Trauma Healing

Closely related to and intertwined with addiction is often the experience of underlying trauma. Emotional trauma impacts more than one in seven people

In the aftermath of human tragedy — war, famine, domestic violence, abuse, neglect — people lose hope. They feel trapped in a cycle of re-living the pain, and struggle to believe that God can heal or release them from the heart wounds that afflict us.

In order to engage with trauma 4 of our members have attended an extremely helpful trauma counselling course organized by the Trauma Healing Institute, and run in conjunction with the Scottish Bible Society.

It does not take too much to imagine how many people in this part of Glasgow experience such traumas. Suffering loss, bereavement, abandonment or betrayal can leave people wounded and in need of healing.

For these wounds to heal people need to express their pain to someone who listens without causing further harm. Only God can bring healing, but he often uses people and an understanding of how our emotions heal to do so.

But Trauma Healing does far more than simply help people deal in a biblical way with the losses they have endured: it develops a culture where the Bible is central, where God is invited to do his transforming work in the midst of pain and difficulty, and where people are empowered to play their part in supporting and helping others as a church.

When I heard about this course, I was immediately excited by the content. It involved Bible based trauma healing. I had done previous training through other organisations which was excellent, but it stopped short of including the healing power of Jesus and the Cross. Many of us have or will have “heart wounds”, but knowing that within this community I love and serve many of these dear people have multiple “heart wounds" in their lives, I wanted to help without doing any more harm, and to bring the Word of God into each situation.

With our family history rooted in Govan I know something of the trials and pain facing many within this community. Having listened carefully week by week to those who attend our free café and church fellowship we are trusting that we can serve and care for our friends even more by making these small group sessions available.