ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111
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<strong>Issue</strong> no. <strong>111</strong> <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
e-accord Association<br />
of Christian Counsellors and Pastoral Care UK<br />
Changing location<br />
but the work continues
<strong>Accord</strong> contact:<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
024 7644 9694 Ext. 3<br />
email: chair@acc-uk.org<br />
ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN<br />
COUNSELLORS<br />
Representing Christians who<br />
provide counselling and pastoral<br />
care, <strong>ACC</strong> is the only Christian<br />
UK wide counselling organisation<br />
holding an Accredited Register<br />
with the Professional Standards<br />
Authority.<br />
Any questions, contact<br />
registrar@acc-uk.org<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> Head Office<br />
Tel: 024 7644 9694<br />
email: office@acc-uk.org<br />
Web: www.acc-uk.org<br />
Chair<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
email: chair@acc-uk.org<br />
CEO<br />
Kathy Spooner<br />
email: counselling@acc-uk.org<br />
Head of Membership Services<br />
Gillian Stuart<br />
email: gillian@acc-uk.org<br />
Registrar<br />
Dawn Sherry<br />
email: registrar@acc-uk.org<br />
Administration<br />
Heather Bennett<br />
email: office@acc-uk.org<br />
Finance<br />
Keith Payne<br />
email: accounts@acc-uk.org<br />
Pastoral Care<br />
email: pastoral@acc-uk.org<br />
Company Secretary<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
email: chair@acc-uk.org<br />
Registered Charity Number:<br />
1018559 : SC039810<br />
Limited Company Number: 2791541<br />
ISSN 2635-1404<br />
This quarterly magazine can<br />
be purchased for an annual<br />
subscription as a Friend of <strong>ACC</strong>,<br />
which has additional benefits.<br />
Details can be found at<br />
www.acc-uk.org<br />
contents <strong>Issue</strong><br />
no. <strong>111</strong> <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Editorial 3<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
Complex Trauma and Post-traumatic Growth 4-10<br />
Dr Heather Evans<br />
Holistic CBT- my journey to weave together faith and work 11-14<br />
Hilary Garraway<br />
Spirituality and support in the Deaf community 15-17<br />
Nikki Dhillon Keane & Sue Brown<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> News & Diary 18-19<br />
Meeting the Challenge, Providing the Opportunity 20-21<br />
Teresa Onions<br />
Counselling news 22-23<br />
Legal ban on conversion therapy 24-25<br />
Kathy Spooner<br />
Psalm 23 - A practical guide to caring 26-27<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
Can we predict the types of people who are more likely to hold 28-29<br />
a positive or negative attitude towards children with autism?<br />
Anne Franks<br />
Autism & Pastoral Care 30-31<br />
Emma McCaffrey<br />
Who Cares? 31<br />
Bridgette Brooks<br />
Christian counselling – another approach 32-33<br />
Pat Brookes<br />
Integration of my psychology and my Christianity? 34-35<br />
Dr Martyn Baker<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> children and young people forum 36-38<br />
Elaine Bennett<br />
Meeting <strong>ACC</strong>EnT Forum Members 39-40<br />
Leroy Harley<br />
Pregnancy Loss 41-42<br />
Amanda Padley<br />
Supporting a nation in mourning 43-44<br />
Yvonne Tulloch<br />
Table Talk for wellbeing 45<br />
PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED<br />
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editorial<br />
Editorial<br />
by Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
I write this two days after <strong>ACC</strong><br />
has left it’s home at 29 Momus<br />
Boulevard, Coventry for the<br />
last time. At the closing event, I<br />
mentioned a prayer that was said<br />
when Coventry Cathedral (see<br />
photo below) was opened in 1962<br />
that “It (Coventry) would become<br />
the premier place of pilgrimage for<br />
an anxious, hoping and searching<br />
generation”<br />
Perhaps Coventry has not become<br />
a place of pilgrimage in the realms<br />
of Rome, Assisi or Santiago de<br />
Compostela, nor did we often<br />
find pilgrims queuing outside<br />
29 Momus Boulevard, but the<br />
work that has gone on there has<br />
certainly supported our members<br />
to care for “anxious, hoping and<br />
searching” people, who I think exist<br />
in every generation.<br />
The daily tasks, keeping the show<br />
on the road, have enabled 100s of<br />
1000s of people to be helped over<br />
the years and although we are<br />
now more dispersed, this work will<br />
continue and we pray grow and<br />
develop.<br />
The articles in this edition of accord<br />
certainly reflect how the work<br />
of counselling and pastoral care<br />
brings care to the “anxious, hoping<br />
and searching”.<br />
The articles by Heather Evans,<br />
Hilary Garraway and Pat Brooks<br />
show us how the hope of<br />
healing and restoration can be<br />
brought even to those who have<br />
experienced immense trauma, by<br />
providing a safe and creative place<br />
for counselling.<br />
The articles about Autism and the<br />
Deaf Community continue our<br />
theme of diversity and inclusion<br />
and hopefully help us to better<br />
understand the anxiety that<br />
exclusion can cause and how<br />
we can be part of bringing more<br />
inclusion for everyone. We also<br />
learn more about Leroy Harley,<br />
one of the founder members<br />
of the <strong>ACC</strong>EnT Group and his<br />
hopes for greater inclusion and<br />
understanding across racial<br />
barriers.<br />
The articles by Yvonne Tulloch<br />
and Amanda Padely explore the<br />
tragedy of loss and remind us<br />
of how people in grief are often<br />
searching for hope and meaning as<br />
part of their journey to life beyond<br />
loss.<br />
As counsellors and pastoral carers<br />
we are also part of that “anxious,<br />
hoping and searching generation”<br />
and need support for ourselves<br />
and our work and this is reflected<br />
in several of the articles, whether it<br />
be :<br />
• thinking through the<br />
intersection of professionalism<br />
and faith as explored in the<br />
article by Martyn Baker<br />
• the development of Pastoral<br />
Support Groups, as outlined<br />
by Teresa Onions, that we pray<br />
will provide support for Pastoral<br />
Care members.<br />
• being part of a mutual support<br />
group, such as Children and<br />
Young People’s Forum as<br />
described by Elaine Bennett<br />
We may not be based in Coventry<br />
as we have been in the past, but<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> is still very much part of caring<br />
for “the anxious, the hoping and<br />
the searching”<br />
Finally, coming back to that<br />
concept of pilgrims to Coventry.<br />
A pilgrimage is described as “a<br />
journey or search of moral or<br />
spiritual significance.” Although<br />
we nor the people we work with<br />
may be on a physical journey,<br />
we are all on a Life Journey,<br />
involving spiritual, emotional and<br />
psychological growth and each<br />
one of our journeys is significant for<br />
our well-being.<br />
We pray that we<br />
will know God<br />
walking beside<br />
us as we journey<br />
for ourselves<br />
and journey with<br />
others.<br />
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3
INTRODUCTION:<br />
Grace* was sexually trafficked as<br />
a young girl until the age of 22.<br />
Her first traffickers were her own<br />
family. It began with sexual abuse<br />
and moved to exploitation in child<br />
pornography. Soon after this, she<br />
was sold for sex in her suburban<br />
neighborhood. Her family sold her<br />
to friends and then eventually to<br />
complete strangers. Her father<br />
would have people brought<br />
into her home and at times she<br />
was taken to other homes. Sold,<br />
commodified, used, for the purpose<br />
of power and pleasure. Eventually<br />
she was also sold at motels and<br />
hotels and taken out of the country<br />
by another trafficker. At the young<br />
age of 17, she was trafficked for<br />
both sex and labour.<br />
During the time she was being<br />
trafficked, she did not receive<br />
adequate education. She was<br />
told that she was too stupid to do<br />
anything but be a prostitute. To<br />
add to the horrific details of this<br />
story, her family called themselves<br />
Christians and used the Bible as a<br />
weapon, telling her that children<br />
are to obey their parents and if<br />
they did not it was considered<br />
disobedience to God. Years later<br />
after escaping, she sought refuge<br />
in a church community. A woman<br />
befriends her and says she will<br />
become new family for her, a<br />
promise to meet a need, and<br />
contribute to her healing. Soon<br />
this woman would also betray<br />
her, recruiting to sell her to a sex<br />
trafficker.<br />
Grace’s story is one example of<br />
hundreds of thousands of cases<br />
of sex trafficking, when someone,<br />
through the use of force, fraud,<br />
or coercion, is brought into the<br />
commercial sex industry and sold<br />
for an exchange of goods or money<br />
(Department of State, 2020). If<br />
someone is under the age of 18<br />
and in the commercial sex industry,<br />
they are considered victims of<br />
sexual exploitation, without proving<br />
force, fraud, or coercion. (USA Law)<br />
Furthermore, her story is also an<br />
*name changed to protect identity<br />
Complex Trauma and<br />
Post-traumatic Growth:<br />
the impact and healing journey of survivors<br />
of sexual trauma<br />
by Dr. Heather Evans, LCSW<br />
illustration of the layered, complex<br />
impact of sexual exploitation and<br />
sexual abuse, particularly when<br />
spiritual abuse is interwoven.<br />
Victims of trafficking have at<br />
times been trafficked by socalled<br />
Christians, and some have<br />
experienced being bought by<br />
church leaders, including from their<br />
own faith communities. Though<br />
the church should be a shelter, and<br />
those in positions of leadership and<br />
authority should protect, care for<br />
and lead, too often the church is a<br />
setting for devastating damage, at<br />
times occurring within its doors.<br />
THE #METOO/#CHURCHTOO<br />
CRISIS:<br />
Emily Joy Allison, credited as<br />
serving as a catalyst for the<br />
#churchtoo movement, is another<br />
example, groomed and abused by<br />
a youth leader. On November 21,<br />
2013 she types this tweet on social<br />
media platform, Twitter:<br />
“I certainly didn’t know that a<br />
romantic relationship between a<br />
teenage girl and an adult mentor<br />
in a religious setting was illegal in<br />
several states and unethical in all<br />
of them. I trusted him explicitly. He<br />
was a godly man who had my best<br />
interests at heart. He told me that<br />
so many times (Allison, <strong>2021</strong>, p.8).”<br />
Her tweet was in the wake of<br />
the #metoo movement, a social<br />
movement against sexual abuse<br />
and sexual harassment where<br />
people publicise allegations of<br />
victimisation. The phrase ‘me too’<br />
was initially used in this context<br />
in 2006 by survivor and activist,<br />
Tarana Burke. It was reignited<br />
in 2017 after widespread sexual<br />
abuse allegations against Harvey<br />
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feature<br />
Weinstein. Millions of individuals<br />
followed the lead of Weinstein’s<br />
victims, sharing their own stories<br />
of assault and abuse. Soon dozens<br />
of languages translated #metoo,<br />
making it a global movement.<br />
The church was not immune to<br />
these stories of abuse of power.<br />
Thus, Emily’s tweet quickly went<br />
viral and served as a catalyst for<br />
other survivors of abuse in church<br />
or ministry environments to<br />
share their stories, advocate, and<br />
connect with one another using<br />
the hashtag #churchtoo. In the<br />
USA, The Report I of the 40th<br />
Statewide Investigating Grand Jury<br />
(2018) revealed 300 abusive priests<br />
from six diocese in Pennsylvania,<br />
describing story after story of sexual<br />
and spiritual abuse of children. Boz<br />
Tchividjian of Godly Response to<br />
Abuse in the Christian Environment<br />
(GRACE) reported data gathered<br />
from top insurance providers for<br />
protestant churches who received<br />
260 reports a year of minors being<br />
sexually abused by church leaders<br />
or church members (Demuth,<br />
2019). Unfortunately, in many cases<br />
of abuse within the church, too<br />
often the perpetrator is protected<br />
at the expense of victims, who may<br />
not be believed and responded<br />
to, or may be blamed or forced to<br />
confront or forgive perpetrators.<br />
THE COMPLEX AND<br />
COMPREHENSIVE IMPACT OF<br />
ABUSE:<br />
What is the cost and impact of<br />
this abuse of power? Trauma is<br />
a response to a threat to one’s<br />
physical or mental wellbeing,<br />
resulting in one feeling helpless<br />
and fearful (American Psychiatric<br />
Association, 2013). Many victims<br />
develop symptoms of Post-<br />
Traumatic Stress Disorder.<br />
They relive the experience<br />
through flashbacks, dreams,<br />
images, and sensations. They<br />
may avoid reminders of the<br />
trauma, such as thoughts,<br />
feelings, memories, people, or<br />
environments, which may lead<br />
to dysregulation of emotion and<br />
reliving the trauma. They may be<br />
perpetually waiting for danger<br />
(American Psychiatric Association,<br />
2013). Trauma impacts decisionmaking<br />
and emotions, often<br />
leading to depression, anxiety, or<br />
other mental disorders. Females<br />
who are sexually abused are three<br />
times more likely to develop<br />
psychiatric disorders than females<br />
who are not sexually abused.<br />
Among male survivors, more than<br />
70% seek psychological treatment<br />
for issues such as substance abuse,<br />
suicidal thoughts, and attempted<br />
suicide (Rhode, et al., 2008; Dube,<br />
et al., 2007; Waldrop et al., 2007;<br />
Kendler et al., 2000; Voeltanz et al.,<br />
1999).<br />
The trauma of sexual exploitation<br />
and ongoing sexual abuse can be<br />
accurately described as complex<br />
trauma, a term formulated to<br />
capture trauma that is extreme,<br />
chronic, repetitious, interpersonal,<br />
and premeditated (Spinazzola, J,<br />
Blaustein, M, Kisiel, C, Van der Kolk,<br />
B., 2001)<br />
Complex trauma emphasises<br />
alterations in six areas: regulation<br />
of affect and impulses, attention<br />
or consciousness, self-perception,<br />
relations with others, somatisation,<br />
and systems of meaning<br />
(Spinazzola, et al., 2001).<br />
Regulation of Affect and<br />
Impulses: Victims of complex<br />
trauma may have difficulty<br />
managing their emotions, as if<br />
they are living on a level of survival.<br />
Trauma overwhelms one’s system,<br />
so one may appear to have extreme<br />
reactions to neutral or mild stimuli,<br />
and may have difficulty with selfregulation.<br />
Victims may appear as<br />
restless, angry, reactive or defensive.<br />
This ‘survival mode’ shifts the<br />
focus of the brain and body from<br />
learning, discovery and openness<br />
to anticipate, prevent or protect<br />
against damage. This hijacks<br />
development, thwarts growth and<br />
distracts from healing and freedom<br />
(Courtois & Ford, 2009). Trauma<br />
is not always visible, and may be<br />
hidden by symptoms, which are<br />
in fact forms of coping and often<br />
destructive, such as substance<br />
abuse or dependency, self-injury, or<br />
eating disorders.<br />
Disturbances in Attention or<br />
Consciousness: Individuals<br />
experiencing complex trauma,<br />
such as abuse or exploitation,<br />
report that they have coped using<br />
dissociation, or an involuntary<br />
separation from these experiences.<br />
When an experience becomes<br />
overwhelming, various elements<br />
(visual, somatic, emotional) may<br />
be involuntarily and reflexively split<br />
off from one another and from<br />
the individual’s personal narrative.<br />
These ‘split off’ parts of the<br />
experience are typically perceptual<br />
or sensory in nature. This means<br />
they have only been able to access<br />
some information related to the<br />
trauma. It is a form of survival, but<br />
it thwarts integration of memory,<br />
identity and perception (Spinazzola<br />
et al., 2001; Ross, et al., 2003) and<br />
may become an ongoing reflexive<br />
habit.<br />
Victims of complex trauma may<br />
be seen as numb, disconnected<br />
or emotionally shut down. It may<br />
be confusing to someone who<br />
doesn’t understand this aspect<br />
of trauma, because they may<br />
have gaps in their memory when<br />
explaining their trauma history to<br />
law enforcement, family members,<br />
or counsellors. There may be<br />
changes in their verbal narrative<br />
from meeting to meeting. Their<br />
facial expressions and affect may<br />
not match the horror of what they<br />
are sharing. These are indicative<br />
of dissociation, but may be<br />
misinterpreted as deception, denial<br />
or resistant behaviour (TC Institute,<br />
2014).<br />
Disturbances in Self-Perception:<br />
To experience trauma is to be given<br />
lenses which change one’s view<br />
of everything, including others,<br />
God, and one’s self. Abuse victims<br />
experience guilt and shame. They<br />
may minimise their experience and<br />
believe that no one will understand<br />
it. They may see themselves<br />
as damaged, undesirable and<br />
hopeless (Spinazzola, et al., 2001).<br />
It impacts identity. In a study of<br />
sex trafficking survivors, when<br />
asked how the exploitation<br />
impacted their identity, the<br />
majority of them hesitated and had<br />
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5
difficulty answering this question,<br />
acknowledging that identity had<br />
been so lost or damaged, handed<br />
over to someone who remade<br />
them into commodities to be<br />
sold for someone else’s pleasure.<br />
They describe the ongoing<br />
journey that took time and effort<br />
to rebuild, including discovering<br />
their interests, hobbies and values<br />
(Evans, 2019).<br />
Disturbances in Relationships:<br />
Abuse shatters trust, particularly<br />
