Beyond Survival: Application of a Complex Trauma Treatment Model in the Christian Context

Disrupted systems of meaning are a core domain in which adults with a complex trauma history are impacted, often leading to adversely affected belief systems. For adult survivors of childhood trauma, experiences related to shame, betrayal, meaning-making, and mourning often complicate their spiritual and/or religious beliefs. This article uses a clinical case example to introduce and illustrate the relevance of a particular complex trauma intervention framework in the context of spiritually-informed treatment with adult Christian clients. Component-Based Psychotherapy (CBP; Hopper, Grossman, Spinazzola, & Zucker, in press) consists of four principal components: (a) relationship, (b) regulation, (c) parts work, and (d) narrative, and is predicated upon the importance of client-therapist parallel process to therapeutic movement and client change. Each treatment component is summarized and practically applied to case material, with particular focus on the ways in which client's faith beliefs and practices can serve as a potential resource and/or barrier in treatment. Particular integrative focus is given to the final treatment component (narrative), where issues of a client's lament, spiritual meaning making, and the therapist's potential vulnerabilities in working with this population are addressed.