Pain and suffering are unavoidable in this world, as Jesus noted, “In the world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33). However, trauma can be avoided and even when it is not, it can be healed.

When our nervous system is overwhelmed by pain and suffering and we lack the necessary internal or external resources to regulate it, the experience becomes traumatic. Pastors are often called upon in times of crisis to provide stabilization and debriefing. This guide aims to equip pastors with trauma-informed strategies to assist individuals effectively, even within a limited timeframe.

*Download this free guide: A Pastors Guide to Crisis Stabilization PDF

Key Objectives

1. Regulate the Nervous System
2. Organize the Experience

Regulate the Nervous System

Interventions aimed at returning the person’s nervous system to a ventral vagal state involve:

• Establishing a sense of safety
• Troubleshooting basic needs
• Establishing a self-care plan

Establishing a Sense of Safety

To help someone shift out of fight or flight mode, it is crucial to establish a sense of safety. This involves ensuring the physical environment is safe and communicating this to the individual.

Steps to Establish Safety:

1. Check the Environment:
   • Ask the individual to look around and confirm they are physically safe.
   • Encourage them to take deep breaths and verbally affirm their safety: “I’m okay, I’m in a safe space, nothing is going to hurt me here.”
2. Use Calming Communication:
   • Speak in a soft, low-pitched, slow rate of speech to communicate safety.
   • Utilize warm facial expressions and gentle body language.
3. Grounding Techniques:
   • Guide the individual to feel the seat supporting them and their feet on the ground.
   • Encourage deep, slow breathing, which stimulates the ventral vagus nerve.

Troubleshooting Basic Needs

Once the person is somewhat regulated, confirm their basic needs:

• Safe place to sleep
• Access to food, water, and clothing
• Human support

Steps to Address Basic Needs:

• Ask about their plans after the meeting: “Where will you go? Do you have a safe place to sleep tonight?”
• If any needs are unmet, help them create a plan to address these needs and involve an additional safe person for support.

Establishing a Self-Care Plan

Educate the individual on basic self-care to help maintain regulation:

• Eat three nutritious meals daily.
• Prioritize 7-10 hours of sleep.
• Engage in light exercise like stretching and walking.
• Take time for fun, relaxing activities.
• Journal daily to process emotions.
• Stay connected with safe friends and family.

Encourage them to write these steps down and review them daily.

Organize the Experience

Once basic needs and self-care are addressed, help the individual make sense of their experience.

Steps to Organize the Experience:

1. Share the Story:
   • Invite the individual to tell their story: “Can you share with me what happened?”
2. Acknowledge Emotions:
   • Reflect their emotions and validate their feelings: “That makes a lot of sense. It sounds like a normal way of feeling under the circumstances.”
3. Notice and Name Experience:
   • Collaboratively observe and articulate their experiences, helping them to organize their thoughts and emotions.
4. Co-Create Narrative:
   • Through back-and-forth dialogue, help them develop a coherent narrative of what happened and its impact.
5. Identify Losses and Process Grief:
   • Identify both tangible and intangible losses.
   • Guide them through grief by noticing and naming losses, feeling through associated emotions, and integrating the wisdom gained from the experience.
6. Plan Action:
   • Help them develop a plan for moving forward, making informed decisions, and considering relational changes if necessary.

Conclusion

Pastors can play a crucial role in preventing trauma from becoming entrenched by helping individuals regulate their nervous systems and organize their experiences. By establishing safety, addressing basic needs, and guiding through self-care and narrative construction, pastors can support healing and transformation, allowing individuals to grow and thrive in the face of adversity.

Integration of Faith and Neuroscience

The approach outlined in this guide integrates biblical principles with insights from neuroscience, recognizing that the author of the human nervous system and the Bible is one and the same—Jesus. This holistic approach aligns with the concept of sanctification, where transforming one’s mind and living by the Spirit (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16) leads to profound healing and growth. Through these trauma-informed practices, pastors can help individuals navigate their pain and suffering with the assurance that they are not alone and that healing is possible.

REFERENCES

1. A Pastors Guide to Crisis Stabilization PDF
2. MCO How and When To Refer to Counseling
3. Traumatic Events: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
4. Substance Use Problems: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
5. Panic Attacks: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
6. Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
7. Psychosis: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines
8. Non-Suicidal Self Injury: Mental Health First Aid Guidelines