because the majority of victims<br />
know their offender (Department<br />
of Justice, 1997) and relationship<br />
and trust are used as tools of the<br />
abuser (Evans, 2019). When a victim<br />
tries to get help, they may not be<br />
believed or supported, thus further<br />
confirming the mistrust. While<br />
relationship and community are<br />
among their greatest needs, to a<br />
victim they may be experienced<br />
as threatening, overwhelming and<br />
re-injuring. Our good intentions of<br />
helping at times perpetuate lost<br />
voice and power when we assume<br />
we know what they want and<br />
need and act on their behalf. Our<br />
vocabulary such as ‘I care about<br />
you. You are safe here’ may mean<br />
nothing to them because their<br />
categories for what safe and care<br />
mean have been shattered.<br />
Biological Self-Regulation:<br />
Trauma invades on a biological<br />
level. Spinazzola et al. (2001) explain<br />
that many who have experienced<br />
chronic trauma suffer persistent<br />
physical complaints, some<br />
without medical explanation or<br />
intervention. Chronic exposure to<br />
stress results in a dysregulation of<br />
hormones produced in the stress<br />
response system. These hormones<br />
prepare the body to mobilise<br />
resources to respond to threat. In<br />
addition, trauma exposure affects<br />
the limbic system and its role in<br />
evaluation of emotion perception<br />
as well as encoding of memory.<br />
Trauma victims have general<br />
difficulties adjusting their level<br />
of physiological arousal, which<br />
can be described by having<br />
overactive sympathetic and<br />
parasympathetic nervous system.<br />
An example of this is an involuntary,<br />
exaggerated startle response. An<br />
overproduction of some hormones<br />
results in general feelings of<br />
anxiety, signs of hyperarousal,<br />
such as hypervigilance or difficulty<br />
sleeping. On the other hand,<br />
an underproduction of other<br />
hormones, such as serotonin,<br />
leads to increased reactivity and<br />
emergency responses. In summary,<br />
this loss of modulation may<br />
appear as heightened irritability,<br />
impulsivity, and aggression<br />
(Spinazzola et al. 2001).<br />
Some common complaints among<br />
individuals with a history of trauma<br />
include: Irritable Bowel Syndrome,<br />
chronic pelvic pain, headaches,<br />
and gastrointestinal challenges<br />
(Spinazzola, 2001). Van der Kolk<br />
(1996) also has brought attention<br />
to the loss of ability to put words<br />
to traumatic experiences and<br />
therefore, physical symptoms<br />
provide trauma survivors with a<br />
‘symbolic way of communicating<br />
their emotional pain’ (Spinazzola et<br />
al., 2001).<br />
Disturbances in Meaning Systems:<br />
Spinazzola et al. (2001) highlight<br />
that many who have experienced<br />
chronic trauma have a change in<br />
their worldview that leads to loss<br />
of belief in life having meaning<br />
6 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
or purpose. They may question<br />
spiritual belief or experience a<br />
profound sense of helplessness<br />
and loss of hope (TC Institute, 2014).<br />
These can significantly impact the<br />
capacity to formulate solutions,<br />
make choices, act on one’s own<br />
behalf or implement change in<br />
one’s life (Spinazzola et al., 2001).<br />
Herman (1992) describes the<br />
impact on beliefs for those who<br />
have experienced prolonged<br />
captivity, such as sexual<br />
exploitation. She states victims<br />
may be preoccupied with shame,<br />
self-loathing and a sense of failure.<br />
These alterations in the self and<br />
in relationships inevitably results<br />
in the questioning of basic tenets<br />
of faith. Furthermore, while some<br />
have a faith that remains intact<br />
or strengthened, the majority of<br />
people experience ‘the bitterness<br />
of being forsaken by God’ (p.94).<br />
This loss of belief contributes<br />
to depression that is prevalent<br />
amongst trauma survivors.<br />
Spiritual Impact: Trauma<br />
has capacity to shape and to<br />
shatter meaning. When abuse is<br />
perpetrated by a spiritual authority<br />
figure, there is devastating impact<br />
on the victim and the victim’s<br />
relationship with God. How can a<br />
child think of a heavenly Father<br />
as good and safe if that same<br />
child is abused by a ‘Father’ or<br />
spiritual authority at their church or<br />
school? They will inevitably see God<br />
through the lens of abuse.<br />
In a study interviewing sex<br />
trafficking survivors about the<br />
impact of trauma, almost all of<br />
the participants mentioned faith<br />
or religion. Half of participants<br />
credit faith/spirituality as a form of<br />
coping or means of survival during<br />
the time of being trafficked. More<br />
than half described how spiritual<br />
beliefs were a part of their healing<br />
process after the trafficking<br />
experience, describing additional<br />
spiritual growth as a result of the<br />
trauma. The majority also described<br />
struggles and questions related<br />
to their faith, including questions<br />
and doubts about God’s presence<br />
and purposes in their experiences.<br />
Some of them experienced<br />
exploitation at the hands of church<br />
leaders and so-called Christian<br />
parents, while some of them had<br />
experiences of re-traumatisation<br />
and re-exploitation within faith<br />
communities after they had been<br />
trafficked (Evans, 2019).<br />
For the individuals sitting in pews<br />
and Bible studies, how do they<br />
receive messages about God’s<br />
love? How do they understand<br />
concepts such as power,<br />
submission, and headship? What<br />
do they do when they hear God<br />
described as Father or hear<br />
sermons on forgiveness? What<br />
does he think when he hears that<br />
God is a refuge in times of trouble<br />
and will never abandon us? Or how<br />
does she feel when she never hears<br />
sexual violence or abuse referenced<br />
in teachings?<br />
Many victims believe they must<br />
be an exception to the promises<br />
of Scripture. They may want to<br />
believe in the Scriptures, but<br />
truth does not register because<br />
it is perceived as contradictory to<br />
their experiences. They come to<br />
the conclusion that these truths<br />
must not apply to them. They<br />
must not be worthy of God’s care,<br />
love, protection, and promises. The<br />
betrayal of abuse and the impact<br />
of trauma are barriers to Scripture,<br />
to Christian community, and to<br />
relationship with God. They may<br />
be wracked with shame, fear, guilt,<br />
hopelessness, or worthlessness,<br />
hindering them from Christian<br />
fellowship. Therefore, we must see<br />
the courage and desperation that<br />
it takes for survivors to show up<br />
at church services and activities.<br />
For those who experienced abuse<br />
within a church context, they have<br />
been taught lies about God.<br />
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7
What then is our response?<br />
Our response has the capacity<br />
to perpetuate these lies or<br />
demonstrate truth that leads to<br />
freedom and healing.<br />
THE HEALING JOURNEY:<br />
In Counseling Survivors of Sexual<br />
Abuse, Langberg (2003) describes<br />
how abuse destroys the image of<br />
God—expressed through voice,<br />
power, and relationships—in<br />
human beings. Abuse silences<br />
voice, renders one helpless, and<br />
destroys the fabric of trust in<br />
relationship. Therefore, the healing<br />
of abuse must be the reversal of<br />
its impact. It must restore voice<br />
and power in the context of a safe,<br />
healing relationship. This means<br />
that everything we do and say, as<br />
institutions, leaders, and as loved<br />
ones, must be the reversal of the<br />
trauma and abuse of power.<br />
If trauma silences, then we<br />
promote voice, by asking, listening,<br />
believing and bearing witness,<br />
repeatedly and for as long as it<br />
takes. If trauma misuses power<br />
and results in helplessness, we<br />
empower those who have been<br />
victimised, by offering choice,<br />
promoting relational safety, not<br />
assuming we understand need but<br />
coming alongside them in ways<br />
that help them increase agency.<br />
We become a student of survivors,<br />
asking them what they need,<br />
connecting them with resources,<br />
and being willing to accompany<br />
them physically, emotionally, and<br />
spiritually.<br />
If the trauma of abuse shatters<br />
relationship, we represent God<br />
accurately in truth, love, grace,<br />
mercy, and compassion. We<br />
care more for the protection of<br />
survivors, than the reputation<br />
of a person or organisation. We<br />
become representatives of God to<br />
the survivor. Our work is to teach in<br />
the seen that which is true in the<br />
unseen. Our words, tone of voice,<br />
actions, body movements, response<br />
to rage, fear, failure all become ways<br />
that the survivor learns about God.<br />
We try to represent God, as the<br />
survivor struggles with questions<br />
about God (Langberg, 2003).<br />
Experts in complex trauma have<br />
outlined a three-phase treatment<br />
model that provides a foundation<br />
for trauma healing intervention.<br />
The safety and stabilisation phase<br />
is the foundation of treatment and<br />
a phase returned to repeatedly.<br />
Memory work is when a silenced<br />
voice is recovered and one begins<br />
to make meaning and find truth in<br />
the trauma narrative. Reconnecting<br />
or reintegration implies how a<br />
person recovers and lives after<br />
enduring the trauma (Spinazzola<br />
et al, 2001; Herman, 1992, Langberg,<br />
2003).<br />
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH<br />
Grace spent two years at a<br />
residential program for survivors of<br />
sex trafficking. It was here that she<br />
learned the definition of human<br />
trafficking and that ‘choice was<br />
not a choice.’ She learned about<br />
trauma, and began learning to<br />
regulate her emotions, stating it<br />
took at least five year to reach safety<br />
and stabilisation, the first stage of<br />
addressing complex trauma. She<br />
reports they had a dog, and she<br />
was able to first connect to the<br />
dog before she could connect with<br />
people. She was encouraged to get<br />
her education. Initially doubtful, she<br />
now has her master’s degree and is<br />
in a doctoral program, attributing<br />
education as giving her a reason<br />
to live. She got married, and is<br />
working through how to build trust<br />
and intimacy with another person.<br />
She needed medical intervention<br />
due to extensive issues resulted<br />
from the abuse. She describes<br />
being numb, dissociative, selfdestructive,<br />
angry, resistant.<br />
The healing journey is slow,<br />
incremental, repetitious, intentional<br />
work. It requires a community,<br />
not just one professional, but a<br />
comprehensive team of support.<br />
Among other survivors, when Grace<br />
is asked what was most helpful, she<br />
describes relationships, those who<br />
believed in her and encouraged<br />
her towards her gifts and talents,<br />
those who helped her discover her<br />
identity and goal and dreams, and<br />
then promoted her to reach them,<br />
and those who served as models for<br />
what healthy relationship should<br />
include.<br />
Grace is also an example of posttraumatic<br />
growth (PTG), defined<br />
as positive psychological change<br />
experienced as a result of the<br />
struggle with highly challenging<br />
life circumstances. PTG does<br />
8 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
not mean a return to ‘normal’ or<br />
baseline after experiencing trauma,<br />
but an experience of growth that<br />
for some may be deeply profound.<br />
It is distinct from the term<br />
resilience, which can be defined<br />
as ‘the power or ability to return to<br />
original form or positive after being<br />
bent, compressed or stretched’<br />
(Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G.,<br />
2006, p.11), where PTG describes<br />
a growth from where one was at<br />
before experiencing trauma. It<br />
is not necessarily a lessening of<br />
distress or symptoms, but rather<br />
that those who have experienced<br />
trauma are living richer, fuller,<br />
more meaningful lives. In a study of<br />
domestic sex trafficking survivors,<br />
all participants reported aspects<br />
of post-traumatic growth (Evans,<br />
2019).<br />
“While the<br />
impact of trauma is<br />
complex and multifaceted,<br />
there is often<br />
great evidence of<br />
posttraumatic growth<br />
The five domains of PTG include<br />
personal strength, new possibilities,<br />
relating to others, appreciation of<br />
life, and spiritual change (Calhoun,<br />
L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G., 2006).<br />
Personal strength refers to an<br />
individual identifying and being<br />
surprised by his/her power or<br />
strength. The phrase to summarise<br />
this area of growth is ‘vulnerable yet<br />
stronger’ or ‘I am more vulnerable<br />
than I thought, but much stronger<br />
than I ever imagined’ (p.5). Survivors<br />
learn to find voice, set boundaries<br />
in relationships and move from<br />
survival to living, set on their goals<br />
and dreams.<br />
New possibilities include the<br />
development of new interests,<br />
sometimes related to the trauma<br />
they experience. Grace has many<br />
examples, including discovering<br />
her interests, learning photography,<br />
receiving an education, and<br />
starting a nonprofit organisation to<br />
help other survivors.<br />
Relating to others refers to a greater<br />
connection to other people and<br />
increased compassion for those<br />
who suffer. Tedeschi and Calhoun<br />
(2006) report in their qualitative<br />
data that this increased experience<br />
of compassion translates into a<br />
greater degree of frequency of<br />
altruistic acts. It is common for<br />
survivors of abuse to desire to<br />
help others at some point in their<br />
healing journey, which seems to be<br />
a part of their own healing. Grace<br />
attributes the relationship with a<br />
couple, who became their adopted<br />
families, as the reason she was able<br />
to eventually trust and connect to<br />
her husband.<br />
An increased appreciation for life or<br />
a changed sense of what is of most<br />
importance may occur for those<br />
who have experienced threat or<br />
danger in their suffering. Survivors<br />
express a deeper appreciation even<br />
for the ordinary, overlooked aspects<br />
of life, a change in perception<br />
where they have a greater capacity<br />
to see and appreciate beauty,<br />
which seems to become a defiance<br />
against the dark, ugliness of sexual<br />
trauma.<br />
Finally, some individuals who<br />
have experienced trauma report<br />
increased spiritual or existential<br />
meaning in their lives (Little, S.<br />
G., Akin-Little, A, Somerville, M. P<br />
(2011). In fact, Tedeschi and Calhoun<br />
report that it is in this domain that<br />
they observe the most significant<br />
PTG. This growth reflects a greater<br />
sense of purpose and meaning in<br />
life, greater satisfaction, and greater<br />
clarity with answers given to<br />
fundamental existential questions.<br />
Grace acknowledges the ongoing<br />
journey of detangling her faith and<br />
spiritual beliefs from the sexual and<br />
spiritual abuse she endured, but<br />
attributes her faith as one major<br />
source of healing.<br />
CONCLUSION:<br />
While the impact of trauma<br />
is complex and multi-faceted,<br />
there is often great evidence<br />
of posttraumatic growth,<br />
particularly seen in individuals’<br />
deep appreciation for life, ability<br />
to see beauty and perceive deeply<br />
and finding greater meaning in<br />
experiences of life, particularly<br />
helping others. Furthermore, while<br />
relationships are most significantly<br />
impacted from abuse, they are also<br />
considered the greatest instrument<br />
of healing, through offering longterm<br />
commitment and belief in<br />
the individual. Finally, while there is<br />
significant loss for those who have<br />
endured abuse and exploitation,<br />
including trust, voice, power,<br />
identity and relationships, there is<br />
evidence of finding and utilising<br />
their voice and power in significant<br />
ways.<br />
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9
References:<br />
Allison, Emily Joy. (<strong>2021</strong>).<br />
#ChurchToo: How Purity Culture<br />
Upholds Abuse and How to Find<br />
Healing. Minneapolis: BroadLeaf<br />
Books<br />
American Psychiatric Association<br />
(2013). Diagnostic and Statistical<br />
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth<br />
Edition. Washington, DC: American<br />
Psychiatric Association.<br />
Center for Disease Control and<br />
Prevention (<strong>2021</strong>). Preventing<br />
Sexual Violence Fact<br />
Sheet. Retrieved from: https://<br />
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/<br />
sexualviolence/fastfact.html<br />
Courtois, C, Ford, J. (2009). Defining<br />
and Understanding Complex<br />
Trauma and Complex Traumatic<br />
Stress Disorders. In F. Courtois,<br />
Treating Complex Traumatic Stress<br />
Disorders (pp. 13-30). New York:<br />
Guilford Press.<br />
DeMuth, Mary (2019). We Too:<br />
How the Church Can Respond<br />
Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse<br />
Crisis. Oregon: Harvest House<br />
Publishers.<br />
Department of State, U. S. (2020).<br />
Trafficking in Persons Report.<br />
Washington, D.C.: Department of<br />
State.<br />
Department of Justice (1997). Sex<br />
Offenses and Sex Offenders: An<br />
Analysis of Data on Rape and<br />
Sexual Assault. Retrieved from:<br />
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/<br />
pdf/SOO.PDF<br />
Dube, S. A., Anda, R. F., Whitfield, C.<br />
L., Brown, D. W., Felitti, D. J., Dong,<br />
M., & Giles, W. (2005). Long-term<br />
consequences of childhood sexual<br />
abuse by gender of the victim.<br />
American Journal of Preventive<br />
Medicine, 28, 430 – 437.<br />
Evans, Heather (2019). ‘From the<br />
Voices of Domestic Sex Trafficking<br />
Survivors: Experiences of Complex<br />
