Page 177 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

Trauma Recovery Training at a Seminary? Introducing Global Trauma Recovery Institute
tortions of what was intended to be. Otherwise
what is to prevent us from presenting as healthy
something that is merely a particular version of
fallenness which either appeals to us or in some
manner matches our own experience? Do we
really think that theories based on such narcis-
sistic thinking could truly result in a full and
clear picture of what it means to be human?
Based on the premise that a true Christian psy-
chology is grounded in the knowledge and un-
derstanding of the person of the Son of Man,
Christ Jesus, we will consider some aspects of
what it means to be human through the grid of
that study. We will look briefly at the concepts
of voice, of relationship, of power and emotions.
These are rich concepts and we will unfortuna-
tely only be able to give superficial attendance
to them. They are, I believe, concepts that arise
out of a study of the Word of God written and
the Word made flesh. They tell us something
about what it means to be human concurrent-
ly with what it means to be made in the image
of God – concepts that I think are, to some de-
gree, inseparable. We are considering a partial
description, certainly not an exhaustive one.
This presentation is simply meant to give some
thoughts about how an understanding of the
person of Christ not only impacts thinking but
also, for me, profoundly impacts clinical work.
One parenthetical comment must be added
before we begin. I am, unfortunately, like the
rest of humanity and therefore somewhat ego-
centric in my thinking. My very choice of these
concepts is rooted in thirty plus years of clini- of the One who was there in the beginning, te-
cal experience with trauma survivors, though I
have found them applicable to other people in
varying ways. However, had I worked with a
different clinical population or had very diffe-
rent professional experiences I might be presen-
ting a very different set of concepts. Obviously,
even if we make the study of the Word made
flesh the foundation for our understanding of
what it means to be human, we still cannot pre-
vent the injection of our own experience into
that thinking. I do not think that is bad. As a
matter of fact I believe our experience is meant
to inform us. I do, however, think it crucial to
recognize both the fact that it does inform us
and, as much as possible, its application to our
thinking.
177
VOICE
The following concepts have come out of my
work with trauma survivors. As you know,
trauma results in silence, isolation and helples-
sness. Conversely, redemptive healing restores
voice, relationship and power as the character
of God is demonstrated in the flesh by the ca-
regiver.
The concept of voice has fascinated me for many
years. My clinical work with trauma is what ori-
ginally drove me to think about and study the
idea of voice. I have spent thousands of hours
with those who have been oppressed, silenced
and crushed by indescribable atrocities. Having
spent hours with those who were initially mute,
I wanted very much to understand the patho-
logical results of trauma, particularly chronic
trauma. I also wanted to learn how to help those
who have been profoundly silenced, find voice.
The concept was initially brought to my atten-
tion through feminist writings and even more,
through the writings of Elie Weisel regarding
his experience of the Holocaust. I then went
to the Scriptures and was captivated by what I
found. First of all, voice is found throughout
the Word of God. The concept “bookends” as
it were, the entire Word, first appearing in Ge-
nesis 1:3 – “And God said…and there was…” It
appears many times in Revelation where we are
told that Jesus’ voice was like the sound of many
waters (1:15); we are told in chapter 19, “His
name is called The Word of God;” and then in
the final closing Revelation ends with the voice
stifying, giving voice to the closing declaration,
“Yes, I am coming quickly” (22:20).
We learn through the existence of the Scrip-
tures and the entrance of the Son of God into
time that it is the very nature of God to speak,
to communicate His thoughts – His very self
– to others. Jesus, in being called The Word,
suggests that self-expression is inherent in the
godhead. By nature God is perpetually articu-
late. The psalmist tells us “the voice of the Lord
is powerful…is majestic…strikes with flashes
of lightening…shakes the desert” (Ps.29: 4-8).
The voice of God is. We are created in the image
of one whose voice has not been silent since the
dawn of creation and before.