Meaning, control, and connection: a practical theological perspective on the relationship between trauma, spirituality, and spiritual distress

Trauma is a universal human experience that can have debilitating effects on the physical, cognitive, psychological, behavioural, and spiritual well-being of human beings. Evidence states that most people will experience at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. A significant proportion of those working in the emergency services sector report experiencing multiple traumatic events that have deeply affected them. As a consequence, they can experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), high levels of psychological distress, diagnoses of mental health conditions, and suicidal ideation at rates significantly above those of the wider adult population. While acknowledging the multi-faceted nature of the human response to trauma, this thesis investigates the effects of trauma on spiritual well-being. There is a significant body of secular literature on spiritual trauma and I draw heavily on the empirical descriptions of spiritual distress found in psychological and nursing literature in particular. At the same time, there is little in the theological corpus that specifically addresses this topic. I seek to address this imbalance by presenting a practical theological perspective on trauma, spirituality, and spiritual distress. The benefits of a practical theological approach are many. It is an open and public discipline. It is grounded in realities of the human experience. It is integrative and critically reflective. It is pragmatic and transformative. Its goals are understanding, explanation, and communication. As such, practical theology has the capacity to offer fresh and complementary insights into our understanding of the spiritual experience of trauma. These, in turn, can aid in the provision of a more effective response by expanding the pool of available intervention resources and enhancing our capacity to respond effectively to the unique circumstances of each trauma-affected individual. Trauma is necessarily conceptualized in different ways in different domains. In the spiritual domain, trauma can be understood as an experience that can result in the loss of three vital spiritual attributes: meaning, control, and connection. A common result of these losses is spiritual distress. An effective response to spiritual distress requires that we understand and address these losses. Spiritual needs are often articulated as belief statements, the content of which is provided by the particular worldview or faith tradition to which an individual subscribes. It is at this point that theology has most to offer. Theology is a means of giving intellectual content, meaning, and direction to the human experience of the spiritual and it is apposite for examining the belief frameworks that give rise to spiritual distress and providing the language with which to discuss them.