Trauma & Posttraumatic Growth’<br />
Doctorate in Social Work (DSW)<br />
Dissertations. 126. https://repository.<br />
upenn.edu/edissertations_sp2/126<br />
Godly Response to Abuse in the<br />
Christian Environment. (2010,<br />
August 28). Amended Final Report<br />
for the Investigatory Review of<br />
Child Abuse at new Tribes Fanda<br />
Missionary School. Retrieved<br />
from https://www.netgrace.org/<br />
new-tribes-mission.<br />
Herman, J. (1992). Trauma and<br />
Recovery. New York: Harpercollins.<br />
Hill, H, Hill, M, Bagge’, R, Miersma,P.<br />
Healing the Wounds of Trauma:<br />
How the Church Can Help. New<br />
York: American Bible Society.<br />
Kendler, K., Bulik, C., Silberg, J.,<br />
Hettema, J., Myers, J., & Prescott,<br />
C. (2000). Childhood sexual<br />
abuse and adult psychiatric<br />
and substance use disorders in<br />
women: An epidemiological and<br />
Cotwin Control Analysis. Archives of<br />
General Psychiatry, 57, 953-959<br />
Langberg, Diane. (2003).<br />
Counseling Survivors of Sexual<br />
Abuse. Xulon Press.<br />
Little, S. G., Akin-Little, A, Somerville,<br />
M. P (2011). Response to trauma<br />
in children: An examination of<br />
effective intervention in response<br />
to Post-traumatic Growth. School<br />
Psychology International, 448-463.<br />
Office of Attorney General of the<br />
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania<br />
(2018, July 27). Report I of the 40th<br />
Statewide Investigating Grand<br />
Jury. Harrisburg, PA: Author.<br />
Rohde, P., Ichikawa, L., Simon, G.<br />
E., Ludman, E. J., Linde, J. A. Jeffery,<br />
R. W., & Operskalski, B. H. (2008).<br />
Associations of child sexual and<br />
physical abuse with obesity and<br />
depression in middle-aged women.<br />
Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 878– 887.<br />
Ross, C, Farley, M, Schwartz.<br />
(2003). Dissociation Among<br />
Women in Prostitution. In M.<br />
Farley, Prostitution, Trafficking,<br />
and Traumatic Stress (pp. 199-<br />
212). Binghamton, NJ: Hayworth<br />
Maltreatment and Trauma Press.<br />
Spinazzola, J, Blaustein, M, Kisiel,<br />
C, Van der Kolk, B. (2001). Beyond<br />
PTSD: Further Evidence for a<br />
Complex Adaptational Response<br />
to Traumatic Life Events. Paper<br />
presented at American Psychiatric<br />
Association Annual Meeting, (pp.<br />
373-392). New Orleans.<br />
Institute, T. C. (2014). Utilizing<br />
Trauma‐Informed Approaches to<br />
Trafficking‐related Work. Brookline,<br />
MA: Trauma Center at Justice<br />
Resource Institute.<br />
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G.<br />
(2004). Posttraumatic growth:<br />
Conceptual foundation and<br />
empirical evidence. Philadelphia,<br />
PA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.<br />
Voeltanz, N., Wilsnack, S., Harris,<br />
R., Wilsnack, R., Wonderlich, S.,<br />
Kristjanson, A. (1999). Prevalence<br />
and risk for childhood sexual<br />
abuse in women : National survey<br />
findings. Child Abuse and Neglect,<br />
23, 579-592.<br />
Waldrop, A. E. Hanson, R. F., Resnick,<br />
H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Naugle, A. E., &<br />
Saunders, B. E. (2007). Risk factors<br />
for suicidal behavior among a<br />
national sample of adolescents:<br />
Implications for prevention. Journal<br />
of Traumatic Stress, 20, 869 – 879.<br />
Dr Heather Evans, LCSW<br />
About the author<br />
Heather will be<br />
at <strong>ACC</strong>’s “Four<br />
Winds” Online<br />
Conference in<br />
November <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Dr. Heather Evans<br />
is a Licensed<br />
Clinical Social Worker with<br />
a private group counseling<br />
practice in Coopersburg,<br />
Pennsylvania, with 20 years’<br />
experience providing therapy,<br />
particularly specializing in sexual<br />
trauma and sex trafficking.<br />
Heather has authored two books<br />
from her research on complex<br />
trauma and posttraumatic<br />
growth in sex trafficking<br />
survivors. She is Co-Founder of<br />
Valley Against Sex Trafficking<br />
in Pennsylvania and adjunct<br />
professor of Global Trauma<br />
Recovery Institute, traveling<br />
internationally to train trauma<br />
healing caregivers.<br />
10 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
The beginnings of this journey tie<br />
in with the beginnings of <strong>ACC</strong>.<br />
Having completed a psychology<br />
degree, I decided to have some<br />
time out with YWAM (Youth With a<br />
Mission) before going on to further<br />
training. Having done the YWAM<br />
Discipleship Training School on the<br />
Anastasis ship with an amazing trip<br />
round the Caribbean and South<br />
America, I went on to the YWAM<br />
Christian counselling school in St<br />
Helens, Merseyside. My planned<br />
short “time out” turned into about<br />
10 years working with YWAM’s<br />
counselling schools and setting up<br />
a project in East London. This work<br />
was with Dr Mike Sheldon, who as<br />
a GP had a vision for developing<br />
whole person health care. Along<br />
with others, we developed an<br />
assessment process that explored<br />
people’s spiritual, psychological and<br />
medical needs to create a more<br />
holistic treatment approach.<br />
It was during this time that I<br />
remember joining Mike at the first<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> meetings in the early 1990’s,<br />
as he was one of the founder<br />
members. I often find myself at<br />
the beginning of things and I<br />
remember the excitement in the<br />
room of seeing the potential that<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> could become in making<br />
Christian counselling a credible<br />
and recognised therapy through an<br />
accreditation process.<br />
Fast forwarding this journey<br />
to the beginnings of the new<br />
millennium and I felt an increasing<br />
draw to work in an environment<br />
that would connect me with<br />
people outside of Christian circles.<br />
This led me to train as a clinical<br />
psychologist and moving into the<br />
NHS world of secondary mental<br />
health care which has given me<br />
the opportunity to offer therapy<br />
to those who wouldn’t come near<br />
a church. During my time in the<br />
NHS I have had an ongoing journey<br />
of how to integrate my faith with<br />
my work and to find a way of<br />
offering therapy within a secular<br />
environment which allowed space<br />
for clients to explore spirituality and<br />
faith. A key turning point was when<br />
I was reading Margaret Silf’s book,<br />
Landmarks, and I realised that<br />
every time a client makes progress<br />
in therapy they are moving closer<br />
to being in line with what God<br />
intended for them to be; each step<br />
is a step closer to reaching their<br />
God given purpose and potential.<br />
Looking back I can see that my<br />
own understanding of God had to<br />
broaden and my spiritual journey<br />
deepen from those early YWAM<br />
days to a more contemplative<br />
and inclusive path and over the<br />
years authors such as Margaret<br />
Silf, Richard Rohr and many others<br />
have been instrumental in shaping<br />
this expanding awareness of God. I<br />
now feel more motivated to share<br />
with others about my relationship<br />
with God than I did in my early<br />
evangelical days, knowing that my<br />
own spiritual understanding of God<br />
is an ongoing journey of discovery<br />
and none of us can really fully know<br />
the mystery we name as God.<br />
During my years of working in<br />
adult mental health as a CBT<br />
(cognitive behaviour) therapist and<br />
psychologist I have expanded my<br />
own CBT practice to include more<br />
of people’s contexts including their<br />
social and cultural experiences and<br />
acknowledging socio-economic<br />
and environmental influences. I’ve<br />
also included people’s spiritual<br />
beliefs about God, the demonic<br />
and, when working with Muslim<br />
clients, beliefs about jinn. Over the<br />
years the formulations I developed<br />
with clients became more holistic<br />
and focused more on people’s<br />
strengths and potentials as well as<br />
their problems.<br />
So about 30 years on from my<br />
early discussions with Mike and<br />
others about how to integrate faith<br />
and therapy, I feel I have found<br />
my own personal integration. This<br />
model of therapy has grown into<br />
what I have called Holistic CBT<br />
and is continuing to develop as<br />
I write more about it and share<br />
it with others. My foundational<br />
years of Christian counselling of<br />
fully listening to the client, and<br />
to listen out for glimpses of God<br />
within the conversation, are still<br />
the foundations of what I do. I<br />
have valued learning about CBT<br />
feature<br />
Holistic CBTmy<br />
journey<br />
to weave<br />
together faith<br />
and work<br />
by Hilary Garraway<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
11
and using that model as a core<br />
framework but I have added in<br />
the concept of the human spirit<br />
to the formulations, at the heart<br />
of the CBT maintenance cycles<br />
of thoughts, feelings, physical<br />
sensations and behaviours.<br />
By introducing the concept of<br />
‘spirit’ to the model, this opens<br />
up conversations about how<br />
people see their true identity and<br />
it encourages people to connect<br />
with their God-given potential and<br />
deepest desires and strengths, that<br />
are in each person that God has<br />
created. Every person I see in the<br />
therapy room is made in the image<br />
of God, whether they are aware<br />
of it or not, and as a therapist my<br />
job is helping people to be all that<br />
God has made them to be; helping<br />
them to connect with their unique<br />
potential and purpose that God has<br />
planted in each one of us and that<br />
brings fulfilment and peace when<br />
we live within it.<br />
Having worked within the NHS<br />
in North and East London I<br />
have valued the opportunity of<br />
working with many varied and<br />
fascinating (and sometimes very<br />
challenging!) clients. I’m grateful for<br />
each one and for what they have<br />
taught me. Their stories and our<br />
shared therapeutic experiences<br />
have shaped my thinking and<br />
have helped me to find a way to<br />
integrate my work and my spiritual<br />
life.<br />
Having spent about 20 years now<br />
in this field I sense God calling me<br />
back into full time work in a more<br />
overtly Christian context. So it felt<br />
significant when, at a recent music<br />
event promoting mental wellbeing,<br />
I found myself speaking alongside<br />
Kathy Spooner, the CEO of <strong>ACC</strong>.<br />
This ‘random’ meeting brought me<br />
back to reconnecting with <strong>ACC</strong>. I<br />
was encouraged to see how much<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> has grown and developed<br />
into a mature ‘adult’ organisation<br />
from the toddler <strong>ACC</strong> I had left<br />
behind in the 1990’s. So it feels like<br />
I have been on a ‘quest’, leaving my<br />
Christian counselling home, to find<br />
the answers that I was looking for<br />
in my early <strong>ACC</strong> days and as I return<br />
it reminds me of the words of TS<br />
Elliott:<br />
“We shall not cease from<br />
exploration, and the end of all our<br />
exploring will be to arrive where<br />
we started and know the place<br />
for the first time.”<br />
I was going to write an article about<br />
HCBT but instead this has been<br />
a more self-indulgent personal<br />
reflection of my journey but I<br />
feel that this is coming from my<br />
gratefulness to God for the journey<br />
that He has taken me on to weave<br />
together so many rich strands of<br />
my life. It’s great to help someone<br />
to be less depressed or less anxious<br />
but nothing compares to helping<br />
someone connect with their true<br />
potential and God given identity.<br />
In discovering this I have found<br />
my own fulfilment in the purpose<br />
of God for my life. This purpose<br />
is encapsulated in a life mission<br />
statement I wrote for myself years<br />
ago to “reach my potential and help<br />
others to reach theirs.”<br />
However for those who are<br />
interested to know more about<br />
the Holistic CBT model here is the<br />
full HCBT formulation (see Figure<br />
1:HCBT formulation).<br />
12 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
This may look a bit confusing<br />
but the therapy takes a person<br />
through the different aspects of<br />
this model and gradually helps the<br />
client to develop a personal inner<br />
map of themselves focusing on<br />
their strengths and potential. The<br />
therapy helps clients to explore<br />
the helpful patterns that facilitate<br />
this potential and also to change<br />
the unhelpful patterns that hinder<br />
who they truly are. The therapy can<br />
be used as an individual therapy<br />
but I have also developed a group<br />
programme based on the model<br />
called ‘Free to be Me’ which is a<br />
16 week personal development<br />
course.<br />
Figure 1:<br />
HCBT formulation<br />
Holistic CBT uses generic spiritual<br />
language so that it is inclusive to<br />
all faiths and spiritualties, while<br />
still being a model rooted in<br />
Christian tradition and Biblically<br />
based. Clients are encouraged to<br />
use language that feels authentic<br />
to them and so some clients<br />
use terms such as identity or<br />
consciousness instead of spirit.<br />
Within the course I describe God<br />
as Life’s Source and Flow and some<br />
clients wish to use the term God<br />
whereas others use terms such as<br />
the Universe or the Divine. This feels<br />
a really important aspect of therapy<br />
particularly when it is used with<br />
people of all different faiths and<br />
with varied relationships with God.<br />
Having worked outside of Christian<br />
circles I have found so many people<br />
with genuine experiences of God<br />
and also people that have been<br />
very hurt by the church. Many feel<br />
a real sense of loss and spiritual<br />
abandonment that they do not feel<br />
able to connect with God through<br />
church because of these past<br />
hurts. So by not using names such<br />
as ‘God’ or ‘Jesus,’ which might<br />
trigger painful memories, people<br />
may be willing to talk about their<br />
relationship with the Divine and<br />
have a desire to reconnect, when<br />
these trigger words are removed<br />
but we are still talking about<br />
the same divine being. This was<br />
something I saw in the first Free<br />
to be Me group which I ran at a<br />
hospital in East London. We had<br />
a group made up of Christians,<br />
Hindus and Muslims and also a<br />
woman who emphatically told me<br />
she was an atheist. However by the<br />
end of the course she shared how<br />
her father had taken her to church<br />
as a child and she felt drawn to go<br />
back as a result of the course. This<br />
isn’t the goal of the course but is a<br />
side effect of people reconnecting<br />
with their spiritual side and<br />
wanting to be all that they are in<br />
God.<br />
So inclusive and welcoming<br />
language is an important principle<br />
of the Holistic CBT model. Another<br />
aspect is about developing a<br />
person and not just solving a<br />
problem; focusing more on<br />
potential and purpose rather than<br />
problems. By doing so, we find<br />
ways to overcome the problems<br />
indirectly because we connect<br />
with our God-given strengths and<br />
passions.<br />
Holistic CBT uses different<br />
modalities such as art and reflective<br />
writing to explore ideas and it<br />
recognises the importance of<br />
peer support, connecting with<br />
creation and connecting with the<br />
Creator. Holistic CBT has come<br />
out of my own spiritual journey<br />
and so it also draws from Christian<br />
contemplative traditions and<br />
encourages people to connect with<br />
the still centre within them and<br />
to respond from that place which<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
13
in Christian terms we may say is<br />
where the Holy Spirit resides. So<br />
really Holistic CBT isn’t unique but<br />
it perhaps brings together different<br />
strands in a unique way. It draws<br />
from various CBT approaches,<br />
Christian traditions and ideas<br />
from psychosynthesis, Jungian<br />
psychology and various other<br />
sources. One of the key quotes that<br />
underlies the model comes from<br />
the English Christian writer, Evelyn<br />
Underhill, who was also one of the<br />
first woman theologians to lecture<br />
in English universities. This quote<br />
has become a key benchmark, that<br />
I am seeking to live out, within my<br />
own life-<br />
“A spiritual life is simply a life<br />
in which all that we do comes<br />
from the centre, where we are<br />
anchored in God: a life soaked<br />
through and through by a sense<br />
of His reality and claim, and selfgiven<br />
to the great movement of<br />
his will.”<br />
So for those who want to know<br />
more about Holistic CBT I will be<br />
doing a half day teaching for <strong>ACC</strong><br />
on Thursday 14th October and I<br />
will also be joining you for your<br />
October conference next year.<br />
One of my dreams as a child was<br />
to write a book and this has now<br />
happed with a book on Holistic<br />
CBT published by Pavilion. There is<br />
also the 16 week group programme<br />
based on Holistic CBT called Free<br />
to be Me published by Pavilion as a<br />
manual that can be used to run the<br />
course as well as being a resource<br />
for offering individual therapy. For<br />
those wishing to know more or<br />
wishing to contact me, please visit<br />
my website – www.hcbt.co.uk<br />
References<br />
Eliot, T. S. (1942) Little Gidding.<br />
London: Faber and Faber.<br />
Underhill, E (1937) The Spiritual<br />
Life. Four Broadcast Talks. London:<br />
Hodder & Stoughton.<br />
Links to books<br />
https://www.pavpub.com/mentalhealth/holistic-cognitive-behaviourtherapy<br />
https://www.pavpub.com/<br />
mental-health/free-to-be-me<br />
Hilary Garraway<br />
About the author<br />
Dr Hilary Garraway<br />
is a consultant<br />
clinical psychologist<br />
and adult<br />
psychology lead in<br />
Enfield NHS mental health services<br />
and prior to that worked in Early<br />
