“The role of the church in Trauma counseling in crisis situation.”

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Research Proposal Title: “The role of the church in Trauma counseling in crisis situation.” Introduction             The church can play a huge role in helping people go through a stressful time or deal with physical injury. The church therapy model establishes readily accessible mental health care in the church setting, coping with stigma, and altering internal culture around mental health issues. In times of disturbing experience or deeply distressing and physical injury, the church is a good platform where people can get counseled to go through a crisis (Wilde 27).  It is good to address the role the church or scriptures play in helping people deal with trauma during trying moments. This is because many people going through tough times do not know how to deal with stress in crisis.  The primary basis is the Bible’s teachings, which help in restoring people’s normal situation after going through a crisis (Floyd 5).  A therapist in the church will provide continued day-to-day support and care to people undergoing deep distress, disturbance experience, and physical injury. The main thing is how the Bible and other spiritual books or articles in the church commend on the desire to reach other people in the middle of a difficult situation.             The research will be a useful item of adding good things from the church to a therapy session, which are suitable for people dealing with trauma after going through tough times or experiences.  The research evaluates what some scriptures give ‘heart’ to people to let go of stressful thoughts or forgive people who have done bad things to them (Meichenbaum 7). We all know the church is a recovery tool that can be used to bring back to ordinary people in trauma. Through the Bible, the church becomes a tool of compassion, flexibility and selflessness, and personal ownership. In Micah Declaration, it is stated that church is a tool of reaching out to the entire community and people, ‘demonstrating and proclaiming the gospel.’ The research will be a tool of demonstrating that the church is right in times of crisis. The main thing to be proven is that the church has a massive role of showing the love of Christ in both practical means and also spiritual support to people who are traumatized by any disaster (Smith 239). When talking about counseling traumatized people using the church, it is good to highlight scriptures from the Bible, which are used to motivate people who have gone through a crisis. This research proposal will highlight the role of the church in trauma counseling in a crisis. Research questions         i.            What are some of the ways the congregation can seek to help other members in crisis?       ii.            How does Christian counseling use the Bible in counseling trauma in times or situations of crisis?     iii.            How do some of the church/bible stories commend on the people’s desire to reach out to others amid challenging situations?     iv.            What is the relationship between trauma when someone is going through a crisis and the life of Christians? How do they handle crises using what they have learned in church? Background             Historically, the clergy was seen as a significant and primary caregiver. The church plays a huge role as a mental health caregiver, although many modern-day people do not realize its purpose.  The church has been giving guidance to the congregation on what to do and say during grief or general crisis.  There is a difference in handling problems between the congregation and other people (Floyd 12). It is well known that the congregation is more caring and helping and does better in reaching people in need.  In the modern experts speak of clinical counseling, pastoral counseling, biblical counseling, and spiritual guidance differently. What has been realized is that the church plays a huge role in counseling people who have been traumatized by crises (Wilde 29). Taking for instance, the church has restored many marriages through counseling. The church has also rekindled hope for people who have given up in life after losing their property, losing their loved ones, or other types of crisis the primary tool or asset used by the church in the Bible. Bible teachings offer principles that help and restore hope for people who have been traumatized by a crisis.             There are many needs of a person in crisis. Because of the cluster’s emotional, mental, and physical reactions to a problem, a person needs someone outside the situation to rely on. Nowadays, people need someone who they can trust very well to take them through their trauma. Through the church leader or other trained bible experts, the church can offer guidance to people in trauma. Through the Bible, the church provides hope for the people who believe that God is the sole refuge. The counselor makes someone in crisis realize that amid their tragedy, they may have doubts or questions, but the faith and experience must remain strong (Levers 6). Pastors and church counselors are the representatives of God and the primary reminder of hope and the intermediaries of spiritual confidence. Many people will need the church to make decisions for them when they are under crisis. The blurring of mind, disorientation, physical and emotional distress inhibits the capability to manage a moment of crisis.  