Page 110 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 13

Comment to
“EMDR and the body in
Christian therapy”
by Colleen Ramser (USA)
A proper understanding of the body is crucial
to our everyday journey as Christians, particu-
larly as it relates to trauma. As a certified EMDR
therapist and a trauma survivor who has experi-
enced EMDR, I can offer a personal account as
to how this form of treatment impacts the body
and the soul.
As Van der Werf mentions, the body has been
viewed negatively through much of Christian
history. I see remnants of this belief in clients
who struggle with how much attention to pay
to “self” leading to similar concerns I have in
some Christian institutions. The body is viewed
as the avenue to destruction and therefore can-
not be trusted. While this is certainly possible of
us as permeable beings, we must acknowledge
that the body is also the material host of our
soul, in which we glorify God and move with
both agency and free will.
Van der Werf supports this recognition of the
body: We were created in God’s image with a
body (Genesis 1:26-28), God the Son took on
the fullness of human nature (body and soul)
and became Jesus of Nazareth, the God-man
(John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8)), and God will
one day resurrect our own physical bodies
(John 5:28-29). Consider also Genesis 2:18-25,
in which God chose to form Eve from Adam’s
physical body and the narrative focuses on their
being “naked and not ashamed.” In 1 Corinthi-
ans 6:12-20, we find a clear command to use our
bodies for God’s purposes and glory. Throug-
hout Scripture, Jesus was concerned not only
with the formation of souls but with the healing
of sick bodies (Matthew 9:35, John 9:6-7, Luke
17:12-16).
If God has designed our bodies for a purpose,
then care for the body must be part of glorifying
108
Colleen Ramser is
a Licensed Profes-
sional Counselor
(LPC) specializing
in the treatment of
complex trauma.
She is certified in
EMDR and has
over 10 years’ ex-
perience in clinical counseling and ministry.
She speaks on trauma and trains clinical coun-
selors, pastors and lay persons in the areas of
Trauma Informed Care and Domestic Abuse.
She owns her own private practice in Louisvil-
le, KY where the integration of trauma, theo-
logy and spiritual formation in counseling is a
passion of hers.
God here on earth. Empirical research shows
us what happens when, conversely, the body is
not cared for because trauma has occurred. In
the most severe cases, trauma disrupts the part
of the brain that registers our sense of self and
leads to symptoms associated with Dissociative
Identity Disorder. The self fragments into many
personalities in order to cope with the intensity
of the trauma. We know from observing brain
imaging of individuals with Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder that the body is responding as
it should: a normal response to an abnormal
event (van der Kolk, 2014). The Adverse Child-
hood Experiences Study then shows the long-
term negative health effects of such traumas on
the body. As Christians who seek to understand
and integrate both body and soul, it seems logi-
cal to incorporate a treatment like EMDR that
specifically addresses these bodily realities.
Divorced from a comprehensive understanding