WOUNDED HEALERS ONLY RESOURCE FOR VICTIMS

[Guest guest]

WOUNDED HEALERS ONLY RESOURCE FOR VICTIMS

Posted by: " Heyward Bruce Ewart, III, Ph.D. "

Mon Sep 1, 2008 8:59 am (PDT)

I have long believed that no psychotherapist can facilitate real

change without a supernatural anointing. In other words, counseling

and psychotherapy require a gifting through the Holy Spirit.

This premise applies in a powerful way to victims of child and

domestic abuse. Only a survivor of such prolonged and intense

suffering can understand what another is experiencing. I mean

flashbacks, fragmented memories that force their way into

consciousness, nightmares, depression, rage, and all else that are

consequences of having your whole personality mangled by abuse.

This belief persists so strongly in me that, as president of a

seminary training Christian counselors, I count the student's own

suffering as the most important element by far in his or her

education.

What I am about to say will seem preposterous to traditional

educators. I purposely seek victims and survivors of abuse as

students. Then I counsel them by telephone at the same time that I am

acting as their curriculum advisor.

They receive both education and therapy by phone when they are

enrolled and actively pursuing their demanding studies.

One particular young woman, who calls me several times a week long-

distance, has the worst history of abuse I have ever heard of in

nearly 30 years as a therapist in this field. She is being educated

and healed at the same time.

When this lady is fully embowered by this process, and when her

doctoral requirements are met, she will be a Christian therapist will

the insight and wisdom that only suffering could achieve. God will

take every bit of her terror, physical pain, shame, and self-doubt

and transform the package into a priceless gift for healing others.

The question of why bad things happen to good people still circulates

among us, but there is at least one real answer, that our suffering

can lead to dynamic service in the Kingdom of God.

One key is to change our point of view about ourselves from that of

victim to that of survivor. Such a re-framing changes everything. We

come to see that there was meaning and purpose all along in what we

endured. Our trials were not for nothing. They were the foundation

for a life of service.

This premise holds true for many other kinds of victims having the

symptoms of trauma. I have learned that all victims of physical or

sexual abuse exhibit signs of trauma. Since abuse survivors share

this condition with so many people, they can be a resource that is in

very great demand.

Therapists able to treat any kind of trauma are extremely rare. For

example, war veterans typically have a prolonged wait for treatment

simply because specialists in this field are in such short supply.

We have abuse as a growing pandemic, we have war veterans, and we

have millions of more people who have been traumatized by some event.

The shortage of help is disastrous. The best place to look for

potential therapists is in the population of victims becoming

survivors.

This article is furnished courtesy of St. the Elder Theological

Seminary at http://stjamestheelderseminary.org

-- " Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. " Rabindranath TagoreDownload Our Toolbar:http://.OurOrganizationToolbar.com

[Guest guest]

DEAREST AND MOST BELOVED LIANEI AM A SURVIVOR...AND HAVE BLOGGED SOME OF MY STORY ON MYSPACE...(myspace.com/mamaserene)...it was not easy to revisit/relive some of the abuse i survived...and you are so correct in your statements...counselors and therapists who have never had these experiences are far less likely to have success in working with survivors...Since I started my blogs, I have been inundated with people messaging me about the traumas in their lives...I am not a licensed therapist...although with my life experiences and the therapies I have engaged in many tell me I have been an enormous help to them..I have a "degree" from the School of Hard Knocks...and it comes in handy...people know I am conversing with them without judgement...with love,compassion,empathy,and understanding...because I HAVE BEEN THERE...thanks for this

post...and if I can help further...don't hesitate to let me know...as I help others with their personal growth and recover....I too heal ...blessings and LOVE...Serene