newsletter articles
These articles come from Newsletters
produced in past years. RCM now provides information through the website.
It is important to note that
seminar presentations along with related printed materials are often updated and
refined as better understanding and continual new insights become known.
Therefore, those working
with survivors of severe trauma are encouraged to make use of our
Restoring Shattered Lives
training resources for more recent information on issues such as "conflict and
denial", "Primary Identity dynamics" (Core/Original Person/Original Self) and
spiritual dynamics.
It Takes a Team to Make One
Whole
Excerpts from
Restoration Matters
Spring 1999, Volume 6, Issue 1
From
"President's Letter"
….The theme in this issue of
Restoration Matters, It Takes a Team to Make One Whole,
expresses another aspect of our overall vision for ministry. We believe that
teamwork, accountability and multi-disciplinary cooperation are essential in the
process of bringing healing to survivors of severe abuse. None of us alone knows
all the answers, and even as a team, we must direct people to the living God,
who is the true Healer.
….Much of our work in the past
has involved teamwork with pastors, psychologists and counselors. During the
past year, however, I have come to appreciate the pronounced advantage of having
prayer intercessors, as well as individuals who have the gift of discerning
spirits (1 Cor
12:10), present in the
actual therapy session. Ideally, at least two intercessors with this gift work
together with, and under the authority of, the Christian therapist/prayer
minister. This enables confirmation of the spiritual insights discerned and has
an even greater impact on the survivor.
Based on my own previous lack of
experience with the gift of discerning spirits, I would venture that it may be
one of the most unrecognized and under-utilized gifts in the body of Christ
today. It is not one of the more “showy” gifts and can certainly be misused, but
when it is exercised properly, I have seen breakthroughs in cases that had
previously been resistant to resolution. Many times the issues keeping a person
in bondage are often rooted in unresolved, generational spiritual dynamics that
would go undetected were it not for God graciously giving His perspective and
direction through the gifts….
The Spectrum of Needs
by the RCM Staff
Although
ritual abuse survivors traditionally seek treatment primarily from those in the
mental health field, their needs extend well beyond the psychological. Complete
recovery requires each of the following areas to be addressed as well. We feel
that a multi-disciplinary team can best treat the whole person. (See It Takes
a Team to Make One Whole below.)
Psychological Health
The scope
of psychological needs for an individual with Dissociative Identity Disorder is
extensive. The basis of the dissociation must be determined and addressed by
identifying and resolving the internal conflicts and false beliefs which
seemingly necessitate the separation. This will require coming to understand the
dynamics of the Core [Original Self] as well as those that determine the
organization and operation of the system of alter-identities. It will also mean
confronting and owning the traumatic memories which led to their existence. When
programming is involved, its triggers must be identified and defused.
Inappropriate behavior patterns and conditioned responses need to be addressed
as well as unhealthy coping mechanisms and addictions. When present, other
accompanying diagnoses, such as eating, panic, attachment, and
obsessive-compulsive disorders must also be addressed. Eventually the
dissociated identities must come to a point of inner cooperation and
integration. Finally, to preserve the newly achieved unity, the survivor must
learn new ways of handling stress and looking at life from a singular
perspective.
Relational Health
Relational
skills are often severely lacking in abuse survivors. Sometimes these are the
dysfunctions most noticeable to others. The inconsistencies of rotating
personalities, the lack of positive role models in childhood, the strength of
programmed and/or conditioned responses, and the amount of justifiable rage
survivors carry all contribute to their deficits in this area, which is so
critical to success in life. Because they were constantly manipulated and
motivated by shame and aggressive anger, survivors may tend to repeat these
patterns in their relationships to others. On the other hand, intense fear may
drive some into perfectionism and pleasing others at all costs.
A traumatic history can also diminish one’s ability to trust,
develop intimacy, and enjoy sex and marriage in an optimum way. Parenting skills
are obviously affected as well. The concept of love has generally been grossly
distorted for abuse survivors. Distrust and self-protection are more apt to
characterize their relationships.
All of these deficiencies leave abuse survivors feeling insecure
in many areas. They generally need help in overcoming these insecurities and
developing a good self-image. They also need to learn healthy communication
skills as well as responsibility and accountability with others. Perhaps most of
all they need to learn what true love is and how relationships can be governed
by love.
Physical Health
While
perhaps not as evident, caring for their physical bodies is another area in
which abuse survivors may be notoriously lacking. The very nature of abuse
generally implants a deep-seated belief that one’s own needs are not valid. Some
respond by turning off their conscious awareness of those needs. As a result,
significant medical conditions can go untreated and reach serious stages before
even being recognized by the survivor. Sexual abuse can result in intense shame
and self-hatred towards one’s own body, adding yet another reason to disregard
caring for it. Some survivors may therefore need instruction and guidance in
developing healthy habits of hygiene and/or nutrition.