Intervention in Psychosis teams.<br />
Hilary has worked in a range of<br />
settings including residential child<br />
care, youth work, primary health<br />
care and was with Youth With A<br />
Mission for about ten years. During<br />
her time with Youth with a Mission<br />
she completed the YWAM Diploma<br />
in Christian counselling and then<br />
worked alongside Dr Mike Sheldon<br />
(one of the founding members of<br />
<strong>ACC</strong>) helping to provide counselling<br />
training both in the UK and in<br />
Uganda, developing the concepts<br />
of whole person health care and<br />
establishing a community project<br />
based on some of these principles.<br />
Hilary describes her spirituality<br />
as Celtic contemplative and<br />
worships both in a local church<br />
and is part of Contemplative Fire.<br />
She was chair of the National<br />
Spirituality and Mental Health<br />
Forum and the spirituality lead<br />
for the British Psychological<br />
Society and is a trustee for Whole<br />
Person Health Trust. Her desire to<br />
integrate her faith and work has<br />
led to the development of Holistic<br />
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy<br />
which incorporates spirituality<br />
within CBT. Hilary has an interest in<br />
ecotherapy and creativity and these<br />
are also integrated within HCBT.<br />
She is trained in spiritual direction<br />
and is in the process of setting<br />
up a retreat house which she will<br />
be running with her husband, in<br />
Grenada.<br />
Tribute to<br />
Syd Platt<br />
In April very<br />
sadly, we<br />
learnt about<br />
the death<br />
of Syd Platt,<br />
who many of<br />
you will know<br />
from his time<br />
as South<br />
East Rep and<br />
a member<br />
of <strong>ACC</strong><br />
Executive<br />
and Board. Our thoughts<br />
and prayers are with his wife<br />
Marilyn and his family.<br />
Tony Ruddle knew Syd for many<br />
years and has paid this tribute:<br />
I remember Syd from the very<br />
first time at a Board gathering<br />
when I arrived as the North East<br />
Rep.<br />
He made me feel welcome from<br />
the outset and that care and<br />
attention to people was one of<br />
his gifts.<br />
Another was his quiet spirit in<br />
worship with careful thought of<br />
what to bring and say as well as<br />
having a deep conviction of God’s<br />
presence and so was someone<br />
who as a listener for what the<br />
Lord was saying you paid heed<br />
what he brought as comments<br />
in both prayer and meetings.<br />
He had a desire to see the<br />
Regions grow and their<br />
counsellors to develop in their<br />
gifts and numerical strength.<br />
With Clive Taylor they made a<br />
formidable pair and were mainly<br />
responsible for the Regional<br />
setup that served us very well for<br />
many years.<br />
His faithfulness and tenacity<br />
were greatly missed when he<br />
had to not just step down form<br />
the Board but the Region.<br />
14 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
Spirituality and support in the Deaf<br />
community<br />
by Nikki Dhillon Keane & Sue Brown<br />
‘Watching Signed readings,<br />
responses and prayers, we can<br />
feel at home with other Deaf<br />
parishioners.’ These are the words<br />
of Ian, a Deaf Christian who attends<br />
services at Caritas Deaf Service,<br />
which serves Deaf Catholics in<br />
the Diocese of Westminster. Ian<br />
is describing the experience of<br />
worshipping with other Deaf<br />
Christians as opposed to attending<br />
his local church where he would<br />
not be able to follow what is being<br />
said and cannot communicate with<br />
other parishioners.<br />
In the UK, one in seven of us have<br />
a significant level of hearing loss,<br />
but most of those will identify as<br />
hard of hearing. There are 87,000<br />
deaf people in the UK who use<br />
British Sign Language (BSL) as<br />
a first or preferred language. 1<br />
Although some can lipread, most<br />
would struggle to communicate in<br />
English without a BSL interpreter.<br />
The coronavirus pandemic has<br />
highlighted some of the difficulties<br />
faced by deaf and hard of hearing<br />
people in the UK. In addition to the<br />
communication barriers caused by<br />
wearing masks, the lack of access<br />
to information has been a serious<br />
problem. Unlike most other world<br />
leaders, the UK Prime Minister has<br />
not provided a BSL interpreter<br />
at any press briefings during the<br />
pandemic.<br />
Lynne Stewart-Taylor, founder<br />
of the #WhereIsTheInterpreter<br />
(#WTI) campaign, explained why<br />
it is important that ‘sign language<br />
citizens have access to the same<br />
information at the same time as<br />
hearing people’.<br />
She went on to describe how the<br />
refusal to provide an interpreter for<br />
vital safety briefings makes deaf<br />
people feel less valued: ‘[The] Sign<br />
language community have been<br />
telling me that the Government’s<br />
refusal sends a message to them<br />
to say “we don’t care if you deaf<br />
people live or die”. This is really<br />
impacting their mental health and<br />
wellbeing.<br />
LANGUAGE AND<br />
COMMUNICATION<br />
Access to information has been<br />
an issue for deaf people since long<br />
before the pandemic; a survey<br />
from the Royal Association for Deaf<br />
People found that one in two deaf<br />
people in London had no accessible<br />
information on important<br />
subjects like benefits. 2 For many<br />
deaf people, English, which is<br />
structurally very different from<br />
Sign Language, is a second or third<br />
language. As Sign Language has<br />
no written form, some deaf people<br />
struggle to understand written<br />
information.<br />
90% of deaf people grow up in<br />
hearing families, most of whom<br />
don’t Sign. 3 Having a different first<br />
language from the rest of your<br />
family can have profound effects<br />
on the development of family<br />
relationships, self-confidence and<br />
emotional wellbeing of deaf people.<br />
When a baby is diagnosed deaf, all<br />
the information given to parents<br />
is from a medical perspective.<br />
Deafness is viewed as an<br />
impairment which may or may not<br />
be able to be ‘cured’ with a cochlear<br />
implant, hearing aids, speech<br />
therapy: interventions designed<br />
to make the deaf child more like a<br />
hearing child.<br />
Rarely is there any introduction<br />
to the deaf community, and its<br />
rich culture. Historically, parents<br />
were advised not to Sign with their<br />
child, for fear of damaging the<br />
child’s capacity to develop spoken<br />
languages. In fact, we now know<br />
that the reverse is true; learning<br />
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15
an accessible language, such as<br />
BSL actually helps a deaf child to<br />
develop spoken language. 4<br />
As a consequence, generations of<br />
deaf people have been unable to<br />
communicate effectively with their<br />
families. Language deprivation has<br />
now been identified as a cause<br />
of higher rates of mental health<br />
problems among deaf people.<br />
Deaf children of deaf parents, who<br />
communicate fluently with their<br />
family, have equal rates of mental<br />
health problems as their hearing<br />
peers. Not deafness, but language<br />
deprivation causes mental and<br />
emotional distress.<br />
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE DEAF<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
BSL-using deaf people with hearing<br />
families are almost twice as likely<br />
as hearing people to have mental<br />
health problems. 5 Deaf people<br />
often face additional challenges,<br />
for example barriers to education,<br />
resulting in fewer opportunities<br />
to reach their academic and<br />
professional potential. This can<br />
result in feelings of frustration and<br />
low self-esteem.<br />
In addition to audism,<br />
(discrimination against deaf<br />
people) deaf people are more likely<br />
to be subjected to abuse; 50% of<br />
deaf women experience domestic<br />
abuse during their lifetime 6 , and<br />
deaf people are more likely to<br />
have been subjected to childhood<br />
abuse. 7 Yet in spite of increased<br />
need, access to linguistically and<br />
culturally accessible support can<br />
still be a problem.<br />
DEAF COUNSELLING AND<br />
PSYCHOTHERAPY<br />
January <strong>2021</strong> marked twenty<br />
years since Signs of Hope, a small<br />
deaf counselling service linked to<br />
Caritas Deaf Service, first opened.<br />
We welcome deaf clients from all<br />
backgrounds, but offer a Christian<br />
perspective for those who want<br />
it. Over those two decades we<br />
have seen huge changes in UK<br />
deaf therapy provision, with the<br />
development of Sign Health’s<br />
counselling and domestic abuse<br />
services, and Deaf 4 Deaf, a ‘by<br />
and for’ deaf counselling and<br />
psychotherapy service, offering<br />
remote and face to face therapy<br />
around the UK.<br />
There is a real need for these<br />
linguistically and culturally<br />
accessible services. Deaf therapy<br />
requires understanding of the<br />
oppressions experienced by deaf<br />
individuals living in a hearing<br />
dominated world. 8 In contrast<br />
to the medical view of deafness<br />
mentioned earlier, the social<br />
model understands that it is<br />
not the physical inability to hear<br />
which is disabling to deaf people,<br />
but communication deprivation<br />
and audism. Most importantly,<br />
the social model respects deaf<br />
language and culture as different<br />
but equal.<br />
Deaf therapy based in this model<br />
can be an opportunity to support<br />
clients exploring their own deaf<br />
identity from a non-medical<br />
perspective. In her well-known<br />
book ‘Counselling the Deaf<br />
Challenge’ (1994) Mairian Corker<br />
provides a template for working<br />
with Deaf clients, which is still<br />
relevant. Working with a Deaf<br />
practitioner can be an important<br />
opportunity for clients to do this<br />
within a safe and informed space<br />
with someone who has lived<br />
experiences of the challenges of<br />
being Deaf in a hearing world. It<br />
is heartening to see the numbers<br />
of Deaf professionals increasing,<br />
but access to training remains<br />
challenging for Deaf people.<br />
It is not always easy to secure<br />
funding for interpreters on training<br />
courses; Deaf trainees need to<br />
find accessible personal therapy,<br />
supervision and work placements.<br />
Postqualification CPD in Sign<br />
Language is hard to find.<br />
Deaf Christian clients may benefit<br />
from therapy that understands<br />
their deafness and their Christian<br />
spirituality. It is well understood<br />
that faith informed counselling<br />
can help clients who view their<br />
issues through the lens of their<br />
own spirituality, whether or not<br />
the issues themselves are directly<br />
related to faith. This is also true of<br />
deaf clients, and there is a need for<br />
increased provision of faith- literate<br />
deaf counselling.<br />
DEAF PEOPLE AND CHURCH<br />
Some deaf people have been<br />
fortunate to find accessible and<br />
welcoming communities where<br />
they can fully experience the life<br />
of the Church and the Christian<br />
family. Sadly, others are not so<br />
fortunate.<br />
Deaf Christian, Ian, described the<br />
stress caused by problematic<br />
attitudes within the Church.<br />
He spoke about experiences of<br />
priests refusing an interpreter<br />
because they believed it wasn’t<br />
necessary. He also spoke about<br />
the difference it makes when<br />
priests are able to Sign the Mass,<br />
and when deaf people have the<br />
opportunity to worship together as<br />
a community. Deaf services provide<br />
vital social contact for people who<br />
are often isolated, cut off from<br />
communication from most of<br />
society.<br />
Deaf worship is much more<br />
powerful when it is rooted in deaf<br />
culture, but that does not have to<br />
mean celebrating separately from<br />
hearing communities. Shell Roca,<br />
who works for Caritas Deaf Service,<br />
points out that making worship<br />
accessible to Deaf Sign Language<br />
16 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
users benefits everyone. ‘For deaf<br />
people, not having access to church<br />
life can be greatly damaging<br />
to their spiritual wellbeing and<br />
means that they miss out on many<br />
important social interactions, but<br />
it also means the wider Christian<br />
community are missing out. We<br />
all have a lot to learn from the<br />
deaf community and the strength<br />
that they gain from their shared<br />
experiences.’<br />
Lack of Sign Language<br />
communication, as well as lack<br />
of educational opportunities, can<br />
create barriers for deaf people<br />
wanting to learn more about or<br />
understand their faith; this can<br />
lead to misunderstanding and<br />
confusion. Christian counsellors can<br />
be very helpful in these situations,<br />
as can the Sign Language prayer<br />
groups and Bible study offered by<br />
some deaf church groups. Here,<br />
deaf people can explore spirituality<br />
in the context of deaf culture,<br />
making it not only accessible, but<br />
relatable and real.<br />
Social isolation and disconnection<br />
from hearing families can lead<br />
some deaf people to join religious<br />
groups or organisations, where<br />
they may be vulnerable to spiritual<br />
abuse or cults. Faith-informed<br />
counselling can sometimes help<br />
deaf people extricate themselves<br />
from damaging religious groups<br />
or relationships, helping to build<br />
an understanding of what healthy<br />
spirituality and communities look<br />
like.<br />
Although there are several other<br />
services like Caritas Deaf Service<br />
around the UK, there are still<br />
areas with no access to Christian<br />
services. For deaf people living<br />
in those areas, it will be even<br />
more important to have deafaccessible<br />
Christian counselling.<br />
In order to achieve this, we need<br />
more deaf counsellors with an<br />
understanding of Christianity, and<br />
Christian counsellors who can<br />
communicate with deaf people and<br />
who understand deaf culture and<br />
experiences.<br />
Perhaps, as a community of<br />
Christian counsellors, we can think<br />
about how to encourage access<br />
for deaf clients, practitioners and<br />
trainees. We can also think about<br />
how to make our churches and<br />
communities more welcoming<br />
places for deaf people. It may be<br />
surprising to find what hearing<br />
people can gain from reaching out<br />
to learn more about deaf culture<br />
and the beautiful expressiveness of<br />
British Sign Language.<br />
Notes<br />
1 British Deaf Association:<br />
statistics https://bda.org.uk/helpresources/#statistics<br />
(accessed<br />
18.1.21)<br />
2 RAD (2020) Do Deaf Londoners<br />
have enough access to advice<br />
in BSL? www.royaldeaf.org.uk<br />
accessed 16.1.21<br />
3,7 National Deaf Children’s Society<br />
www.ndcs.org.uk (accessed<br />
1.2.21)<br />
4 Hall WC (2018) What you<br />
don’t know can hurt you: The<br />
risk of language deprivation<br />
by impairing sign language<br />
development in deaf children<br />
Matern Child Health Journal<br />
21(5) 961-965<br />
5 British Society of Mental Health<br />
and Deafness www.bsmhd.org.<br />
uk (accessed 1.2.21)<br />
6 Women’s Aid www.womensaid.<br />
org.uk (accessed 1.2.21)<br />
8 Munro, L Knox, M and Lowe,<br />
R (2008) Exploring the<br />
Potential of Constructionist<br />
Therapy: Deaf Clients, Hearing<br />
Therapists and a Reflecting<br />
Team Journal of Deaf Studies<br />
and Deaf Education 13(3)<br />
307-23<br />
Nikki Dhillon Keane<br />
Sue Brown<br />
About the authors<br />
Nikki Dhillon<br />
Keane is a<br />
counsellor,<br />
supervisor,<br />
trainer and<br />
writer, working in<br />
English and BSL.<br />
She is a former<br />
director of Caritas Deaf Service<br />
and founder of Signs of Hope<br />
Deaf Counselling Service.<br />
She has developed a series of<br />
psychoeducational ‘Life Skills’<br />
courses and videos for the Deaf<br />
community as well as training<br />
courses for Deaf professionals.<br />
Nikki also specialises in working<br />
with domestic abuse in church<br />
communities, and works with<br />
the Catholic Church to develop<br />
faith informed support for<br />
survivors.<br />
Sue Brown is a<br />
counsellor with<br />
Deaf4Deaf and<br />
Signs of Hope<br />
where she also<br />
works as a trainer,<br />
in person and<br />
on their life skills<br />
videos. She is<br />
an advisor with deafPLUS and<br />
communication guide for deaf<br />
blind people.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
17
<strong>ACC</strong> Training Events<br />
Resourcing Pastoral Care Course<br />
(RPPCC)<br />
• Online 15 July – 16 September<br />
<strong>2021</strong>.<br />
This course will be run over the<br />
course of 10 Thursday evenings<br />
• Face-to-Face Course in Belfast<br />
24 August – 25 September <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
This 20 hour course will be run<br />
over the course of 7 days (a<br />
mix of Tuesday evenings and<br />
Saturday mornings)<br />
Understanding and Working with<br />
Traumatic Grief with Sue and<br />
Chris Monckton-Rickett<br />
Online on Tuesday 20 July <strong>2021</strong>,<br />
9:30-16:30<br />
Single-Session Therapy with<br />
Windy Dryden<br />
Online Saturday, 18 September<br />
<strong>2021</strong>, 10:00-17:00<br />
Understanding Unconscious Bias<br />
in Clinical Supervision Practice<br />
with Dr Aileen Alleyne<br />
Online Saturday, 25 September<br />
<strong>2021</strong>, 10:00-16:00<br />
An Introduction to Holistic CBT<br />
with Dr Hilary Garraway<br />
Online Thursday, 14 October <strong>2021</strong>,<br />
9:00-13:00<br />
More information and booking<br />
details for Training Events can<br />
be found on the <strong>ACC</strong> website<br />
https://www.acc-uk.org/<br />
professional-development/events<br />
Pastoral<br />
Care Support<br />
Groups<br />
On page 20 there is an article by<br />
Teresa Onions about a pilot for<br />
pastoral support groups. We will<br />
be starting a second pilot group<br />
in the Autumn and so if you are a<br />
PCUK Member and would like to<br />
