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Post by foreverconfused on Mar 16, 2021 8:49:53 GMT
Hello, new here. I left the PRC almost 20 years ago. I feel like I will never stop fearing eternal hell fire for leaving. Does anyone know of any therapists in Michigan who specialize in religious trauma? I'd love to have a real relationship with God that has nothing to do with fear or shame.
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Post by throwaway2018 on Mar 16, 2021 14:37:46 GMT
Hello, new here. I left the PRC almost 20 years ago. I feel like I will never stop fearing eternal hell fire for leaving. Does anyone know of any therapists in Michigan who specialize in religious trauma? I'd love to have a real relationship with God that has nothing to do with fear or shame. You can try here: www.seculartherapy.org/I believe this site was set up by the recovering from religion group so I wouldn't be surprised if you find therapists who are especially sympathetic to what you are going through. I don't know if any of them are near you, but they do say they have 10 therapists who list as being from Michigan. |
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Post by cannalily on Mar 17, 2021 15:26:57 GMT
Hello, new here. I left the PRC almost 20 years ago. I feel like I will never stop fearing eternal hell fire for leaving. Does anyone know of any therapists in Michigan who specialize in religious trauma? I'd love to have a real relationship with God that has nothing to do with fear or shame. Check out this thread: exprc.freeforums.net/thread/137/help-leaveSome of the links mentioned there are for people in Michigan in particular. |
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Post by qazwsx on Mar 23, 2021 21:05:25 GMT
I am so so so sorry that you are feeling this way. It really sucks, doesn't it! But give yourself a lot of love for being courageous enough to reach out for help. That takes so much strength. I might have some resources you could be interested in! But they might give away my anonymity, so if you'd like books, videos, clinical and faith-based resources, etc. to help while you search for a therapist, let me know in a message!
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Post by stillvanrecovering on Apr 8, 2021 0:54:07 GMT
Check out chuckdegroat.net/ - Chuck is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Chuck's book "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" is a must-read for anyone who grew up in the PRC! I left the Egypt of my childhood over 10 years ago, the wounds of spiritual trauma encountered early in my PRC life are only now healing |
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Post by questioneverything on Apr 11, 2021 19:43:49 GMT
Check out chuckdegroat.net/ - Chuck is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Chuck's book "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" is a must-read for anyone who grew up in the PRC! I left the Egypt of my childhood over 10 years ago, the wounds of spiritual trauma encountered early in my PRC life are only now healing I don't know about you, but the fact, and I emphasize FACT, that a denomination spawns this particular website with numerous recommendations on treating the abuse it renders among its members and former members, with all of the mental anguish and psychological maladies so apparent within these posts, the mental abuse, the physical abuse, and the absolute conditional "love, if you can call it that, love, would seem to call into question your so called "purest doctrine". I, for one, call bullshit, the prca is an abusive gathering of arrogant, pharasitical, xenophobic Dutchmen who idolize themselves and look upon their neighbors, not with love, but with judgementalism, not with a Jesus approach, but with judgementalism, not with Christianity, but with judgementalism. The prca is defined by their judgementalism, not their love. Admit it! Think about that. You, prca, have idolized yourselves at the expense of the pain you are so willing, and eager to impart on your own in the worship of your dogma. This BS "split" is a perfect example of your insularity and desire for divisiveness, which seems to be the food for your souls. Read the book, people, and run. Do not turn back. The prca is an abusive organization that has "perfected" its culture of psychological pain and control, and it matters not who you are, brother, sister, it doesn't matter. Outliers notwithstanding, you know who you are, you lack love, prca, unless... |
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Post by profit on Dec 21, 2021 16:57:42 GMT
Check out chuckdegroat.net/ - Chuck is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Chuck's book "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" is a must-read for anyone who grew up in the PRC! I left the Egypt of my childhood over 10 years ago, the wounds of spiritual trauma encountered early in my PRC life are only now healing Thanks for the recommendation. It has been helpful in understanding my journey. I think I just emerged from the ten plagues part of my journey. Now I have to cross the Red Sea and travel the wilderness for a time. |