Church gives a touch to traumatized people in a crisis situation. The touch of the Bible connects people in distress to the real world, acts as a symbol of comfort and concern, and remind them that they are not alone. Significance of the study             This paper has a lot to add to the body of knowledge.  One of the things the paper does is showing what would happen if the pastors equipped its people for many traumatizing crises ahead of them in life. Through highlight, the real role of church trauma counseling in a crisis situation, the paper will aid the church to clearly see the abilities and strengths it has in facing disasters. Defining the role of the church in handling and restoring traumatizing people in crisis will show its significance in working productively and sensitively with other bodies in crisis contexts.  The paper will be primary in indicating the importance of bible teaching in all types of counseling because they bring practicality in a crisis. When addressing the issue of mental health, it is good to involve Christian counseling because of its prediction of an unexpected crisis. The primary purpose of this study is to give the role of the church in trauma counseling in a crisis situation. The research has helped in presenting church/scriptures as the primary step in crisis recovery; it is said that the first step is to accept the crisis; this is valuable to people. One way one can find this study vital is the fact that it teaches people to ask God for the courage to alter what they can and accept what they cannot. This study will help understand that through the Bible, the church is a source of hope, touch, and the calmness of action, compassion, flexibility and selflessness, an emphasis on practical needs, and personal ownership, which is needed in trauma counseling in a crisis situation. Literature review             When a person is faced with the real reality of the human trauma, skilled professionals and sympathetic friends are there to only cover the symptoms or give just temporary solutions. The real and lasting hopes come from eternal God who is connected to the church (Ps. 121:1, 2). People are always under distress because of various crises situations, but what the church, through the scriptures, does is reminding them that God is under control.  There is always a need for prompt, calm action during tough times; this is one of the characteristics of the church. The church says that crises come to demand prompt, calm action. Promptness is a good thing that prevents excess injury and saves people who are wounded.  Prompt response is an appointment of the future, which is used to create hope for the people traumatized by crisis situations.             According to Burkett (KJV. John 11:23), Jesus is described as the primary model of a crisis counselor. When Lazarus died, Jesus was the first to show interactions of humans and tragedy, divine aid, and crisis counseling skills. Firstly, when he arrived in Bethany, he promised Martha that her brother would rise again. As discussed above, Jesus gave the traumatized people in crisis situations hope, Martha was grieving, but Jesus gave her hope. Church counseling makes the counselor assume the trauma of the person; according to Elowsky (KJV. John. 11:35), Jesus wept with the family of Lazarus. The pastor or the congregation members offering support and counseling must assume the trauma and show compassion. It is in the church where people realize that they were created with intelligence and empathy. The developed and discovered analytical and psychological skills allow people to act within their boundaries. Church offers hope and compassion; Gods offers help beyond the natural hope through his promises and ultimate power.             According to Canfield (KJV. Luke 10: 25-37, one has to be commended on their desire to reach out and help others when they are in the midst of difficult situations. The parable of Good Samaritan narrated in the book of Luke tells the story of a person who cared a lot for a person he didn’t know in their trauma. The church, through the scriptures, gives an excellent example of what it means to help those who are distress from a physical disaster. Church offers compassion; it is said that effective ministry entails the willingness to get in the experiences and feelings of other people; this is good for the people traumatized by a crisis situation.  The church assumes personal ownership of people’s problems the way the Samaritan assumed full responsibility for the injured man’s expenses. Churches have a role in offering small group support programs and counseling.              According to Dowd (KJV. James 2:15, 16), it is said that a person should offer practical help for practical needs. In the church, there is an emphasis on suitable needs as it preached that when a person is naked and needs food, it is not practical to tell them to go in peace and be warmed, but it is applicable to offer food and clothes.  