be part of this or find out more,<br />
please email teresa@acc-uk.org<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> Affiliate Training<br />
Events<br />
The Manna House Counselling<br />
Service Northampton<br />
• Introduction to Christian<br />
Counselling<br />
One week <strong>Summer</strong> school,<br />
9 – 14 August <strong>2021</strong> or weekly<br />
sessions from 4 September – 20<br />
November <strong>2021</strong><br />
• Level 4 Diploma in Christian<br />
Counselling<br />
7 September <strong>2021</strong> – 18 July<br />
2023<br />
Courses to be held at Manna House,<br />
COVID-19 permitting. For more<br />
information visit the Manna House<br />
website.<br />
CCTS - Central Hall, St Mary Street,<br />
Southampton, SO14 1NF<br />
• Rewind Trauma Therapy<br />
Friday, October 8 <strong>2021</strong>, 10:00 –<br />
16:00<br />
• Introduction to Group<br />
Facilitation Skills<br />
Saturday, 13 November <strong>2021</strong><br />
Further information and tickets:<br />
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/<br />
introduction-to-group-facilitationskills-tickets-144495149883<br />
NEW<br />
<strong>ACC</strong>REDITATIONS<br />
Our congratulations to the<br />
following Registered Counsellor<br />
Members, who have recently<br />
achieved accreditation<br />
Accredited Supervisor<br />
Lindsay Schofield.....Coulsdon<br />
Accredited Counsellor<br />
Sharon Hastings........Brentwood<br />
Jo Evans..........................Guildford<br />
Susan Taylor.. ..............Durham<br />
Susan Cussons...........Knutsford<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> Board<br />
and AGM<br />
Sadly, both Helen Vipan and<br />
Marlene Forsythe-Gidharry have<br />
felt that they have needed to<br />
step down from <strong>ACC</strong> Board for<br />
personal and health reasons.<br />
They have both been extremely<br />
valuable members of the Board<br />
over the past years, bringing<br />
skills, expertise and experience<br />
in counselling and pastoral care.<br />
We would like to thank them<br />
for all of their commitment and<br />
hard work on behalf of <strong>ACC</strong>. We<br />
are however, delighted that they<br />
both have expressed a desire to<br />
remain involved with <strong>ACC</strong> and<br />
PCUK and thankful for all that<br />
they will continue to contribute.<br />
At the <strong>ACC</strong> AGM two Board<br />
Members were re-elected Sue<br />
Monckton-Rickett, who will<br />
continue as Chair, and Tony<br />
Ruddle. In addition Gathoni<br />
Hamilton-Foster, who was coopted<br />
onto the Board earlier this<br />
year, was officially elected to the<br />
Board.<br />
We would like to thank all Board<br />
Members for all they do, the<br />
time that they give and the skills<br />
that they bring to support the<br />
work of <strong>ACC</strong> in so many different<br />
ways.<br />
Helen and Marlene stepping<br />
down means that there are<br />
some vacancies on the Board<br />
and we will be looking at the<br />
roles, skills and experience that<br />
are needed to enhance and<br />
strengthen the Board. However,<br />
if you feel that you have<br />
something to offer as a potential<br />
Board member, please contact<br />
Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
chair@acc-uk.org to find out<br />
more about the roles, how the<br />
Board operates, expectations,<br />
etc.<br />
18 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
News & Diary<br />
New Head of Membership Services<br />
We are delighted to welcome<br />
Gillian Stuart as our new Head of<br />
Membership Services. As you will<br />
see from below Gillian brings to this<br />
role both counselling and pastoral<br />
experience and we look forward<br />
to working with her to develop all<br />
the service that we provide to our<br />
members.<br />
I am from Northern Ireland,<br />
but now live in Nottingham, via<br />
some time in London and then<br />
Edinburgh. Growing up in a<br />
Christian home, it seemed quite<br />
natural for me to engage in my<br />
own relationship with God at an<br />
early age and this developed, with<br />
lots of wrestling along the way, into<br />
an active and living faith in Jesus.<br />
My life has taken many twists and<br />
turns, but I know that wherever I<br />
find myself, I find God there too.<br />
I have joined the <strong>ACC</strong> staff team<br />
in the new Head of Membership<br />
Services role, and I feel very<br />
privileged to work with such a<br />
warm genuine and forwardthinking<br />
team. It is part of my role<br />
to manage the fantastic office team<br />
and to ensure that all the processes<br />
for members of <strong>ACC</strong> / PCUK run<br />
smoothly and effectively. We want<br />
your experience of being an <strong>ACC</strong><br />
/ PCUK member to be a valuable<br />
and worthwhile one, and we want<br />
to listen to our members as much<br />
as possible.<br />
Having been an ordained<br />
minister for 6 years, I really see<br />
the importance of good quality<br />
pastoral care and I wish that the<br />
training that is available now was<br />
around for me then. In the wake<br />
of the pandemic, the need for<br />
pastoral care in our churches has<br />
only been heightened and we want<br />
to support the people who are<br />
supporting the people.<br />
I am a person-centred counsellor<br />
who still manages a small case<br />
load of clients alongside my work<br />
at <strong>ACC</strong>. It is important for me to<br />
stay connected to the real work of<br />
counselling and it helps that I will<br />
be facing a lot of the same issues as<br />
our members, plus I really enjoy it.<br />
As someone who did not train<br />
at an <strong>ACC</strong> affiliated training<br />
provider, it has been great to find<br />
a professional home at <strong>ACC</strong>. When<br />
I was a newly qualified therapist,<br />
one of the team members at<br />
New Dawn Counselling Centre<br />
encouraged me to join <strong>ACC</strong>, telling<br />
me that I would be well supported<br />
and looked after. I am so glad I<br />
took his advice. Joining <strong>ACC</strong> as a<br />
member helped me find a place<br />
where I can be myself, both as a<br />
Christian and as a counsellor.<br />
Goodbye to Momus Boulevard<br />
On 28 June we said goodbye to<br />
Momus Boulevard, the home<br />
of <strong>ACC</strong> for 20 years. Covid-19<br />
restrictions meant that we had<br />
to hold our leaving event in a<br />
local park, but miraculously the<br />
pouring rain stopped (just British<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> a drizzle) and we were<br />
able to hold a time of reflection,<br />
share communion and have picnic<br />
lunch. It was great to have staff and<br />
Board members spanning nearly<br />
30 years (from David Depledge<br />
and John Nightingale, who were<br />
founder members to Gillian Stuart<br />
our newest recruit) join us to share<br />
memories and stories and give<br />
thanks to God for all that he has<br />
provided and enabled <strong>ACC</strong> to do.<br />
From now on all <strong>ACC</strong> Staff will be<br />
working remotely, our registered<br />
office will be changing to<br />
International House, 24<br />
Holborn Viaduct, London<br />
EC1 2BN, but please note<br />
THIS IS NOT OUR POSTAL<br />
ADDRESS. We would ask<br />
where possible please<br />
e-mail any correspondence<br />
and if you need to use post<br />
then for the time being<br />
please continue to use 29<br />
Momus Boulevard Coventry CV2<br />
5NA, all post is being re-directed to<br />
office staff. We will inform you of a<br />
new postal address in the coming<br />
weeks.<br />
Thank you to everyone, who helped<br />
to clear and clean the offices, it was<br />
an enormous task and to our staff<br />
who have adapted to the changing<br />
ways of working. This is a change<br />
that we believe will give us new<br />
opportunities to grow and develop.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
19
Meeting the Challenge,<br />
Providing the Opportunity<br />
PC-UK Pastoral Support Group Pilot<br />
by Teresa Onions<br />
CHALLENGE<br />
At a recent Pastoral Care UK<br />
Open Forum, panellists and<br />
forum members considered the<br />
contemporary challenges and<br />
opportunities facing pastoral<br />
carers as we move from pandemic<br />
lockdown into a new world.<br />
The challenge of caring for others<br />
through a time when there has<br />
and continues to be so much need,<br />
when our usual human connection<br />
has been severely disrupted, when<br />
our safety and security has been<br />
significantly threatened, when<br />
complex loss has produced so<br />
much suffering, when mental<br />
health has and continues to be<br />
widely compromised and on a<br />
precipice, when the prevalence of<br />
injustice at so many levels and in<br />
so many ways, for so many people<br />
has emerged beyond the tip of the<br />
iceberg and when some of us are<br />
now rethinking how we do church<br />
and apply our personal faith, is<br />
evident among many of us.<br />
The challenge of caring for the<br />
carers has also been evident<br />
through stories of carers<br />
throughout the pandemic. To<br />
illustrate (using fictious names):-<br />
Katie who had had Covid and was<br />
suffering from long Covid herself,<br />
felt she was a ‘failure’ because she<br />
had not been able to respond as<br />
she would have wished to, to those<br />
she had pastoral care concern for<br />
in the church. She felt she had<br />
let these people down and was<br />
burdened with guilt.<br />
Debra had accumulated many<br />
people on her weekly ring round<br />
list, some of whom had become<br />
quite dependent on her in their<br />
isolation and losses and who were<br />
spending more time wanting to<br />
talk. She was struggling not only<br />
with the fear of making the right<br />
response but also with boundaries,<br />
exhaustion and feelings of<br />
resentfulness, as the calls were<br />
taking up so much time.<br />
Ian was overwhelmed by the<br />
poverty, despair and injustices in<br />
his deprived neighbourhood to<br />
the point of being ‘paralysed’ into<br />
inaction and confused about where<br />
God was in all this.<br />
The BIG challenge in all this is to<br />
look at how we might look after<br />
our failures, guilt, fears, boundaries,<br />
exhaustion, resentments, paralyses,<br />
confusion and faith in a way<br />
which keeps us healthy enough to<br />
sustain our pastoral care of others<br />
and indirectly, but nevertheless<br />
importantly, contributes to the<br />
overall health of the church<br />
community?<br />
OPPORTUNITY<br />
The opportunity for counsellors<br />
to receive regular support for their<br />
work, through clinical supervision,<br />
is inherently built into their Code<br />
of Ethics and Practice i.e. it is<br />
recognised as important enough<br />
to be mandatory. It is here that the<br />
counsellor’s practice can be kept<br />
safe and effective, where difficult<br />
feelings can be processed, where<br />
new perspectives can be gained<br />
and where encouragement can be<br />
received.<br />
The opportunity for pastoral<br />
carers to receive regular support<br />
for their work on the other hand, is<br />
recommended but not mandatory,<br />
may not always be understood or<br />
seen as a priority and may not be<br />
easy to access.<br />
NEW OPPORTUNITY<br />
A Core Group of us in PC-UK have<br />
therefore been exploring how we<br />
might enable our pastoral care<br />
members to learn about and access<br />
a place of regular support to meet<br />
the challenges of their work as we<br />
emerge from Lockdown.<br />
As part of that exploration we<br />
have undertaken a broad piece<br />
of research with our individual<br />
and affiliate members. Members<br />
were invited to complete a short<br />
questionnaire to ascertain what<br />
levels and type of pastoral support<br />
they currently had access to. They<br />
were also asked if they would like to<br />
be involved in an online, facilitated<br />
Pastoral Support Group with 3<br />
online basic Training Sessions<br />
covering Self-Care, Reflective<br />
Practice and a Pastoral Support<br />
Group, to precede this. The results<br />
are published here.<br />
20 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
pastoral care<br />
Current Support<br />
Numbers interested in Support<br />
20<br />
20<br />
18<br />
17<br />
18<br />
16<br />
16<br />
15<br />
14<br />
14<br />
12<br />
12<br />
10<br />
10<br />
8<br />
7<br />
8<br />
6<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
4<br />
3<br />
4<br />
3<br />
2<br />
2<br />
1 1 1 1<br />
0<br />
Support in place<br />
Individuals (n=23)<br />
Affiliates (n=5)<br />
No Support<br />
0<br />
Group & Training Group Only Training Only Training (Unsure re<br />
Group)<br />
Individuals (n=24)<br />
Affiliates (n=5)<br />
Unsure re Group<br />
Only<br />
One to one Pastoral Support currently<br />
experienced<br />
Group Pastoral Support currently experienced<br />
16<br />
14<br />
12<br />
10<br />
14<br />
20<br />
18<br />
16<br />
14<br />
12<br />
18<br />
8<br />
6<br />
4<br />
2<br />
7<br />
2<br />
2<br />
1<br />
1<br />
2<br />
10<br />
8<br />
6<br />
4<br />
2<br />
6<br />
2<br />
1<br />
2<br />
0<br />
Within Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Outside Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Within & Outside<br />
Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Not experienced at all<br />
0<br />
Within Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Outside Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Within & Outside<br />
Member’s<br />
church/organisation<br />
Not experienced at all<br />
Individuals (n=24)<br />
Affiliates (n=5)<br />
Individuals (n=24)<br />
Affiliates (n=5)<br />
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?<br />
• With findings indicating a clear<br />
desire for involvement in both<br />
Training and Support Groups,<br />
PC-UK has now established a<br />
Pilot Project which will run until<br />
the end of Dec <strong>2021</strong>. The Pilot<br />
will be fully reviewed then with<br />
the hope of making the Pastoral<br />
Support Group Scheme more<br />
widely available and financially<br />
sustainable thereafter.<br />
• A Core Development Group is<br />
being formed to develop and<br />
deliver the training, to develop<br />
and offer the facilitation and<br />
to establish good systems and<br />
protocols.<br />
• The Pilot is open to our<br />
members and will be a<br />
Membership Benefit i.e. there<br />
will be no cost for the Training<br />
Sessions or Facilitated Group<br />
Support during the Pilot.<br />
• The Training Sessions will be<br />
offered during June/July.<br />
• Facilitated Groups will be<br />
formed over the summer and<br />
ready to be up and running in<br />
Sept. They will meet every 4-6<br />
weeks and it is anticipated no<br />
more than 10 times a year.<br />
This is A BIG OPPORTUNITY to<br />
meet with other pastoral carers<br />
regularly and to step back as<br />
Jesus did with his disciples, to off<br />
load the burdens, to bring our<br />
confusion and tiredness, to share<br />
and learn together and to gain<br />
support and encouragement for<br />
our work. It is also an opportunity<br />
to cultivate in a small community,<br />
what we hope we can foster in our<br />
larger communities not least our<br />
churches, where we might take the<br />
risk of saying ‘this is honestly how<br />
I feel’, where we love one another<br />
and develop quality relationships,<br />
where we learn and bring what<br />
we have as the Body of Christ for<br />
the service of the other, where we<br />
find healing and reconciliation<br />
and where we can be a hope-full<br />
people.<br />
If you would like<br />
to know more<br />
or indeed have<br />
any thoughts or<br />
comments please<br />
contact Teresa<br />
Onions, Project<br />
Leader,<br />
Teresa@acc-uk.org<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
21
Counselling News<br />
SCoPEd<br />
We have had a very productive<br />
couple of months working closely<br />
with representatives from all the<br />
membership bodies which are now<br />
part of the expanded project. The<br />
work has involved reviewing the<br />
framework and producing a list of<br />
suggested changes to submit to<br />
the expert reference group for their<br />
approval. The suggested changes<br />
are those that can be brought<br />
within the parameters of the<br />
project – that is based on evidence<br />
drawn from existing competency<br />
frameworks and training standards.<br />
The next task for the technical<br />
group will be to work through<br />
the feedback from the public<br />
consultation on the last published<br />
version of the framework, to<br />
see if there is scope for further<br />
amendments. There is also a small<br />
commission being considered to<br />
source further information about<br />
the therapeutic relationship and<br />
common factors to ensure that<br />
the framework will take due<br />
account of these essential aspects<br />
of counselling theory and practice<br />
that may not sufficiently be<br />
covered in the existing framework.<br />
The expanded project is being<br />
governed by the Scoped Oversight<br />
Committee (SOC) which has<br />
recently appointed an independent<br />
chair Paul Buckle, previously the<br />
Director of Strategy and Policy at<br />
the General Medical Council. Four<br />
experts by experience have been<br />
invited to join the SOC and they<br />
bring a very welcome new client/<br />
patient perspective to the group.<br />
The SOC is focusing on articulating<br />
the benefits of the framework and<br />
these can be better communicated;<br />
how any agreed framework might<br />
be implemented, and how to<br />
meaningfully assess the impact of<br />
any finalised framework. SOC will<br />
also be looking at the issue of titles,<br />
considering whether there can be<br />
any accepted and clear distinction<br />
between the role of a counsellor<br />
and a psychotherapist.<br />
Just so our counselling members<br />
are aware, <strong>ACC</strong> have tended not to<br />
engage with groups active on social<br />
media about SCoPEd. It is good<br />
to have discussion and critique,<br />
but as is true for other topics on<br />
these platforms, the discussion<br />
trails can become conduits for<br />
misinformation, polarised views<br />
and sometimes hurtful comments<br />