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Post by freedom on Jan 18, 2022 17:46:43 GMT
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Post by stillvanrecovering on Jan 18, 2023 0:45:27 GMT
Check out chuckdegroat.net/ - Chuck is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Chuck's book "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" is a must-read for anyone who grew up in the PRC! I left the Egypt of my childhood over 10 years ago, the wounds of spiritual trauma encountered early in my PRC life are only now healing Just picked up "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" again, really like the chapter on Kleenex Theology and the tendency to quickly wipe the mess clean (pages 136ff) "If I wanted my pain theologized away, I would have gone to Job's friends." So said a client early in my clinical counseling internship. Her comment struck me dumb. She needed Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, the Suffering Servant who left the comforts of heaven to engage suffering face to face. Instead she got a theologian, a triage medic of the soul who applied Bible verses, made generalizations that missed her specific pain, and offered platitudes. I had failed her, but she'd had the courage to speak up. In God's ironic grace, my failure was the gateway to her renewed journey of hope. ..One of the reasons we fail to lament is that there are so few safe people around to receive it. God certainly hears our cries, but God also made us in and for relationship. The church is the place where our personal laments can join the choir of hurts that sings its off-tune chorus before God. We need friends in tough times, men and women willing to sit in the pain with us..In Christian subcultures where suffering may be interpreted as a lack of faith we learn to disguise our pain, conveying a false self that betrays who we really are and what we're really feeling. ..Job needed friends to engage the pain, not interpret the pain. He needed friends who would join the chorus of lament, not offer the recipe for a more faithful life. In the end Job is commended for his honesty while his theologically correct buddies are scolded for their insensitivity. God does not want us to disguise ourselves, hiding the pain we feel so deeply. ..Five times in five distinct poems the writer [Lamentations] revisits his pain, most often in communal expression, with a brief interlude for private weeping..God's invitation is clear. Every detail of pain is important. Every ounce of grief must be squeezed out. Pain must be expressed honestly, both privately and communally. Imagine having God's permission to get it all out: the anger, the betrayal, the injustice. Imagine God's interest in hearing it all, not just the general story but every little detail..Now consider how far from this practice we are today. Psychologist David Benner argues in large part, the rise of therapy has resulted from the churches abdication of soul care to focus on intellectual debates. As a result, many churches are not safe spaces where we can bring every detail of our pain before God, and many pastors are inadequately prepared to offer the care that pain requires. ..The grave danger is that in denying the opportunity for lament on our wilderness roads, we only perpetuate dishonesty, cheap solutions, and a view of God that does not fit the complex reality of our messy lives. Heidi Huber Woldhuis (hj) i hope you have the opportunity to study with Chuck at Western Sem if your path leads you there! The 5-day "soul care intensive" sounds amazing too www.chuckdegroat.net/soul-care-intensives Looking forward to reading his book of daily readings for Lent next |
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Post by Heidi Huber Woldhuis (hj) on Jan 18, 2023 0:49:20 GMT
Check out chuckdegroat.net/ - Chuck is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland MI. Chuck's book "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" is a must-read for anyone who grew up in the PRC! I left the Egypt of my childhood over 10 years ago, the wounds of spiritual trauma encountered early in my PRC life are only now healing Just picked up "Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places" again, really like the chapter on Kleenex Theology and the tendency to quickly wipe the mess clean (pages 136ff) "If I wanted my pain theologized away, I would have gone to Job's friends." So said a client early in my clinical counseling internship. Her comment struck me dumb. She needed Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, the Suffering Servant who left the comforts of heaven to engage suffering face to face. Instead she got a theologian, a triage medic of the soul who applied Bible verses, made generalizations that missed her