Rev. Dawn Bennett: Trauma-informed pastoral care within the church
From the ELCA Disability Ministries Winter 2020 Newsletter: View email in browser. | Download a pdf version
by Rev. Dawn Bennett
Pastor Developer @ The Table
The Table, Nashville, Tenn., in the Southeastern Synod
A few months ago I was privileged to present a webinar on trauma-informed pastoral care (TIpC) for the Southeastern Synod. One may wonder how trauma impacts our faith life and why LGBTQ+ people are in desperate need of a trauma-informed approach when seeking pastoral care.
Trauma-informed care (TIC) stems from the medical community.1 Physicians have begun to broaden questions upon intake because data reveals that trauma is held in the body.2 Over time physical trauma works its way into our mental and spiritual lives, causing circumstances that often land in front of a pastor. Therefore, TIpC takes physical/mental health and the state of the soul into consideration. Medical practitioners aim to restore people to a state of physical health while ministry practitioners seek to help people return to a state of joy and reconnect with their purpose for practicing their faith. TIpC is especially important in caring for those whose disability is deemed invisible (depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, gender dysphoria and body dysphoria, to name a few). Additionally, LGBTQ+ people (and families) bear an additional burden of religion-based trauma, a particularly harmful reality due to homo/transphobia and hate crimes.
TIC asks questions that clergy and lay leaders may find helpful when pastoral care relates to childhood trauma. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study3 can be a critical resource in knowing how adults and youth respond to circumstances in a way that problematizes their faith relationships. The study captures incidences of abuse before the 18th birthday. These data may help us to consider and plan for person-led spiritual care. TIC is designed around core principles: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and humility and responsiveness. As faith leaders practicing TIpC, we aim to focus on resilience and the return of joy so that one is empowered to reconnect with their life’s purpose as they understand it. Principles that support resilience include reducing the source of stress, strengthening core life skills and supporting responsive relationships. For those who suffer with invisible disabilities, pastoral care that employs a trauma-informed approach helps to further restore God’s children to the life they were intended to live as God designed.
For more information please visit the resources below or connect with me at nashvillerainbowpastor@gmail.com.
Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (New York: Viking Press, 2014)
Additional resources:
• https://www.traumainformedmd.com/churches.html#/
• https://www.samhsa.gov/programs