about individuals. One of the<br />
counselling profession's ethics is<br />
to treat colleagues fairly and with<br />
respect – and whilst we might<br />
want to challenge what we see as<br />
misunderstandings– we are not<br />
convinced that this is the best<br />
way of engaging publicly. We are<br />
however very happy to discuss<br />
this important project with our<br />
members, to respond to questions<br />
and listen to concerns. Please email<br />
office@acc-uk.org if you would like<br />
to speak with someone.<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> ONLINE FOUR WINDS CONFERENCE<br />
5-7 NOVEMBER <strong>2021</strong><br />
The preparation for <strong>ACC</strong>’s first online conference<br />
is very much underway. We have received<br />
ideas and proposals from both members<br />
and non-members who work in counselling,<br />
psychotherapy and pastoral care. It has been<br />
exciting to meet with them over Zoom and<br />
discuss what they may see as the breath of<br />
the “four winds”, and the experiences and<br />
knowledge they can share with us all. We are<br />
confident that the conference will be a time to<br />
breathe new life into the care and support that<br />
we provide.<br />
We will share the full programme and open<br />
the booking soon. In the meantime, do put 5-7<br />
November <strong>2021</strong> in your diary and look out for our<br />
emails and social media posts for details.<br />
22 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
Counselling<br />
CHANGES TO<br />
MEMBERSHIP<br />
Registration Standard – Change<br />
to Guided Learning Hours<br />
We have recently discovered that<br />
accredited registers comparable to<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> (BACP, NCS and COSCA) have<br />
a qualifying training comprising<br />
of 300 guided learning hours as<br />
the minimum standard for entry<br />
onto their registers. This is for a one<br />
year full time or two year part time<br />
course with an integrative 100 hour<br />
placement and also meets other<br />
criteria in terms of content and<br />
mode of delivery. In comparison,<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> have 420 guided learning<br />
hours as a minimum standard.<br />
However, we accept into <strong>ACC</strong><br />
membership, counsellors who are<br />
on these other registers – so there is<br />
an anomaly.<br />
After discussions with the<br />
Professional Standards Authority<br />
and our Register Advisory Panel<br />
(see below), <strong>ACC</strong>’s Board have<br />
agreed that we can bring our<br />
register standards in-line with these<br />
other registers in relation to guided<br />
learning hours. Most members<br />
will have at least 420 hours of<br />
qualifying training, and the entry<br />
point for accreditation will remain<br />
as 450 hours. However, we hope to<br />
directly welcome some prospective<br />
members who have had no option<br />
but to join these other membership<br />
bodies before they can transfer to<br />
<strong>ACC</strong>.<br />
Christian Sponsor – changes to<br />
audit and accreditation<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> members are asked to<br />
provide a Christian sponsor when<br />
they apply for membership and<br />
at renewal. As an ecumenical<br />
organisation we welcome<br />
Christians from Protestant,<br />
Catholic and Orthodox churches. A<br />
Christian sponsor is not expected<br />
to comment on the strength of a<br />
member's faith or their adherence<br />
to doctrine. Their role is simply to<br />
confirm in good faith that they<br />
know the member as a person<br />
who describes himself or herself as<br />
Christian. The sponsor is normally<br />
a minister or church leader, but<br />
can be a spiritual director or a<br />
colleague.<br />
A member recently wrote in and<br />
expressed her thoughts and<br />
feelings about being asked as part<br />
of <strong>ACC</strong>’s audit for another reference<br />
from a Christian sponsor. This email<br />
prompted us to reflect further on<br />
the role of a Christian sponsor and<br />
how appropriate it was for us to ask<br />
for a Christian sponsor’s reference<br />
in relation to professional practice<br />
when we audit and accredit<br />
members.<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> have a responsibility to<br />
members of the public who are<br />
choosing to come to a counsellor<br />
on our register to have some<br />
means to verify a member's<br />
identity as a Christian. Relying on<br />
personal integrity and conscience<br />
is risky as arguably anyone could<br />
join our register if they wanted a<br />
competitive price for being on an<br />
accredited register and access to a<br />
market of Christian clients.<br />
However, we also recognise<br />
that asking about religious<br />
faith is sensitive – especially in<br />
a professional context. Faith is<br />
a complex and developmental<br />
process. Aspects of people’s<br />
faith beliefs and expressions can<br />
change over time – and these<br />
changes come out of questioning<br />
and challenge that can unsettle<br />
established relationships with other<br />
Christians. There may be periods<br />
when someone is temporarily not<br />
in fellowship with other Christians<br />
because they are re-locating, or<br />
are not in conventional church<br />
fellowships but are nonetheless<br />
part of a Christian community;<br />
or sadly times when a faith<br />
community has compounded<br />
feelings of hurt and loss and left<br />
individuals feeling isolated and<br />
vulnerable. All of these situations<br />
can give rise to anxiety when a<br />
member is having to select a<br />
sponsor to give a reference in a<br />
professional context.<br />
After internal reflection and<br />
discussion with the Register<br />
Advisory Panel, <strong>ACC</strong>’s Board have<br />
agreed that a Christian sponsor<br />
should continue to be requested<br />
from members when they join and<br />
renew membership. This is our<br />
check for members of the public<br />
that a counsellor has made some<br />
public declaration of Christian faith<br />
identity. However, as the processes<br />
of audit and accreditation are<br />
focused on professional counselling<br />
and psychotherapy practice,<br />
references from Christian sponsors<br />
are no longer going to be required.<br />
Diversity & Inclusion Coalition<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> along with most of the<br />
counselling and psychotherapy<br />
membership bodies, and other<br />
interested and committed<br />
organisations such as Place2Be,<br />
CPCAB, Psychotherapists and<br />
Counsellors for Social Responsibility,<br />
the Muslim Counsellors Network,<br />
and the Anna Freud Centre are part<br />
of a coalition that is committed<br />
to tackling issues of diversity<br />
and inclusion in the counselling<br />
profession. Some readers may have<br />
attended an event in February<br />
<strong>2021</strong> that focused on the training<br />
of counsellors. An outcome of<br />
that event that the coalition is<br />
progressing is the commissioning<br />
of a ‘tool kit’ of resources to inform<br />
training centres, trainers and those<br />
who design courses of issues of<br />
inclusion and diversity relating to<br />
minoritized communities based<br />
on ethnicity and/or race. It is hoped<br />
that these resources will be freely<br />
available in late <strong>2021</strong>/early 2022.<br />
Register Advisory Panel (RAP)<br />
The Register Advisory Panel (RAP)<br />
is an independent panel that acts<br />
a ‘critical friend’ to <strong>ACC</strong> about all<br />
issues relating to the register of<br />
counsellors. RAP members bring<br />
with them experience in senior<br />
positions of working in other<br />
regulated professions and serve<br />
for an initial period of three years.<br />
We are especially looking for one<br />
or more people to join RAP who<br />
can represent the client experience<br />
or perspective (sometimes known<br />
as experts by experience). If you<br />
know of anyone who would be well<br />
suited to this role, please contact us<br />
(office@acc-uk.org).<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
23
Legal Ban on<br />
Conversion Therapy<br />
by Kathy Spooner, <strong>ACC</strong> CEO<br />
The government's intention<br />
to legally ban the practice of<br />
conversion therapy was confirmed<br />
on the 1st May in the Queen's<br />
Speech.<br />
THE STORY SO FAR: THE MOU<br />
As members will be aware <strong>ACC</strong><br />
are part of the Memorandum of<br />
Understanding on Conversion<br />
Therapy and are signatories to<br />
versions 1 & 2 of the MoU. Our<br />
experience is that the MoU<br />
has allowed counsellors and<br />
psychotherapists to support clients<br />
reach decisions and discern their<br />
own way forward when they have<br />
experienced conflicts between<br />
their sexual orientation and gender<br />
identity/ies, and their religious<br />
faith. Also, the perspective of<br />
intersectionality theory encourages<br />
us to look at other overlapping<br />
and conflictual aspects of identity<br />
such as ethnic, cultural and<br />
social contexts to help people<br />
better understand these differing<br />
influences.<br />
Operating within the MoU has<br />
enabled therapists to maintain two<br />
key ethical principles:<br />
• Do no harm by refraining from<br />
attempts to change a person’s<br />
sexual orientation and gender<br />
identity.<br />
• Respect the autonomy of<br />
the client by refraining from<br />
imposing the therapist's<br />
preferences and belief systems<br />
(in the MoU this is stated as not<br />
demonstrating a preference).<br />
As counsellors/psychotherapists<br />
who are Christian, many of us know<br />
that a client’s faith matters and<br />
impacts on choices in all areas of<br />
life – not just on a person’s sexuality<br />
and gender. Sometimes this leads<br />
to decisions that are at odds with<br />
the wisdom of the age about what<br />
constitutes a good life. One of our<br />
members encapsulated this in the<br />
following statement:<br />
At the core of all this would<br />
seem to be the right of the<br />
individual to work out their<br />
own salvation, identity and<br />
behaviour even if at times on<br />
counter-cultural terms; and<br />
the continuing role of the faith<br />
counsellor in understanding<br />
and supporting their positive<br />
mental health as they translate<br />
this in terms they can live<br />
with, in personal integrity and<br />
faithfulness to God as they<br />
understand Him to be.<br />
Christians can and do make<br />
different choices – to remain single,<br />
to be celibate, to fully enter into<br />
loving committed relationships,<br />
in civil partnerships or marriage.<br />
Similarly some Christians will<br />
undergo gender transition, others<br />
will choose not to. As we are all<br />
aware these different choices<br />
can give rise to debate about<br />
Christian theological positions<br />
on personhood, sexuality and<br />
relationships.<br />
NEW DEVELOPMENTS:<br />
COALITION TO BAN<br />
CONVERSION THERAPY<br />
Some member organisations of the<br />
MoU are also part of the Coalition<br />
to Ban Conversion Therapy, which<br />
was formed in July 2020. This is<br />
a mixture of LGBTQIA+ and faith<br />
communities and organisations<br />
and mental health practitioners<br />
who are calling on the government<br />
for a full legislative ban. At<br />
the moment no counselling /<br />
psychotherapy membership bodies<br />
are part of the coalition.<br />
The Coalition are asking the<br />
24 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
government to implement a full<br />
ban on conversion therapy, which<br />
would include:<br />
• Incorporating any intervention<br />
intended to change, suppress,<br />
convert or cancel sexual<br />
orientation, gender identity and/<br />
or gender expression, whether<br />
in public and private spheres,<br />
healthcare, religious and<br />
cultural/traditional interventions<br />
settings;<br />
• Protecting children and adults,<br />
and those who have been<br />
coerced as well as consented;<br />
• Banning advertising and<br />
promoting of such therapies<br />
both online and in public<br />
spaces;<br />
• Protecting those who are<br />
threatened with being<br />
sent overseas to undergo<br />
interventions.<br />
The ban would need to clearly<br />
distinguish from safe and<br />
supportive therapies, delivered by<br />
suitable qualified and regulated<br />
professionals, that assist people<br />
to explore and better understand<br />
their sexuality, gender identity<br />
and/or gender expression.<br />
The group are also promoting the<br />
need to help people who have been<br />
damaged by conversion therapy.<br />
The highlighted section suggests<br />
that the group will follow the<br />
precedent set out in the MoU –<br />
therapists will still be able to help<br />
clients work through conflicts.<br />
However, there is a concern about<br />
how “interventions intended to<br />
suppress” will be interpreted –<br />
which is a much wider problem,<br />
and one that Churches in the UK<br />
will need to consider.<br />
WHAT IS <strong>ACC</strong>’S POSITION<br />
ON LEGISLATION?<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> are often asked for its position<br />
on issues, which are contentious<br />
and complex. We try and maintain<br />
good relationships with people<br />
and groups, even where we<br />
disagree with them – so ‘position<br />
statements’ are not overly helpful.<br />
This is especially in an arena where<br />
many peoples’ lives have already<br />
been fractured by divisions in the<br />
Church as it wrestles with issues of<br />
sexuality and gender. Rather we try<br />
to dialogue and influence through<br />
maintaining good relationships<br />
– learning from others who have<br />
different perspectives along<br />
the way.<br />
Rather than have a ‘position’ we<br />
restate our commitment to the<br />
2010 Equality Act and the values<br />
and principles enshrined in our<br />
code of ethics and our guidelines<br />
for good practice in pastoral<br />
care. As a Christian professional<br />
membership body we promote<br />
the value of practitioners'<br />
spiritual formation alongside<br />
their commitment to continuous<br />
learning and the discipline of<br />
following best practice in their<br />
chosen fields, so that they are<br />
equipped to counsel and care<br />
well for people. Commitment to<br />
principles rarely means holding a<br />
static position on topic X or Y – we<br />
learn most when we are open to<br />
reflection about ourselves and<br />
on the lived experience of others,<br />
especially when experiences have<br />
been marginalised.<br />
If the Church has not resolved<br />
issues relating to sexuality and<br />
gender identity we wonder where<br />
the expectation comes from some<br />
members and others that an<br />
ecumenical Christian organisation<br />
can contribute, other than to be<br />
able to comment on what we<br />
know are the psychological and<br />
spiritual impacts on people living<br />
with inner conflicts in community<br />
with other Christians where there<br />
are various and changing views in<br />
the wider church. The safeguarding<br />
of children and young people in<br />
faith communities is an especially<br />
important issue to consider<br />
(remembering our previous articles<br />
on Lizzie Lowe).<br />
WHAT HAVE <strong>ACC</strong> BEEN DOING?<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> have been alerted by<br />
members and others to general<br />
fears about what legislation<br />
may mean for Christians and<br />
the practices of counselling and<br />
pastoral care, especially in relation<br />
to the word ‘suppress’.<br />
As a result <strong>ACC</strong> have been<br />
raising awareness of the critical<br />
importance of how any legislation<br />
is drafted so that it does not<br />
prevent Christians (and maybe<br />
people of different faiths) from<br />
living out their choices, which are<br />
often personally costly, with the<br />
help and support of counsellors<br />
and/or their faith community. While<br />
there is a growing consensus that<br />
efforts to change are harmful, the<br />
concern is that an outright ban on<br />
efforts to suppress could prevent<br />
people having access to help when<br />
they have made a choice to be<br />
celibate or to remain as a cisgender<br />
person.<br />
In this we have spoken to other<br />
organisations and journalists, but<br />
also by invitation to the Cabinet<br />
Office, who are drafting the<br />
legislation. We have had some<br />
discussions about how we might<br />
draft guidelines that help especially<br />
pastoral carers to distinguish<br />
between activities that have been<br />
experienced as harmful by LGBTQ+<br />
Christians from those that have<br />
been sustaining and supportive.<br />
In this we are especially thankful<br />
for the additional insights given to<br />
us by Ed Shaw and the Living Out<br />
group.<br />
When the government moves into<br />
a formal consultation phase we will<br />
be offering our views as a Christian<br />
professional body and we will share<br />
any submissions we make with<br />
you. We are also hoping to provide<br />
further training in this area in the<br />
near future.<br />
Hopefully it is clear to readers that<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> does not and should not also<br />
have ‘a position’ with regard to<br />
what living out being an LGBTQ+<br />
Christian should look like. Rather –<br />
it is in support of counsellors' and<br />
pastoral carers' ability to respect<br />
and support a variety of informed<br />
personal choices.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
25
The LORD is my shepherd;<br />
I shall not want.<br />
He makes me to lie down in green<br />
pastures;<br />
He leads me beside the still waters.<br />
He restores my soul;<br />
He leads me in the paths of<br />
righteousness<br />
For His name’s sake.<br />
Yea, though I walk through the<br />
valley of the shadow of death,<br />
I will fear no evil;<br />
For You are with me;<br />
Your rod and Your staff, they<br />
comfort me.<br />
You prepare a table before me in<br />
the presence of my enemies;<br />
You anoint my head with oil;<br />
My cup runs over.<br />
Surely goodness and mercy shall<br />