specific pain, and offered platitudes. I had failed her, but she'd had the courage to speak up. In God's ironic grace, my failure was the gateway to her renewed journey of hope. ..One of the reasons we fail to lament is that there are so few safe people around to receive it. God certainly hears our cries, but God also made us in and for relationship. The church is the place where our personal laments can join the choir of hurts that sings its off-tune chorus before God. We need friends in tough times, men and women willing to sit in the pain with us..In Christian subcultures where suffering may be interpreted as a lack of faith we learn to disguise our pain, conveying a false self that betrays who we really are and what we're really feeling. ..Job needed friends to engage the pain, not interpret the pain. He needed friends who would join the chorus of lament, not offer the recipe for a more faithful life. In the end Job is commended for his honesty while his theologically correct buddies are scolded for their insensitivity. God does not want us to disguise ourselves, hiding the pain we feel so deeply. ..Five times in five distinct poems the writer [Lamentations] revisits his pain, most often in communal expression, with a brief interlude for private weeping..God's invitation is clear. Every detail of pain is important. Every ounce of grief must be squeezed out. Pain must be expressed honestly, both privately and communally. Imagine having God's permission to get it all out: the anger, the betrayal, the injustice. Imagine God's interest in hearing it all, not just the general story but every little detail..Now consider how far from this practice we are today. Psychologist David Benner argues in large part, the rise of therapy has resulted from the churches abdication of soul care to focus on intellectual debates. As a result, many churches are not safe spaces where we can bring every detail of our pain before God, and many pastors are inadequately prepared to offer the care that pain requires. ..The grave danger is that in denying the opportunity for lament on our wilderness roads, we only perpetuate dishonesty, cheap solutions, and a view of God that does not fit the complex reality of our messy lives. Heidi Huber Woldhuis (hj) i hope you have the opportunity to study with Chuck at Western Sem if your path leads you there! The 5-day "soul care intensive" sounds amazing too www.chuckdegroat.net/soul-care-intensives Looking forward to reading his book of daily readings for Lent next Thank you!!! Western is my 1st choice if i have my way! He speaks a language i understand❤️ |
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Post by Admin on Jan 18, 2023 1:37:38 GMT
Hello, new here. I left the PRC almost 20 years ago. I feel like I will never stop fearing eternal hell fire for leaving. Does anyone know of any therapists in Michigan who specialize in religious trauma? I'd love to have a real relationship with God that has nothing to do with fear or shame. Hi ForeverConfused! Thanks for posting! The Admin Team  |
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Post by NotSureWhatToPutHere on Jan 18, 2023 2:02:25 GMT
Hello, new here. I left the PRC almost 20 years ago. I feel like I will never stop fearing eternal hell fire for leaving. Does anyone know of any therapists in Michigan who specialize in religious trauma? I'd love to have a real relationship with God that has nothing to do with fear or shame. Hi and welcome! I also left about 20 years ago! I don't have any therapist recommendations, but just wanted to say welcome! |
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Post by tryingtoleave on Jan 18, 2023 2:24:39 GMT
Has anyone done EMDR therapy? I see someone who uses a version of this and find that to be a lot more helpful that traditional talk therapy
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Post by blessed2be on Jan 18, 2023 2:30:53 GMT
Has anyone done EMDR therapy? I see someone who uses a version of this and find that to be a lot more helpful that traditional talk therapy I did and had extremely good success with it. If you are in MI, I can send you their info. I've known others as well that have had success too. Highly recommend. It's pricey but for me it was worth it. |
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Post by igottalightup on Jan 18, 2023 3:36:25 GMT
Has anyone done EMDR therapy? I see someone who uses a version of this and find that to be a lot more helpful that traditional talk therapy I did and had extremely good success with it. If you are in MI, I can send you their info. I've known others as well that have had success too. Highly recommend. It's pricey but for me it was worth it. There is a psychologist in Zeeland who has been doing another type of therapy that works as good as emdr but you don't have to go through what caused the trauma during the therapy. I can call the tomorrow for information. |
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