Self-inflicted injuries, when
they occur, may need treatment and the survivor monitored until the issues
driving the self-harm are resolved. These survivors also need to learn better
coping strategies.
Untreated injuries from
childhood, stress-related disturbances in body chemistry, and the long-term
effects of addictions may also need medical attention. Those addicted to work
need to learn how to live a more balanced lifestyle. Because of their greatly
deprived childhoods some may even need to learn how to play and have fun.
Spiritual Health
Personal
salvation and sanctification are spiritual needs of all survivors. While God
sees the survivor as a whole person and a genuine salvation experience brings
redemption to the entire person, some parts may be amnestic to, or even in
disagreement with, such a decision. When this is the case, those parts need to
make their own decision to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Although the
separate parts may perceive this as their point of salvation, in reality, it is
an act of further sanctification for the survivor. While discipleship and growth
in sanctification are needs for every believer, abuse survivors who have
undergone significant indoctrination have an exceptionally great need for
“renewing their minds” (Romans 12:2) and bringing every part into obedience to
Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Demonization is another powerful
dynamic which needs to be addressed, especially in RA survivors, who were
deliberately demonized at many junctures of their forced cult involvement. The
footholds for these attachments need to be identified, removed, and the demons
commanded to leave. Often this involves considerable spiritual warfare and must
always be done with the cooperation of the alter-personality involved. A mass
deliverance is usually not possible since the individual actions and decisions
of specific alters were generally involved in receiving the demons and must be
renounced by the specific alter in order for deliverance to take place. Breaking
all generational spiritual inheritances is also important for the survivor.
Because of dissociative barriers, this may need to be done at more than one
stage of the healing process.
Other issues affecting a
survivor’s spiritual health involve handling anger, accepting and giving
forgiveness, and developing a self-image anchored in the truth of their identity
in Christ. They also need to learn spiritual warfare skills and how to recognize
and develop their own spiritual gifts and become a vessel of God’s love to
others as a healthy part of a local church.
In Summary...
Some of
these psychological, relational, physical, and spiritual needs require the
attention of trained professionals. Many, however, can be addressed by
sensitive, knowledgeable, and spiritually mature support persons who are ideally
assisted by dedicated intercessors, prayer warriors, and disciplers. In fact, in
many cases growth takes place most effectively in the context of true life
settings rather than in the therapy room or doctor’s office. For this reason RA
survivors ideally need a team of committed individuals with a wide variety of
skills assisting in their recovery.
It Takes a Team to Make One Whole
by the RCM Staff
The example
of the early Church and the teachings of Scripture clearly indicate that God
does not intend believers to live or function in isolation. God has distributed
spiritual gifts among believers so they can be used for the benefit of the whole
Body, not just the individual. Furthermore, all the gifts are necessary to make
the whole Body function in the optimal manner God intends.
Restoration in Christ Ministries
is recognizing the important implications this carries in bringing physical,
emotional, and spiritual healing to deeply wounded individuals. Not only does
true healing occur best in an atmosphere of genuine love, but it also requires
the technical and spiritual giftedness of a broad spectrum of individuals. When
this is available, the survivor’s functionality, spiritual growth, physical
health, and length of time in therapy are profoundly impacted.
THERAPISTS/COUNSELORS/PRAYER
MINISTERS
In a sense
professional therapists and counselors have the most formal/technical training
for working with deeply traumatized individuals. They are also most likely to
have worked through their own psychological issues, which might otherwise be
triggered in the counseling setting. Although few have received extensive
training in the dynamics of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Ritual
Abuse (RA) in their formal education, they are knowledge-able of many other
psychological issues which have a direct bearing on abuse survivors. They are
therefore most equipped to recognize and address such phenomena as attachment,
panic, and eating disorders as well as self-mutilation, codependency, and other
pathological patterns in the survivor’s life.
Few mental health professionals
deny that RA survivors are the most complex cases they have encountered. Many
see the value of networking among themselves in regard to these clients. While
we agree that this is helpful, we believe that even greater benefits can be
achieved by expanding this network to include gifted individuals in other fields
as well.
PASTORS
Many pastors are also gifted
counselors who can effectively work with RA survivors, even in the role of
primary therapist. They must recognize, however, their need for extra training
and accountability. Other pastors who are knowledgeable and experienced in
dealing with the spiritual realm can offer invaluable help in dealing with
demonization issues, which can otherwise create a formidable barrier to healing.
Many other issues which RA survivors face are spiritually oriented as well.