follow me<br />
All the days of my life<br />
and I will dwell in the house of the<br />
Lord forever.<br />
Psalm 23 – A<br />
practical guide to<br />
caring<br />
by Sue Monckton-Rickett<br />
Psalm 23 is probably the best<br />
known Psalm, whether the<br />
actual words or sung as a hymn<br />
(multiple versions). It is the one that<br />
many people, whether Christians<br />
or not, turn to in times of need<br />
and have read or sung at funerals<br />
and so is likely to have been heard<br />
thousands of times in the last year<br />
or so.<br />
However, it is only recently when I<br />
was preparing a reflection for our<br />
church newsletter that I realised<br />
what a practical guide it is to caring<br />
– both our own self-care and caring<br />
for others and perhaps especially in<br />
times of loss and crisis.<br />
The psalm starts with the words<br />
“The Lord is my shepherd” –<br />
present tense, there is an ongoing<br />
relationship, God is actively<br />
shepherding the psalmist, David.<br />
David himself was a shepherd and<br />
so the analogy was very real and<br />
very relevant. He knew how much<br />
sheep relied on the shepherd for<br />
comfort and security and how<br />
the shepherd cared for, sustained<br />
and watched over the sheep. To<br />
David these are not just beautiful<br />
words but a real and deep way of<br />
describing a relationship with God<br />
and the care that he (and all of us)<br />
needs both from God and others.<br />
The next few words describe what it<br />
means to have a caring shepherd “I<br />
shall not want” or “I lack nothing”.<br />
A good shepherd by their very<br />
nature will supply all the sheep’s<br />
needs. And what are those needs?<br />
• Rest and Food - “He makes me<br />
to lie down in green pastures.”<br />
A shepherd knows when his sheep<br />
need rest, even if as the words “He<br />
makes me”, imply that sheep may<br />
not. Apparently, until sheep have<br />
eaten sufficiently, they will mill<br />
around and nibble on bits of grass.<br />
But when their stomachs are full<br />
they will find a quiet place and lie<br />
down.<br />
This is such a practical reminder,<br />
when thinking about self-care and<br />
caring for others. How often do we<br />
find that we / they are not eating<br />
properly, not getting enough or<br />
good sleep or rest. The psalm<br />
reminds us how important it is to<br />
ensure / find ways to help to make<br />
sure that basic physical needs are<br />
met.<br />
• Drink, calm and peace - “He<br />
leads me beside the still<br />
waters.”<br />
Starting again with the basic<br />
physical need of drinking enough is<br />
vital, the impact of dehydration can<br />
be severe before we even realise<br />
that we have not drank enough.<br />
The word used for “lead” means<br />
26 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
“to lead gently.” There is a sense<br />
of calm and slowing down. Living<br />
quite near to the coast and by a<br />
river many clients talk to me about<br />
how watching the waves, the tide<br />
going in and out, the flowing river,<br />
etc. is in itself incredibly calming.<br />
Interestingly the theme of Mental<br />
Health Awareness Week <strong>2021</strong><br />
was “Nature” and a report was<br />
commissioned, which concluded<br />
that nature is vital in keeping us<br />
emotionally, psychologically and<br />
physically healthy. The report<br />
can be found at https://www.<br />
mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/<br />
files/MHAW21_NATURE%20<br />
REPORT_ENG_web.pdf. The<br />
reports talks of the importance of<br />
not just being in nature but being<br />
connected with it, taking time to<br />
observe it, allowing our senses to<br />
engage with it, slowing down in<br />
nature, as the Psalmist describes<br />
–“making me lie down” and “gently<br />
leading me”.<br />
The positive impact of green spaces<br />
on well-being has been recognised<br />
for some time, but increasingly<br />
studies are showing that the<br />
impact of “blue spaces” can be as<br />
much if not more beneficial.<br />
So in our self-care and care for<br />
others, how do we consider<br />
experiencing “the green pastures”<br />
and “the still waters”?<br />
• Spiritual refreshment – “He<br />
restores my soul.”<br />
Having received the physical<br />
restoration, David now looks at the<br />
relationship with the shepherd<br />
at a deeper level – the provision<br />
of spiritual nourishment, rest and<br />
restoration. We and our clients or<br />
the people we pastorally care for<br />
are often looking for souls to be<br />
restored, to find meaning, purpose<br />
and hope in life and much of what<br />
we do and indeed the way that we<br />
care and relate to them in and of<br />
itself enables this to happen.<br />
• Safety – “He leads me in the<br />
paths of righteousness.”<br />
One of the principal tasks of a<br />
shepherd, especially in the land<br />
and times of the Bible, where<br />
there were dangerous paths to be<br />
avoided, was to guide. The sheep<br />
needed someone to help them<br />
navigate the paths and determine<br />
which way to go. Although we as<br />
counsellors and pastoral carers<br />
would not be this directive, many<br />
people that we work with value<br />
having someone to help them<br />
evaluate different paths, to think<br />
through what are the dangers and<br />
benefits of different courses and to<br />
see ways through times of crisis.<br />
• Journeying with - “Yea, though<br />
I walk through the valley of<br />
the shadow of death, I will fear<br />
no evil; for You are with me;<br />
Your rod and Your staff, they<br />
comfort me.”<br />
Here David starts to use the word<br />
“You”, not “He” as though in dark<br />
times it is not enough to talk about<br />
what the Shepherd can do, but to<br />
talk to the Shepherd. God is not<br />
before him, like a Shepherd, but<br />
walking beside him. The rod and<br />
staff of a shepherd were used for<br />
protection, guidance and safety,<br />
whether to stop an attacking beast,<br />
to tap on rocks to assure the sheep<br />
of his presence or to gently nudge<br />
the sheep onto the safe path.<br />
We journey with the people we<br />
work with sometimes through<br />
the darkest times of fear and loss.<br />
Being a regular, consistent and<br />
reassuring presence is probably<br />
one of the most powerful things we<br />
provide as counsellors and pastoral<br />
carers to help people walk in and<br />
through the valleys.<br />
Being valued - “You prepare a<br />
table before me in the presence<br />
of my enemies; You anoint my<br />
head with oil; my cup runs over.”<br />
It was customary in the Bible times<br />
to anoint the heads of visitors and<br />
serve them with a glass of choice<br />
wine, which was carefully filled until<br />
it runs over. These actions showed<br />
that they were valued and special<br />
guests.<br />
We often work with people to<br />
restore their sense of self- worth<br />
and self-esteem – to make them<br />
feel valued again and to learn to<br />
value themselves. This may be<br />
done “in the presence of enemies”<br />
– whether that is others who have<br />
undermined and abused them or<br />
the internal voices that tell them<br />
that “they are a failure, worthless,<br />
etc." The way that we do this is not<br />
likely to involve oil and wine, but<br />
the principle and the importance of<br />
doing so is the same.<br />
Security and Safety - “Surely<br />
goodness and mercy shall follow<br />
me all the days of my life, and I<br />
will dwell in the house of the Lord<br />
forever.”<br />
The phrase “follow me” literally<br />
means “pursue me.” As a guest at<br />
God’s table, David is pursued by<br />
God’s goodness, instead of being<br />
pursued by his enemies.<br />
God not only walks before him and<br />
leads him to a place of rest and<br />
refreshment, but His goodness, and<br />
love follows him and will never stop<br />
and provides security.<br />
We cannot provide the people with<br />
life-long security, but providing a<br />
sense of safety is something that<br />
we try to do from the being of any<br />
therapeutic / pastoral relationship.<br />
Charles Spurgeon said “before<br />
one can truly say, 'The Lord<br />
is my shepherd,' they must<br />
first acknowledge and feel in<br />
themselves that they have the<br />
nature of a sheep. We have to<br />
admit that we need someone to<br />
guide, protect and take care of us.”<br />
Coming into counselling, asking<br />
for pastoral support can be scary<br />
and people may indeed feel quite<br />
“sheepish”. The psalm ends with<br />
this concept of safety and security,<br />
but in our work providing a safe<br />
place is both the starting point and<br />
an on-going necessity.<br />
We may never have thought of<br />
Psalm 23 as a model for counselling<br />
and pastoral care, but perhaps it is<br />
a good checklist for our own selfcare<br />
and how we care for others.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
27
Can we predict the types<br />
of people who are more<br />
likely to hold a positive or<br />
negative attitude towards<br />
children with autism?<br />
by Anne Franks<br />
“Autistic Spectrum Disorder<br />
(ASD) is a developmental disorder<br />
affecting an individual’s social<br />
interactions and the way they<br />
experience the world around them”<br />
(The National Autistic Society, 2018).<br />
In the UK there are currently<br />
around 700,000 individuals<br />
diagnosed with ASD, which<br />
accounts for over 1 in 100 people (1).<br />
However, the experiences of those<br />
with ASD can sometimes be quite<br />
challenging. For instance, one in<br />
three autistic adults experience<br />
mental health difficulties and only<br />
32% of autistic adults have a paid<br />
job, with just 16% in full-time paid<br />
employment (1). Furthermore,<br />
these difficulties can sometimes<br />
even start in childhood, with 34% of<br />
children with ASD claiming that the<br />
worst thing about being at school is<br />
being picked on, and 63% of autistic<br />
children not being in the kind of<br />
school their parents feel would best<br />
support them (1).<br />
Given the difficulties faced by<br />
children with ASD, it is important<br />
to better understand some of<br />
the ways in which this diagnosis<br />
will affect them – particularly the<br />
attitudes of the people around<br />
them who play a huge role in<br />
shaping their experiences (Jorm,<br />
2000). In fact, a lot of research has<br />
now been conducted on this area<br />
with multiple studies focusing on<br />
the attitudes of teachers towards<br />
children with ASD (Park and<br />
Chitiyo, 2010; Linton et al., 2013;<br />
Cassidy, 2011). For example, Park<br />
and Chitiyo (2010) used the Autism<br />
Attitude Scale for Teachers (AAST)<br />
to compare teachers’ attitudes<br />
across different variables such as<br />
gender, age of the teacher, age or<br />
level of the students they teach and<br />
the teacher’s knowledge of autism<br />
to see if any of these factors could<br />
be predictors of whether teachers<br />
would be more or less likely to hold<br />
a positive attitude towards autistic<br />
children. In line with other literature<br />
(Horrocks et al., 2008; Tilahun et al.,<br />
2018), they found that teachers who<br />
had attended autism workshops<br />
had more positive attitudes<br />
towards children with autism than<br />
those who had not. The researchers<br />
also found that the oldest age<br />
category (56 years and older)<br />
demonstrated the lowest levels of<br />
positive attitude towards children<br />
with autism. Lastly, they also found<br />
that female teachers displayed<br />
more positive attitudes than male<br />
ones, although, the gender ratio<br />
was very biased with just 9% of<br />
participants being male (Park and<br />
Chitiyo, 2010, pp. 71).<br />
However, there are a number of<br />
important limitations with the<br />
existing research. For instance, the<br />
majority of the literature comparing<br />
attitudes towards autism across<br />
gender tends to be dominated<br />
by female participants (Dachez<br />
et al. 2015; Park and Chitiyo, 2010),<br />
meaning that there are often so<br />
few male participants that the<br />
results cannot really be generalised.<br />
Additionally, much of the existing<br />
research on attitudes towards<br />
autism is focused only on teachers’<br />
attitudes. However, given that<br />
children with autism are integrated<br />
in much broader social networks<br />
within society than schools alone,<br />
I thought it was important to<br />
investigate the various factors<br />
which might predict attitudes held<br />
by the general population towards<br />
children with ASD, concentrating<br />
on four predictive factors which<br />
have previously been highlighted<br />
by similar attitude studies: age,<br />
gender, knowledge about ASD<br />
and lastly the amount of social<br />
interaction with children with ASD.<br />
I recruited 202 participants (100<br />
28 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
males:102 females) to complete<br />
my online survey which comprised<br />
both the Attitudes to Autism Scale<br />
(AAS) (Barnes-Holmes et al., 2006)<br />
and the Knowledge of Autism<br />
Questionnaire (KAQ) (Campbell<br />
and Barger, 2011) as well as a few<br />
demographic questions. The results<br />
of the multiple regression analysis<br />
demonstrated that Age was the<br />
most significant predictor of<br />
attitude, with younger participants<br />
correlating higher on positive<br />
attitude scores towards children<br />
with ASD than older participants.<br />
The predictive factor of Social<br />
Contact also met expectations<br />
from previous research (Dachez<br />
et al., 2015) since participants<br />
who reported higher levels of<br />
social contact with a child with<br />
autism also tended to hold a more<br />
positive attitude towards them.<br />
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the general<br />
population sample had had little<br />
to no regular social contact with<br />
a child with ASD, though the<br />
sample was large enough to be<br />
able to demonstrate a statistically<br />
significant correlation. The results<br />
for Gender showed that on the<br />
whole, female participants tended<br />
to hold a more positive attitude<br />
towards children with ASD than<br />
male participants. While this<br />
trend fits in with the current<br />
literature, it was found to be less<br />
statistically significant, which could<br />
be an indication that the gap in<br />
gender attitude might be slowly<br />
decreasing, especially since most of<br />
the previous research in this field is<br />
around 5–10 years old, though this<br />
claim needs further investigation.<br />
On the other hand, Knowledge<br />
of Autism (KAQ) was not found to<br />
be a good predictor of attitudes<br />
towards children with ASD. One<br />
possible explanation is that since<br />
the KAQ was first created in 2011 by<br />
Campbell and Barger, the general<br />
population has been exposed to<br />
more information about autism<br />
and as such, knowledge about<br />
the condition has increased to<br />
an extent where it is no longer a<br />
significant predictor of attitudes.<br />
Future research requires a scale<br />
capable of assessing more<br />
nuanced variation between<br />
individuals’ levels of knowledge<br />
about ASD designed for a general<br />
population sample. However,<br />
researchers have tried to achieve<br />
this but have so far struggled<br />
to create a successful measure<br />
of knowledge about autism<br />
(Flood et al., 2013). One possible<br />
reason for this is that autism is a<br />
spectrum disorder, meaning the<br />
symptoms and severity of autism<br />
vary from person to person, so the<br />
scale would need to be detailed<br />
enough to incorporate all aspects<br />
of the condition, including high<br />
functioning autism. Secondly,<br />
research has demonstrated that a<br />
large number of individuals with<br />
ASD also have other conditions,<br />
such as depression, bipolar and<br />
other mood disorders (Hedley<br />
and Young 2006; Munesue et al.<br />
2008; Simonoff et al. 2012) which<br />
can sometimes make it difficult to<br />
distinguish which symptoms are<br />
caused by which condition.<br />
“this study has<br />
bridged several<br />
gaps in the current<br />
literature on attitudes<br />
towards autism<br />
The main suggestions for further<br />
research include improving the<br />
scales used for measuring both<br />
attitudes towards autism and<br />
knowledge of autism. Any new or<br />
adapted scales for each variable<br />
would need to be able to withstand<br />
rigorous scientific testing for<br />
reliability and validity, but also<br />
take into account the ethical<br />
considerations of such a highly<br />
sensitive topic. In addition, the role<br />
of other possible predictor variables<br />
such as race, socioeconomic<br />
status or religion should not be<br />
overlooked, and future research<br />
may want to look at investigating<br />
some of these factors too to see if<br />
they have any bearing on attitudes<br />
towards children with ASD.<br />
In summary, this study has<br />
bridged several gaps in the current<br />
literature on attitudes towards<br />
autism by moving away from<br />
participant pools of teachers<br />
and parents and broadening the<br />
sample to one which aimed to<br />
be representative of the general<br />
population. This study is also one<br />
of the first studies in this field<br />
to achieve an even gender ratio<br />
– which is especially important<br />
when intending to compare the<br />
results from male and female<br />
participants. Furthermore, while<br />
previous research on age has<br />
sometimes been inconclusive, this<br />
study has applied attitude research<br />
to a much wider, well-distributed<br />
age range. Encouragingly, the<br />
results supported other similar<br />
literature in the field of attitude<br />
research, confirming that the factor<br />
of ‘age’ was indeed a significant<br />
predictor of attitudes towards ASD.<br />
Having said this, age remains a<br />
physiological factor that cannot be<br />
changed. Therefore, the finding<br />
that social contact is also a good<br />
predictor for attitudes towards ASD<br />
may have real-world implications<br />
for not only understanding the risk<br />
