Three Truths about Spirituality and Trauma-Based Healing

Trauma in the Pews 2.0 Section III: Healing Practices for Post-Traumatic Spiritual Growth

Hello new subscribers! I am finishing up this series this week and will be headed to new content next week. The new topic I promised on Facebook will begin next week—so hang on! For an explanation of my Substack content scroll down—past my adorable chickens—on this post. Thanks for joining me!

Over the summer the Trauma in the Pews 2.0 Community worked through Section Two which answered the question: “How can spiritual practices help me heal from the impact of trauma?” This post introduces Section Three which will answer the question, "How can healing open the door to post-traumatic spiritual growth?”

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Three Truths about Spirituality and Trauma-Based Healing

The stories of those who find healing within strong supportive faith communities are legitimate, as are the stories of those who do not find healing through spirituality. It is harmful when these more spiritual stories are held up as an example. The assumption is that others would also heal if they had more faith or tried harder. Often these experiences are more about relational care—a core principle of trauma-based healing—than a person’s faith or effort.

The pressure for spiritual healing often results in spiritual bypassing and causes further harm. A bypass is a form of positive thinking that ignores the pain and focuses on the spiritual. True healing requires you to process both the joyful and painful parts of your life. Distancing yourself from the painful parts of your story only pushes down the pain and it will eventually be heard!

Trauma-Based Therapy Emphasizes Emotional Safety