Trauma Informed
Ministry
Rev. Dr. Frederick J.
Streets, LCSW
Senior Pastor,
Dixwell Congregational United Church of Christ and Licensed clinical Social
Worker
Fundamentally as noted by the Council on Social Work
Education (2013, CSWE.org) in its Advance Social Work Practice in Trauma
guidelines and standards: “Trauma results from adverse life experiences that
overwhelm an individual’s capacity to cope and to adapt positively to whatever
threat he or she faces…Trauma exposure’s lasting impact represents a
combination of the event and the subjective thoughts and feelings it engenders.
An event becomes traumatic when its adverse effect produces feelings of helplessness
and lack of control, and thoughts that one’s survival may possibly be in
danger”.
A diagnosis of and treatment plan for those who have been
evaluated as having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) remains controversial
issues within the fields of mental health and primary care. We hear a great
deal about PTSD in the popular media. Not everyone who experiences violence in
whatever form and to what degree will develop PTSD and/or have a traumatic
reaction to having been exposed to violence. Those who do suffer from PTSD and
their family know how debilitating a diagnosis of PTSD can be for them and the
entire family. A person who has had a traumatic experience can develop signs of
PTSD (Jones, 2009). They can also show signs of depression, anger, a profound
sense of vulnerability and loss of optimism and hope minus some of the other
features normally associated with the cluster of symptoms suggesting a
diagnosis of PTSD. I am seeing people who are functioning and fulfilling the
activities of daily living but whose traumatic experience or episodes has left
them feeling depressed, angry and with a chronic sense of vulnerability and
lack of optimism about life. Sometimes they also express hopelessness. These
conditions impact their long-term health outcomes and their relationship with
their family and others. Many of them who are suffering this way are active
members of Black congregations. The negative impact of trauma can become
multigenerational when not identified and dealt with early.
Members of the Black church community who, as a result of a
traumatic encounter report that they found new resilience and grew in a
positive way as a result of having gone through their negative experience. They
found new strength for their journey as a result of a traumatic experience.
Their ability to do so was influenced by several factors among which were:
their own personality structure, support from family and friends and their
spiritual orientation to life. How an individual copes and sometimes thrives
after a traumatic experience while other people do not fare as well remains a
topic of exploration for the helping professions.
What Is a Trauma Informed Ministry?
• A trauma
informed ministry is one by which religious care providers representing all
religious traditions have a basic understanding of the nature of trauma and how
it may impact the overall quality of life of the person or persons who has been
traumatized by a life event and the impact of that trauma on their
relationships with other people and their understanding of God and
spirituality.
• A trauma
informed ministry seeks to sensitively use a basic understanding of trauma and
reflect upon its implications for the various aspects of a religious ministry
such as, preaching, bible study, prayer and other religious rituals and
spiritual practices.
• A trauma
informed ministry means that the religious care provider is aware of the impact
of trauma upon persons depending upon where they are along the life-cycle, age,
gender, social and marital status and sexual orientation.
• A trauma
informed ministry brings to bear upon those suffering from trauma the wisdom,
insights and resources of the religious faith and tradition of those who have
been traumatized and utilize these cultural attributes for the sufferer’s benefit.
• A trauma
informed ministry seeks to collaborate with other community members who can
provide additional resources and to whom the religious helper can refer those
needing assistance in coping with their traumatic experiences.
• A trauma
informed ministry aims to increase the skills of coping with or reducing the
stress that can otherwise lead the sufferer to feel that they can no longer
manage or prevent their traumatic and post traumatic experience from destroying
them.
It is important to
remember that a trauma informed ministry understands how vulnerable people are
who have been traumatized and that their sense of safety can be triggered by
any number of things. Most importantly, those who have been traumatized need to
be encourage and supported in being hopeful about their own recovery from
having been traumatized.
One of the most significant impacts of suffering from trauma
is the stigma associated with needing help to deal with the traumatic
experience. The shame that some people
feel as a result of having been traumatized prevents them from seeking
help. Religious helpers can played a
vital role in reducing this shame by reminder those suffering from trauma that
there is no shame in getting help, that in fact doing so is a sign of their
strengths.
Religion and Spirituality and Trauma
A traumatic experience for some religious people can cause
them to profoundly question their understanding and practice of religion and
their beliefs about God. Their traumatic experience can throw them into the whirlwinds
of religious doubt, confusion and existential angst and anger. On the other hand, the religious beliefs and
spiritual orientation of some other people who have experienced a traumatic
event can be for them a source of strength and guidance through the midnight of
their trauma. We have to explore with
those who are religious and have been traumatized how their religious beliefs
are harmful or helpful to them as they cope with their trauma.
Pastoral Care
In traditional
pastoral care and counseling often the values of confession, repentance,
acceptance and forgiveness of self and others are aspects explored between the
one suffering from trauma and the religious helper. People seeking such help
are hoping to receive in some form what a pastoral care relationship aims to
provide the sufferer, namely; healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciliation.
The overall liberation one seeks form their
traumatic emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual traumatic consequences
of the violence done to them or in some
cases they may have perpetrated upon others, require a combination of
individual support and congregation and community help along with whatever
medical attention the sufferer may need.
Some people who suffer from a traumatic event may associate
themselves with the people and their experiences found in their sacred stories
and religious texts, traditions and histories. The story of Job and Ruth in the
Hebrew Bible and the life of Christ in the New Testament are, for example,
narratives that some people find helpful while experiencing trauma, losses and
death. It is important to explore with
the person suffering from trauma how they understand and identify with their
religious faith in light of their traumatic experiences. Their trauma can affect
their identity, their views and belief about God and their ideas of fairness
and justice.
It is not uncommon for those who provide care for others to
also suffer from burn-out, compassion fatigue or vicariously trauma. We can
easily identify so closely with those with whom we work that their pain also
becomes our pain in addition to whatever burdens we may be carrying ourselves.
Just as it is important for the person who has been traumatized to know and be
reassured that their total sense of self need not be the trauma they have
experienced and to try to imagine having a larger life beyond the trauma, care
givers must also have a network of support and engage in activities outside of
their caring for those victimized by trauma.
Some of the ways for the caregiver to re-energize themselves include:
proper diet, exercise, rest, some form of meditation, nurturing relationships
outside of the work environment and pursuing interests other than those related
to trauma and caring for others.
