Towards Trauma-Informed Pastoral Care (TIPC): Development of the Model and Workshop

Abstract

Trauma and its adverse effects are ubiquitous in modern society. Individuals who have experienced trauma are present in every culture, setting, and societal milieu. Faith and religious communities and pastoral care situations are no exception. Practicing Christians who are traumatized often turn to their religious leaders before seeking medical or psychological help when faced with adverse life experiences, psychological distress, or both. Thus, pastoral caregivers are often the first responders to their traumatized parishioners, and often do not have training on how to help, where to find resources, or how to protect themselves from second-hand traumatization or burn-out. The dissertation examines the need for trauma-informed care (TIC) in pastoral settings and the difficulties that may arise when traumatized individuals present seek pastoral help from those who are not informed about trauma. To prevent the possibility of the uninformed pastoral caregivers’ retraumatizing individuals or experiencing secondary traumatization, a method of incorporating TIC in pastoral care settings, Trauma-Informed Pastoral Care (TIPC), is presented. The REAR method, a part of TIPC workshop, would help pastoral care providers to enhance their competence and sensitivity in working with traumatized individuals. In this way, this dissertation contributes to meeting traumatized individuals’ pastoral and spiritual needs through increasing pastoral care providers’ awareness in trauma and equipping them with practical skills.