Getting to grips with trauma

Steve Midgley  |  Features  |  pastoral care
Date posted:  3 Mar 2025
Share Add       
Getting to grips with trauma

Source: iStock

Every now and again in pastoral ministry we come across something unfamiliar. And in such circumstances our response, sometimes, is simply to retreat.

Partly that might be driven by a godly concern that, out of ignorance, we will say or do something that proves unhelpful. There may also be elements of a concern that is rather less godly – that of appearing ignorant or looking foolish.

For many, the concept of trauma feels unfamiliar. We’re aware that it’s become a prominent issue in our culture, but our understanding is thin at best. Perhaps that leads us to retreat – because we are fearful of the complexity. There might also be a measure of resistance because we are uneasy about the terminology or vaguely remember someone describing it as a cultural bandwagon. And quite where, and how, it fits into our Biblical framework isn’t clear at all.

Share
< Previous article| Features| Next article >
Read more articles on:   pastoral care
Read more articles by Steve Midgley >>
Comment
When trigger warnings are necessary

When trigger warnings are necessary

I suspect there is some confusion about trigger warnings. A confusion that exists in Christian circles as well as in …

Features
Two ways to ruin a sermon

Two ways to ruin a sermon

I remember (though I cannot now find the reference) a comment that the American pastor Tim Keller made about the …

Give a subscription

Our monthly newspaper is the perfect gift for those who love to think deeply

Give here

New here?

Register and get three free articles each month!

Register