Anger, hate, forgiveness, cleansing, self-worth, and effective spiritual warfare
are but a few. When addressing these concerns as well as other difficult
theological issues (such as why God allows innocent children to be hurt so
horribly), survivors often attribute a higher sense of authority to pastors.
DISCIPLERS
RA survivors who have been
excessively entrenched in a life of darkness need a significant amount of
discipleship as they seek to “renew their minds” and change the course of their
lives. While pastors can serve in this role, many mature Christian believers are
just as capable if they are willing to learn how to work with dissociated
people.
Because survivors may initially
receive extreme torment internally or be otherwise punished for activities aimed
at connecting them to God, disciplers must be adaptable and creative in their
modes of discipling. Just as Jesus’ disciples grew in their understanding and
relationship to God by living and working alongside Him, this is often the
preferred discipleship model for RA survivors.
PRAYER WARRIORS/INTERCESSORS
So many aspects of the
survivor’s life can benefit from committed prayer support. Prayer warriors and
intercessors are therefore another critical part of the therapeutic team RA
survivors need. Perhaps the most intense kind of prayer needed is direct
spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness which ensnare survivors.
Individuals who truly know how to confront Satan’s forces on behalf of the
survivor, using the authority of the name and blood of Jesus are invaluable.
When such prayer warriors are present in the therapy session, their prayers
become like guided missiles which can be fired at exactly the right moment
against the precise target needed. If some of these intercessors also have the
gift of discerning spirits, they can alert the therapist/prayer minister to
spiritual dynamics occurring that might otherwise be missed. This kind of
assistance can dramatically increase the effectiveness and efficiency of therapy
sessions.
SUPPORT PERSONS
Experience has shown that
survivors who have some kind of support network to draw upon between therapy
sessions progress more rapidly. Not only does this allow them additional
opportunities to process issues, but it provides opportunities in which love
can perhaps be most effectively ministered to them. While not mandatory, if
support persons attend the therapy sessions, they are better equipped to support
the survivors between sessions.
Support people must understand
the basic dynamics of DID and RA so that they can effectively interact with the
survivors and be sensitive to their various needs during the week. Survivors may
need comfort and compassion as they process difficult memories or perhaps a
sounding board for issues they are struggling to resolve in their lives. If they
are particularly distraught, overwhelmed, or otherwise dysfunctional, they may
need assistance with some of their daily living responsibilities as well.
Effective support people learn to be available for a wide variety of needs while
maintaining good boundaries and not letting the survivor become overly dependent
on them in unhealthy ways.
PHYSICIANS & PSYCHIATRISTS
Although usually involved with
the survivors on a less frequent basis, medical personnel who understand the
unique dynamics of DID and RA are a special adjunct to the healing team.
Survivors often require medication at some point to help them sleep, manage
anxiety, control destructive impulses, or alleviate depression. Monitoring
medications can be more complex with DID as knowledgeable psychiatrists confirm
that DID clients often have different responses to medication, depending on
which alter is in control. Psychiatrists inexperienced with DID and RA may
misinterpret dissociative symptoms as being psychotic. Treating them as such is
counterproductive, if not traumatic, to the survivor.
Abuse
also takes a toll on the physical body. Whether it is complications from
previous injuries, the cumulative effects of decades of stress, or side effects
of current medications, survivors often need medical attention. Many experience
anxiety, however, when it comes to visiting a medical doctor. What if they
switch to another personality under the stress of the visit? What if the doctor
is insensitive to their fears and anxieties about a physical examination? What
if the true account of what has damaged their bodies is too bizarre to be
believed? How do they explain incidents of self-injury? To have a medical doctor
who understands the nature and ongoing effects of sexual and ritual abuse is a
tremendous blessing to an abuse survivor. Without this, a survivor often
refrains from disclosing significant information crucial to her treatment and
well-being.
A knowledgeable medical doctor
is also tremendously helpful to survivors in dealing with what is known as “body
memories.” In this phenomenon survivors actually re-experience pain and other
physical symptoms of their abuse. When this occurs, it is difficult to know for
sure if the symptoms are a memory or actually need prompt medical attention.
Survivors often tire of going to the doctor or emergency room with acute
symptoms only to have them disappear when they arrive or have all tests return
as normal. Having a doctor who understands the phenomenon of body memories means
the survivor need not fear embarrassment, or even castigation, if her symptoms
prove to be a body memory.
After having the opportunity to conduct therapy in a limited team
setting this past year, Tom and his colleagues are convinced that this approach
can significantly enhance and accelerate the healing process for these
survivors. Restoration in Christ Ministries desires to see God put together such
teams in many parts of the country so that treatment of DID/RA can proceed in a
more effective and efficient manner, offering greater hope to traumatized
survivors.
Copies of this article are
available for download in PDF format:
It Takes A Team to Make One Whole
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