War Trauma Recovery: Christian Counseling Insights
Wartime trauma has become relevant because of world events over the last two years. There’s been a rise in refugees within countries and emigration to places all over the globe to escape the death and destruction. How can counseling help to rebuild your life if you’ve been a victim of internal or international conflict?
You will start therapy with at least one assessment as part of your intake process. The counselor will learn from your assessment results how much you are affected by adverse childhood experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. For your protection you will also be assessed for suicidal ideation.
There are two ways to go, traditional therapy is talk therapy when you want to feel heard. Talking integrates your mind, heart, soul and spirit. If you want to be silent, let’s be silent together. If you want to grieve or be angry, you will be validated. You will stay in your emotion as long as you can tolerate it. Attuned presence is more powerful than how smart your therapist is. With person-centered therapy the client is the expert on their own life.
Mind/body work integrates what your body knows into therapy. Grounding and breathing exercises, EMDR, NET and TFT (tapping the meridian system access points) are all examples of mind/body work. Your counselor will help you process (reflect and feel) and understand when you feel grounded and when you feel activated in your body.
Christian counseling insights on war trauma recovery.
There is a redeemed form of mind-body work (aka energy healing) called Splankna. It is healing for your emotional and mental health that uses prayer and Bible verses along with EMDR, NET and TFT. It is wise to find your therapist’s faith statement, for example look here, and look at their credentials and certifications to understand how much training they have. Sometimes Splankna is not the right treatment. Your therapist should ask you if you have a traumatic brain injury or a history of seizures. Another questionable use of Splankna is during the beginning stages of recovery from severe alcohol and substance use disorder or domestic violence. Your therapist will make the decision whether you are strong enough emotionally to discuss the trauma.
Things to do on your own:
Share with one close friend or family member who is a faithful Christian, that you trust to keep a secret and understands you.
A support group that shares your experience and beliefs as a Christian for people that have lost a close friend or family member in war. You may want to research group therapy on the Psych Today website or the Christian Counseling Directory.
Pray - talk to God directly for God’s intervention and His will based on your relationship with Jesus Christ, and ask your Church family for prayer support.
Join a church where people submit to the Holy Spirit and believe that healing happens today.
Rebuilding your life with trauma therapy and Christian counseling.
There are several accepted ways of treating PTSD in counseling by the Veterans Administration. Retelling your story; replacing lies you’ve told yourself with truth is a form of Cognitive Processing Therapy. Progressive Exposure adresses your emotions and thoughts and is an effective with decreasing PTSD symptoms by either imagining or going to a place similar to where you experienced the trauma(s); and gradually increasing the intensity of the experience as you get less sensitive. EMDR is now being recommended by the VA for PTSD treatment as well. This is mind-body treatment where you tell your story and apply bilateral eye movements prescribed by your counselr to reconnect your left and right brain.
Prayer has been empirically studied in the secular context see the American Psychological Association https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F14045-016 and the National Institute of Health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9713100/ for more information. For a Christian worldview supported by empirical studies see the Journal of Psychology and Christianity. You can take a look at these sources for the value of touch which is used in both Christian and secular settings for healing.
Why not get help today?
Maybe you have found something helpful. If you are ready for some relief from trauma symptoms, call 720-577-5985 for a free 15-minute consult or book a consult here.
