Everything is Everything:
Exploring the Relationship Between Developmental Trauma Healing & Spirituality
ABSTRACT: This study explored the relationship between developmental trauma healing and spirituality using grounded theory methodology. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with four trauma counsellors, all of whom have personal and professional experience on this topic. The models that emerged suggest (a) diversity in individual spiritual experiences, (b) key themes in the processes of developmental trauma healing, (c) the significance of spirituality in the developmental trauma healing journey, (d) that healing serves as a pathway to spiritual expansion, and (e) that spirituality can be experienced as indivisible from healing. Specifically, the models of spirituality reflect two states: noun and verb. The noun state of Spiritual Domains describes the locations in which the sacred is experienced, and includes the Self, Others-World, and Transcendent domains and their subdomains. The verb state, Spiritual Processes, represents the engagement of sacred connection between these domains and subdomains. Healing is framed as journeys from (a) Dysregulation to Self- Regulation, (b) Disconnection to Connection, (c) Repetition to Transformation, and (d) Fragmentation to Integration. Finally, two key relationships between spirituality and healing emerged: reciprocal, with one contributing to the other, and equal, with no distinctions between them. This paradox is resolved when two loci of perspectives are considered. The micro perspective emphasizes the experience of separateness between the Spiritual Domains and the distinctions between healing and spirituality, and the macro emphasizes the perception of oneness between domains, spirituality, and healing. © 2024 Esther Jaang
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