of first-degree murder, the perpetrator suicided in prison. In Trauma as Medicine, Sarah shares her inspirational story as a template to guide the reader in their own journey of transformation. She encourages you to consider the life lessons you came here to learn are found in the center of your greatest challenges, and if you lean in, miracles unfold. For Sarah, these miracles became a path of Forgiveness and Compassion. Ten years after her mother’s homicide she was compelled to understand the bad guy. Who was he, who were his people, and what had transpired to lead him into the parkade that day? Her desire for shared humanity led her to the First Nations land of his ancestors where she received a profound education in the history of colonization in Canada. This is a real-life example of metabolizing trauma on a personal and collective level, for deep soul healing. This book includes the following practices and teachings to guide your way: Journal exercises, meditations & ceremonies Connecting with your Helping Spirits, Ancestors & Source Guidelines for creating sacred space focused on relationship with Mother Earth Altered states, such as Shamanic Journey & Ayahuasca Facing fear, using triggers as resources Metabolizing trauma & embodying your medicine Forgiveness Collective healing & being of service