There are various types of traumas experienced within the ministry context and in general. Although there is a number for consideration, this conversation provides just a few examples of traumatic experiences identified by academic research done in a micro-project case study. Therefore, rather than give a detailed overview of a specific trauma area, to start, the aim is to point out and describe some types of traumas in general and consider their relationship to spirituality. For instance, a review of four case studies identified through the research provided a better understanding of how multiple traumas may impact the ministry context yet go unnoticed and further unaddressed. These findings suggest the need to acknowledge such issues and consider their potential to impact individuals every day and possible means to address them.
An illustration of examples from the literature encourages consideration of the existence of traumatic stress. For instance, the article Trauma, Attachment, and Spirituality: A Case Study, written by Lauren E. Maltby and Todd W. Hall, published in the Journal of Psychology & Theology in 2012, presented a case study of a single person with complex traumatic stress, using an evaluation process based on an attachment-based perspective to deal with trauma and spiritual issues.[1] Maltby and Hall elaborate on the attachment theory, which premises that a child’s experience with the mother is intimate and continuous for mental health. When this attachment does not happen, children develop organized strategies for maintaining the relationship.[2] The authors’ research suggests that complex trauma/stress overlaps with a disorganized attachment that begins in childhood and continues in adulthood.[3] Therefore, maybe there is value considering gauging how many of these childhood experiences of disorganized attachment in childhood has carried over to adults in communities and the ministry context.
Another article reviewed, When Trauma, Spirituality, and Mental Illness Intersect: A qualitative Case Study, by Vincent R. Starnino, published in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy in 2016, also presents two cases from a qualitative study that includes participants with co-occurring psychiatric disabilities and trauma histories.[4] Starnino’s article addresses the knowledge gap between trauma and spirituality by exploring literature linking severe mental illness (SMI).[5] The case study includes observation through a lens that looks at spiritual and religious coping among people with SMIs.[6] The study participants were male and female, observed in the light of critical events related to trauma and spirituality. The male, a 28-year-old native American, and the female, a 42-year-old Caucasian, both Christians, experienced traumas attributed to mental illness.[7] The study indicated that the condition led to imprisonment and psychiatric hospitalization for the male participant and the female, suicide attempts, and hospitalization. Can such traumatic experiences occur in a spiritual context? Can severe mental illness (SMI) impact those in ministry?
Additionally, Mass Trauma in the African American Community: Using Multiculturalism to Build Resilient Systems, written by Bryan Range, Dumay Gutierrez, Casey Gamboni, Nathan Hough, and Armeda Wojciak, published in the journal Contemporary Family Therapy in 2018, looks at the prevalence of trauma in the African Community, with specific consideration given to Black Americans’ traumatic shootings in society.[8] The authors begin the discussion by establishing the meaning of and impact of trauma in general and then elaborating the overall effect of trauma on Black Americans and their community.[9] They highlight racial profiling issues and other injustices these communities face and discuss the impact of mass trauma. The authors also noted that within the previous four years (before the article), there has been an increase in public awareness of shootings and killings of Black men.[10] Yet, when hearing of shootings and killings of Black men, how often do you hear of provision of resources for the trauma that follows? The trauma faced by the devastated families and communities left behind? Following a shooting or killing, many people face grief, depression, and anger. Where do these feelings go if not provided a place to talk about and express them. Feelings and emotions that are not talked about, not nurtured, or even acknowledged. Might this be a place for trauma to reside and be left unaddressed?
Considering the variety of the possible trauma cases mentioned above, how common are they? Does any sound familiar? Is it possible for anyone at any time in our circles to experience them? Even in the ministry? Is there space available to address these issues in ministry contexts? The above case study samples include several cases in which individuals of various ages, races, and cultures, experience unresolved childhood trauma and traumatic experiences, in general, that could affect them individually, as a family, group, or community.
Furthermore, the examples provided also illustrate the linkage of trauma to spirituality. Considering this relationship between trauma and spirituality, the cases identified through academic research suggest the potential for such experiences in any individual, family community, and ministry. Thus, even one sitting near us in the pew, one standing beside us singing the hymns, or even those before us preaching the gospel could potentially be experiencing trauma. However, these experiences are often left unaddressed, lying within one who has not yet acknowledged the cause of the pain, the loneliness due to emptiness, and the fear of experiencing something often not put into words. These traumatic experiences are not new, but perhaps they have not always been part of the conversation. Therefore, perhaps, it is not a bad idea to consider the possibilities of such cases of traumatic experiences existing and possibly impacting someone we know, work with, or serve within the ministry context, perhaps even those deemed the most spiritual or Christian. Would you agree?
[1] Lauren E. Maltby and Todd W. Hall, “Trauma, Attachment, and Spirituality: A Case Study,” Journal of Psychology & Theology, no. 4 (2012): 302.
[4] Vincent R. Starnino. “When Trauma, Spirituality, and Mental Illness Intersect: A Qualitative Case Study,” Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, no. 3 (2016): 375.
[8] Bryan Range, Dumayi Gutierrez, Casey Gamboni, Nathan Hough, Armeda. Wojciak. “Mass Trauma in the African American Community: Using Multiculturalism to Build Resilient Systems,” no. 40 (2018): 284-285.