What is trauma? How do we heal from past trauma and renew our faith in God through his healing? Licensed trauma therapist and seminarian Kobe Campbell shares her own experience in this therapeutic book. Despite the pervasiveness of trauma in our society, trauma-informed healing theories have not been widely known. This book consists of two sections: Understanding Our Pain and Healing Our Wounds. These two sections connect clinical, trauma-informed psychology with spiritual principles from Scripture.
Many people who lived through trauma, such as adverse childhood experiences, may not realize the lasting impact of these past events. This lack of awareness does not mean that the impact is not with us. Low self-esteem or confusion about self-identity may have deep roots in
traumatic past experiences. Understanding past trauma kicks off the ongoing journey of knowing ourselves better. We must look back in order to move forward.
How does God respond to trauma? There are many examples in the Bible. As the author writes, “To the greatest terrors and traumas of our lives, God offers us the one thing we long for the most, the one thing the world often withholds: tenderness.” True healing comes from God, because He alone can “restore my soul,” as the psalmist says.
Trauma-informed healing means relying on God’s tenderness, which “drowns out the fear.” But there are also psychological patterns in human behaviors that can help people better navigate the healing process. Take trauma triggers for example. One needs to understand why it is important to identify and avoid triggers in order to facilitate healing.
A common Christian teaching is that we should ignore our emotions when it comes to our relationship with God. But as the author puts it, “We often miss the reality that many of us were originally drawn to God because of what we felt.” God works in people through longings, a type of emotion. When a person experiences the Spirit, it is often through emotions and even physical sensations.
After all, we worship a God who has big waves of emotions too! “Emotions enhance our humanity,” she says, “and displays our likeness to a beautifully infinite and deeply feeling God.” (Thomas Nelson)
About the Author
Mary Li Ma is a member of Plymouth Heights CRC church in Grand Rapids, Mich. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and now works as a research analyst for a national research center on education equity.