Search Results for: shame

Because recovery is a spiritual journey, it will result in spiritual changes as well as emotional and physical ones. That is one reason, among many, why having a supportive faith community during recovery can be helpful. In addition to the resources of a therapist and/or a support group, having a safe community of people with whom to worship and learn can be a big help. … [Read more...] about Finding a Church to Support Your Recovery

Two series of Bible study guides by Dale & Juanita Ryan are available here: The Life Recovery Guide series and the Letting God Be God series. Both were originally published by InterVarsity Press and are now out of print. The studies have been reformatted to 8.5x11 and are photo-copy ready. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files. Acrobat Reader is free from Adobe. The Life … [Read more...] about Bible Studies by Dale and Juanita Ryan

The Living Free Program has been developed to help individuals look at painful experiences from their past that are continuing to influence their lives today. Participants in the program have an opportunity to redefine their knowledge and understanding of themselves through writing about and sharing their progress in recovery. A Christ-centered version of the Twelve Steps, as adapted from … [Read more...] about Chapter 7: Working With a Recovery Partner

The impact of abuse on non-offending family members and friends (secondary victims?) has not been studied very extensively. Most of what is available is focused on partners of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. And most of that is about 'how you can help the abused person' rather than about 'how you can work more productively on your own trauma'. What is clear is that the impact of abuse on … [Read more...] about Impact on Family Members

Violence is one of the central preoccupations of the biblical text. The book is full of violence. It is not a G-rated book. Not even PG. I doubt that it would get an R. It's just way too over-the-top violent for that. It is possible that you have not noticed this. Or perhaps not paid attention to it. It is very common for Christian communities to experience the violence in the biblical text as … [Read more...] about Old Testament Overview

Recommended Reading: William H. Willimon Worship As Pastoral Care (Abingdon Press, 1979) Communion Communion services can be powerful opportunities to emphasize themes that will be both intelligible and helpful to survivors of abuse. For example: Memory. We all have difficult, sometimes terrifying memories. Our memories often compete inside us for our attention. They compete to … [Read more...] about Worship

“Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to anotherhuman being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  VIEW: [13:51]  READ:  PRAYDear God,I'm going to need some help here.It's one thing to write that inventory in private.But 'admitting my wrongs' to another person?What if they are just shocked? Or shame me? Or reject me?Guess I should add this to me fear inventory, right?Help me with … [Read more...] about By the Book: Step 5

by Dale and Juanita Ryan Imagine you are transferring the ownership of your life to God in the same way you would transfer ownership of a business. One of the first things you would do in negotiating to sell a business would be to take an inventory to discover the damaged or out-of-date goods that are no longer salable. In Step Four we call it a "moral" inventory because we compile a list of … [Read more...] about Step Four

by Carmen Renee Berry As is so often the case, the flash of insight that changed my life happened almost accidently. Certainly unexpectedly. While packing to attend a specialized training for urban ministry a few years ago, I threw in a copy of a book that a friend had recommended. I don't know why I even brought the book along; my frantic work style as a social worker specializing in child … [Read more...] about Beyond Victimization

by William R. Until shortly over six years ago, I was unwilling to concede to my inner most self that I was a sex addict. That recognition did not fully come until I accepted the fact that I belonged in a 12 Step group for people in recovery from sexual addiction. Here I found people who understood the nature of the problem that had plagued me for thirty-two years. Here were people who had … [Read more...] about Cleaning House: Confession and Sexual Addiction