The real church will provide help to those who are traumatized; praying to them is never enough. Methods             In finding the role of the church in trauma counseling in a crisis situation, the material will be drawn from interviews with 20 church leaders selected from various denominations and 15 congregation members from the same churches.  The Leaders of the church chosen also included people who had offered recovery counseling to traumatized people after a crisis.  The interviews of the leaders and congregation church members will help in identifying the role of the church in trauma counseling of people in crisis.  The interviews will help in offering an assessment of both strengths and weaknesses of the church in counseling. The leaders must have done counseling to IDPs or other stressed groups for R and D (Relief and Development).  The participants of the study will be asked to volunteer in the exercise. Timeline             The main activities in the study will entail drafting the proposal, writing the final draft, collecting data, doing data collection, writing the write-up, and then submitting the paper. The date has been provided. Stage of the study Date Write a proposal August 1st-September 2nd Final Draft September 3rd Data collection September 12th Data analysis September 20th Write up October 5th Submission October 10th   Glossary ü  IDPs –stands for the internally displaced people ü  R and D- stands for Relief and development ü  Disorientation – state of showing mental confusion               References Work cited Bible, Holy, and New King James Version. “Nashville.” TN: Thomas Nelson (1982). Burkett, Delbert. “Two accounts of Lazarus’ resurrection in John 11.” New Testament 36.3 (1994):           209-232. Canfield, Charles EB. “The Good Samaritan 🙁 LUKE 10: 25–37).” Theology Today 11.3 (1954):             368-372. Dowd, Sharyn. “Faith That Works: James 2: 14–26.” Review & expositor 97.2 (2000): 195-205. Elowsky, Joel C., ed. John 11-21. Intervarsity Press, 2007. Floyd, Scott. Crisis counseling: A guide for pastors and professionals. Kegel Academic, 2008. Levers, Lisa Lopez. Trauma Counseling: Theories and interventions. Springer Publishing            Company, 2012. Meichenbaum, Donald. “Trauma, spirituality and recovery: Toward a spiritually integrated             psychotherapy.” unpublished paper, Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and            Treatment, Miami (2008). Smith, Stacy. “Exploring the interaction of trauma and spirituality.” Traumatology 10.4 (2004):   231-243. Wilde, Paul M. Crisis Counseling and the Lutheran Pastor and Congregation. Diss. 2018.               Part II.                      Dissertation ———————————————————— NTS SPECIFICATIONS OF DISSERTATION Dissertation Requirements   The following guidelines must be followed for completion of the Dissertation: IMPORTANT:  50 pages single space. The title of your Dissertation must represent subject matter that is directly related to your Major. Your title page must include your Dissertation title as well as your full name, the name of this seminary and the date of submission your document must also include: ·         Table of Contents ·         Introduction ·         Body to cover subject matter in detail, documenting all sources. ·         Conclusion ·         Bibliography ·         Footnotes or end notes You must site a minimum of 20- references from 20- books, periodicals and (or) articles. The 66 books of the Bible fully qualify as excellent books for your research. Additional reference materials are available through our Northwestern Library at: http://www.ntsLibrary.com   A. FORMAT The manuscript consists of three main parts: the preliminary pages, the text, and the reference section. You should consult your committee chair to determine the internal arrangement within the text and reference sections. You should be guided on matters of style by the chair and members of your committee. The following section specifies the format that must be adhered to in preparing the final copy of your dissertation.   B. MARGINS For binding purposes and later ease in microfilming and copying, every page of the dissertation or thesis needs to be kept within the following margins: Top: 1 inch Right: 1 inch Bottom: 1 inch Left: 1 ½ inches (binding edge)   All manuscript material must fit within these margin requirements (including tables, headers and footers, figures, and graphs). The page number can be positioned outside of these margins, but no less than ¾ inch from the paper edge. When full-page prints of photographs are desired, the image area of the print must conform to the same margins as the text.   C. SPACING The dissertation or thesis, including the abstract, dedication, acknowledgments, and introductions, must be double-spaced on one side of the page. Footnotes, bibliographic entries, long quoted passages and items in lists, tables, and appendices may be single-spaced if that style is recommended by the committee chair . D. PAGINATION Each page of the entire manuscript must be numbered, except where stated below, in the upper or lower right corner or the bottom center of the page, no less than 3/4 inch from the edge of the page. The placement of page numbers must be consistent throughout the manuscript. Pages should be counted or numbered sequentially throughout as follows: 1. The title page is not counted or numbered. 2. 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