Book Summary<\/p>\n
In his book, The Body Keeps the Score<\/em>, Bessel van der Kolk argues that trauma is not just a psychological problem, but also a physical one. When we experience trauma, our brains and bodies go into “fight-or-flight” mode.[1]<\/a> This is a natural survival response that helps us to cope with danger. However, if we are exposed to repeated or prolonged trauma, our brains and bodies can become stuck in this mode.[2]<\/a> This can lead to a variety of physical, emotional, and mental health problems. One of the core ideas that van der Kolk highlights is that trauma doesn\u2019t just create mental and emotional states, it changes a person\u2019s physiology.[3]<\/a> Van der Kolk draws on research from a variety of fields, including neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry, to explain how trauma affects the brain and body. He also discusses the different ways that trauma can be treated.<\/p>\n One of the mediums of healing presented is through support groups. Van der Kolk states that \u201cfinding a responsive community in which to tell your truth makes recovery possible.\u201d[4]<\/a> I\u2019m drawn to this because it sounds so simple. As a pastor, I recognize that everyone at church, including myself, has been touched and shaped by trauma to varying extents. So how do I facilitate building communities that help people heal?<\/p>\n Seems Simple Enough<\/p>\n It seems simple, but I have to be a good listener. In his book, Soul of Shame<\/em>, Curt Thompson discusses how the listener is vital in helping someone tell their story. He says that \u201cstorytelling is much more a dance between teller and listener than it is a monologue\u201d[5]<\/a>. Good listeners are just static takers. Van der Kolk\u2019s description of a responsive <\/em>community resonates with Thompson\u2019s hope that good listeners can energize the storyteller and help them tell a more honed story through good questions and helpful exploratory responses.[6]<\/a> Modeling this as a norm for all community gatherings helps to shape them into healing spaces. What\u2019s exciting about this, is that just as trauma can create behavioral templates[7]<\/a> through physiological, emotional, and mental changes, healing can do the same. In these communities, participants learn not only to live as if \u201cthey will be okay\u201d, but also learn to live as if \u201cthey are ok\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n It’s Not Simple<\/p>\n While it sounds easy in theory, creating spaces that accommodate various manifestations of trauma can be difficult. When I was a youth pastor, a student whom I\u2019ll refer to as K began to attend our weekly gatherings. It quickly became clear that K was often angry and would become aggressive relatively quickly. Many parents became concerned and pushed me to consider barring K from attending our weekly gatherings. I don\u2019t blame them. Regularly, K would get upset and begin to throw furniture around. On more rare occasions, he would threaten to physically harm others and\/or himself. I share this to say (a little defeatedly) that sometimes maybe we\u2019re simply not equipped to be the community that someone needs. There\u2019s a weird tension that comes with that realization. Van der Kolk mentions that survivors of trauma, of which I think K is, can often \u201cbegin to fear they are damaged to the core and beyond redemption.\u201d[9]<\/a> How could it possibly be that a community of God\u2019s people might not be able help K heal? To this day, I remain frustrated at this tension because I felt we did everything we could. We prayed for healing, we sat and listened, we were, as best we could be, a responsive community. On top of that, K was going to therapy and on medication.<\/p>\n Navigating trauma, our own and others\u2019, is frustrating and difficult. The only solace I find is in the reassurances that God is working when I feel like world methods are not and the hope we have in new heaven and new earth. In the meantime, I will settle to bring healing and spread life by taking the posture of a continual and constant learner in communities that are willing to do the same.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Bessel A. Van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,<\/em> (New York, New York: Viking, 2014), 52.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid, 42.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid, 5.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid, 246.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves,<\/em> (Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2015), 88.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Ibid, 88.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership<\/em>, (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017), 11.<\/p>\n