factors for potential discrimination<br />
but hopefully for potentially<br />
implementing interventions to try<br />
and reduce discrimination against<br />
unseen disabilities such as autism.<br />
(1) The National Autistic Society,<br />
2018.<br />
Anne Franks<br />
About the author<br />
Anne Franks<br />
graduated<br />
from the Open<br />
University in<br />
2019 with a<br />
first-class BSc in<br />
Psychology with<br />
Counselling. She<br />
is now currently studying for her<br />
Psychology PhD at the University<br />
of Essex.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
29
Autism and Pastoral Care<br />
by Emma McCaffrey<br />
My name is Emma and I<br />
attend the Salvation Army<br />
in Edinburgh. I sing with the<br />
adult choir (Songsters), the young<br />
people’s choir – though I probably<br />
should have retired by now – and<br />
I play tenor horn with the brass<br />
band.<br />
Outside of church, my mum likes to<br />
call me an ‘advocate’ or ‘activist’. I<br />
dabble in acting and video editing.<br />
During covid, I made a film for the<br />
Salvation Army to give to prisoners<br />
and also did some filming for<br />
my mum’s Sunday school. I am<br />
a member of a theatre company<br />
called Lung Ha and have been<br />
acting in theatre since 2013. I was in<br />
the National Theatre of Scotland’s<br />
production of a show called ‘The<br />
Reason I Jump’. I also volunteer for<br />
a charity called ‘get2gether’ where<br />
I film their work and also write and<br />
perform murder mysteries. I do not<br />
currently have a ‘job’ besides all<br />
that. I spend most days in my room<br />
and when not busy, I play video<br />
games like Fallout, Elder Scrolls and<br />
Hitman. I love roleplay games.<br />
I’m also autistic with learning<br />
difficulties.<br />
Autism is an individual disability –<br />
basically you’re not going to meet<br />
one person with the condition<br />
and suddenly you know what we<br />
are like. A lot of autistic people<br />
do not have learning difficulties<br />
and hold steady jobs as doctors,<br />
teachers, even church leaders etc,<br />
while others need extra care due<br />
to physical difficulties autism can<br />
cause.<br />
I’m in a unique situation as I was<br />
born into the Salvation Army. My<br />
parents met in the William Booth<br />
College and became Officers<br />
(church ministers). This meant<br />
that as an ‘officer’s kid’ – besides<br />
often helping my parents with the<br />
sermons – the word of Jesus was<br />
something I was very aware of, to<br />
the point it could get rather boring.<br />
Still, I liked Jesus – he was<br />
everything an adult should be.<br />
Kind, considerate – he wasn’t<br />
going to get mad at your sins; he<br />
knew if you were trying your best.<br />
And as an autistic kid who wasn’t<br />
diagnosed till 11, that was a big<br />
deal. If no one else could see my<br />
struggling and trying my best, at<br />
least Jesus could.<br />
Whilst I’m ok meeting new people<br />
of different faiths, being in new<br />
buildings of worship is a whole<br />
different animal to tackle. Along<br />
with new people, there’s the<br />
colours, the smell, and the fact<br />
I don’t know the building well. I<br />
have the same trouble going to<br />
new coffee shops or cafes – I end<br />
up rehearsing what I’m going to<br />
say and if my first encounter in a<br />
building isn’t at all pleasant, I don’t<br />
go there again unless I have to.<br />
That can be an issue when an<br />
autistic person of faith wants to<br />
join a church and some autistic<br />
Christian people end up staying<br />
home rather than facing a new<br />
building and/or new people.<br />
So why bother with church? I have<br />
found that Christians – in fact most<br />
people of faith – badly want to be<br />
the best person they can be. They<br />
do not in fact, want to feel hate,,<br />
but to love. A lot of autistic people<br />
feel the pressure to do good and to<br />
feel some acceptance is immense;<br />
it’s a lonely disability to have and<br />
finding friends that accept you for<br />
who you are is a rare find. I find<br />
acceptance in Christ. That makes<br />
the search for good friends easier.<br />
On the down side, society including<br />
religious groups can create harmful<br />
stereotypes for people with autism,<br />
because disabled people are often<br />
seen by others as lamenting their<br />
fate, in need of help, using their<br />
disability to gain power, or even<br />
worse their disability is seen as a<br />
‘symbol’ of their evil.<br />
I must point out that this is my own<br />
opinion. A lot of people reading this<br />
on the spectrum will disagree with<br />
my choice of language and opinion<br />
– people are different.<br />
My own relationship with Christ is<br />
both distant and close. I pray each<br />
night to keep my family, church<br />
family and friends safe and happy,<br />
but I do not really bring my religion<br />
up with friends or strangers. Nor<br />
do I read my Bible often – I watch<br />
videos and listen to music more<br />
often instead. As a matter of fact,<br />
the first time a friend finds out<br />
my religion is when I am invited<br />
to a pub and I have to explain as<br />
a Salvation Army member why I<br />
won’t be drinking alcohol.<br />
At my church, they are eager to<br />
let me know that I am wanted.<br />
I’m one of the younger members<br />
at 28. I like to talk to the children<br />
– I sing and play horn. I get a lift<br />
to and from church (pre-covid)<br />
and I am still in contact with<br />
members through Facebook and<br />
Zoom. I play and invent quizzes (I<br />
win most). Sometimes during a<br />
service, I will leave the room and<br />
sit outside to listen to the sermon<br />
rather than be in the same room<br />
if the lights are too bright, or I feel<br />
tired after an hour or two in one<br />
room full of people. My church<br />
family accept that this is what I<br />
do. I will sometimes even help<br />
in Sunday school or make sure<br />
biscuits are ready after the service.<br />
Outside of church, they attend my<br />
shows and invite me to dinner or<br />
cinemas. I don’t always fancy it,<br />
but the thought is appreciated.<br />
Despite my weird sense of humour,<br />
strong opinions and at times odd<br />
30 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
pastoral care<br />
behaviour (including the fact I still<br />
wear a polo shirt – the Salvation<br />
Army uniform isn’t the most<br />
comfortable for me) - I am still<br />
loved and accepted.<br />
Besides my obvious ‘talent’, I’m<br />
not sure what else I bring to my<br />
church. I know I must be a source of<br />
frustration, yet I am still welcomed<br />
with open arms. I guess it’s nice<br />
to be somewhere I don’t feel<br />
pressured to try too hard to make<br />
friends. The people in my church<br />
have done well to show I don’t need<br />
to be someone else to fit in.<br />
I still think things could be better.<br />
Not necessarily for me, but we<br />
could look at some rules that<br />
really shouldn’t be there anymore<br />
to create a better more open<br />
environment. Churches should<br />
be accessible for all – and not just<br />
for the disabled. A rainbow can be<br />
both God’s gift to the world and<br />
a symbol of acceptance. Perhaps<br />
Zoom can still be used ‘after’ covid,<br />
so on a bad day I could watch from<br />
my room. Perhaps me, myself,<br />
could reach out to more people<br />
and be brave enough to talk about<br />
God to strangers and be brave<br />
enough to do the right thing.<br />
I hope I will still do my church<br />
family proud.<br />
WHO CARES<br />
Who can predict life?<br />
Who knows where life will take you?<br />
You hope for the best<br />
You dream for the best<br />
You plan for the best<br />
You pray for the best<br />
Is it enough?<br />
Was it enough?<br />
Will it be enough?<br />
Who cares?<br />
Where have the years gone?<br />
2019 behind me<br />
2020 facing me, umm<br />
I remember the days I was in my prime<br />
I would run and dance in a fiery Sunday Service<br />
I worked hard for the Lord, really hard<br />
Even if I say so myself! But now…<br />
Who cares?<br />
I was the Sunday School Superintendent for many<br />
a year<br />
I opened the church door at 9.45am every Sunday<br />
morning, to start at 10.00!<br />
The door of the church that belonged to us,<br />
to our congregation<br />
Oh Lord, we worked night and day raising funds<br />
to purchase that church<br />
Praise be to God we have something to call our own<br />
I loved working on the Ladies committee,<br />
cleaning my church<br />
Bible study, prayer meetings, month of fasting<br />
Oh, how the church was alive back then (comfort<br />
laughter)<br />
taking part in open air evangelism, the abuse<br />
we endured<br />
we did win souls though, glory be to God (smile)<br />
No one but Jesus knows the full story, the sacrifice<br />
I made for my church but now...<br />
Who cares?<br />
Yes, I admit it was a struggle at times<br />
I cried at times<br />
Dark places found me at times<br />
My God gave me strength when I needed it<br />
I was a single mother looking after 4 pickney in the<br />
UK, 2 in Jamaica and another two overseas that did<br />
not belong to me<br />
Now my eyes are dim and my hearing is muffled, my<br />
legs are not so steady, my hands are shaky,<br />
my skin is sagging and my social circle has<br />
diminished (deep breath)<br />
I am living in a different world than the one I<br />
grew up in<br />
But through it all, one thing that hasn’t changed<br />
Jesus was born to save me and the world from sin<br />
He was mocked, stripped and tortured<br />
He gave his life for me<br />
He rose from the grave and lives in me today<br />
Who cares, Yes Jesus cares!<br />
They call me elderly, senior citizen, geriatric and all<br />
kinds of names<br />
He calls me His child, royal priesthood, holy, a saint,<br />
a mighty warrior<br />
Ouch my hips<br />
2020 here I come<br />
I possess the gift of age<br />
I am stronger than ever<br />
My vision is clearer<br />
My hearing is sharper<br />
My walk is stronger<br />
My hands are His extended<br />
I will not worry, I will not fret, whatever<br />
the challenges<br />
Come on my brother we can worship in the storm<br />
Come on my sister we can dance in the storm<br />
For I know, I know, I know – Jesus cares<br />
As Jesus cares we all care<br />
By Bridgette Brooks - 31/12/2019<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
31
CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING –<br />
ANOTHER APPROACH<br />
By Pat Brooks, Director of Cardiff Christian Healing Ministry<br />
read with great interest the<br />
I articles in the last issue of<br />
<strong>Accord</strong> on the subject of Christian<br />
counselling, and in particular The<br />
Churchill Framework. A lack of<br />
definition has for some time been<br />
a real handicap. We fit best with<br />
Hood’s definition (Hood 2018:18)<br />
also quoted in Bukola James’<br />
article, in that we are in partnership<br />
with the Holy Spirit as we work<br />
from a Christian worldview. In<br />
this article I am putting forward<br />
our particular approach which I<br />
hope will add something to the<br />
discussions. Of necessity it is a brief<br />
overview and some reflections.<br />
Cardiff Christian Healing Ministry<br />
was set up in 1995 following a<br />
citywide mission, when it was<br />
realised that churches in south<br />
Wales were not in a position to offer<br />
a safe place for healing to happen,<br />
spiritual, mental, emotional and<br />
physical. There was a good deal of<br />
caution and reluctance to engage<br />
in this ministry.<br />
Initially we offered prayer ministry -<br />
time, a safe place to be listened to,<br />
to listen to God, and to be prayed<br />
for. We soon found that we needed<br />
to be better equipped to help with<br />
people’s issues and hurts, and took<br />
on training with Direction for Life.<br />
After 4 years we were qualified to<br />
Diploma level in a model which had<br />
its origins in the USA, but is not well<br />
known in the UK. Subsequently we<br />
developed this model into what we<br />
use today, and have also taught it<br />
to several hundred people to use in<br />
their own settings. Because we are<br />
all volunteers, we are able to rely on<br />
donations alone, and we can offer<br />
as many sessions as are necessary.<br />
The team consists of about 20<br />
people from all denominations<br />
from Anglican to Pentecostal,<br />
giving us very eclectic practice and<br />
experience.<br />
OUR CORE BELIEFS<br />
We start from a position of<br />
theological anthropology, where<br />
we are all made in the image<br />
of God. 1 We see in Scripture a<br />
blueprint of how we are meant to<br />
live in relationship with God, with<br />
others and with ourselves, free<br />
of the effects of rejection - guilt,<br />
pain, anger, loss etc. knowing<br />
with certainty that we are loved<br />
unconditionally. We believe that<br />
God makes no exceptions, and<br />
these absolutes apply to all people<br />
at all times in all places. We use the<br />
concept that love is a movement,<br />
giving and receiving, and that<br />
when the flow is interrupted<br />
rejection sets in, with all its<br />
consequences. We believe that<br />
rejection of self, others, and/or God,<br />
is at the heart of all our dysfunction.<br />
When we choose to forgive<br />
someone who has hurt us the<br />
negative emotions can be healed,<br />
and we restore the flow of love.<br />
OUR PRACTICE<br />
After establishing a therapeutic<br />
alliance, and allowing the client<br />
to talk about the issues, which<br />
may take some time, we begin<br />
the process which is at the heart<br />
of our practice. We start with<br />
inviting the client to use the Gestalt<br />
technique of the empty chair, and<br />
to begin to articulate the pain,<br />
hurt, rejection, its consequences,<br />
etc. to the person responsible. It<br />
is not about apportioning blame<br />
but recognising the reality in<br />
order to deal with these painful<br />
emotions. Having done that, the<br />
client can then choose to forgive<br />
the person for each one that has<br />
been expressed. Accepting the<br />
reality, surrendering it to God and<br />
choosing to love and pray for that<br />
person changes the wound into a<br />
scar, not forgotten but no longer<br />
having any effect on the client in<br />
terms of those relationships.<br />
Clearly many of these terms need<br />
32 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
explanation and clarification,<br />
because so much of what we<br />
are looking at is countercultural<br />
and counterintuitive, and this<br />
is where we have to be familiar<br />
with potential denominational<br />
differences. We use R T Kendall’s<br />
teaching on total forgiveness 2 ,<br />
and it can take a lot of patience<br />
and grace to enable someone to<br />
forgive long term devastating hurt,<br />
but it is well documented that<br />
unforgiveness/bitterness affects<br />
us deeply, both physically and<br />
mentally. Forgiving frees the client,<br />
and releases them from that ‘hook’.<br />
‘Love’ also needs explanation – it’s<br />
not an emotion, but a movement,<br />
a choice and a decision. It includes<br />
courage, gratitude, forgiveness<br />
and compassion 3 . However we<br />
never encourage people to return<br />
to an abusive relationship, or to<br />
look for any reciprocity. The search<br />
for justice is deeply embedded<br />
in everyone, and so intentionally<br />
choosing to hand over desires for<br />
revenge, for reparation, to God<br />
for His justice is also part of the<br />
process.<br />
This obviously works relatively easily<br />
with Christians, though many need<br />
to deal with self-disappointment<br />
and guilt, the belief that God is<br />
disappointed/angry with them, and<br />
that the concept of unconditional<br />
love does not depend on rules<br />
and so forth. We have not really<br />
experienced much difficulty<br />
with different denominational<br />
distinctives, since we are looking<br />
at the basic concepts of love and<br />
forgiveness which are at the heart<br />
of our faith.<br />
It can also be effective for non-<br />
Christians who are open to working<br />
with a Christian organisation.<br />
The language can be changed<br />
as appropriate and prayer may or<br />
may not be part of the process,<br />
always according to the client’s<br />
preferences.<br />
Many Christians suffer with<br />
depression, low mood, insecurity,<br />
a sense of being ‘a useless<br />
Christian’ and our vision is that<br />
every Christian should have access<br />
to counselling with some sound<br />
theology, and good practice, in a<br />
safe and well-ordered environment,<br />
from competent, loving and<br />
committed counsellors.<br />
Finally - at CCHM we are trying<br />
to engage with the dichotomy<br />
of psychology and theology, a<br />
relatively recent development,<br />
which has forced many of us to<br />
take sides. How do we combine<br />
a God-centred and Bible based<br />
orientation – a living intellectual<br />
tradition - with one that is secular<br />
and research based? 4 I believe that<br />
in what we do, and how we do it,<br />
we are making a good contribution<br />
to the debates.<br />
Notes<br />
1 Our approach comes from<br />
the World Council of Churches<br />
<strong>2021</strong> Faith and Order Paper<br />
199<br />
2 RT Kendall: Total Forgiveness,<br />
Hodder&Stoughton 2001<br />
3 From Choose Love, a<br />
foundation set up after the<br />
Sandy Hook shootings in the<br />
USA in 2012<br />
4 Eric L Johnson: Foundations<br />
for Soul Care, p221, IVP<br />
Academic 2007<br />
Pat Brookes<br />
About the author<br />
Pat Brooks is<br />
married with<br />
three children<br />
and three<br />
grandchildren,<br />
and came to Wales in 1992,<br />
after being involved in church<br />
planting and discipling. She<br />
has been a counsellor for 20<br />
years with Cardiff Christian<br />
Healing Ministry, a voluntary<br />
organisation, and 10 years ago<br />
was able to gain a Master’s in<br />
Missional Leadership. As Director<br />
of CCHM, her focus is now on<br />
navigating the changes required<br />
by the pandemic to ensure<br />
that the charity will be able to<br />
continue to offer ministry and<br />
counselling services.<br />
NHS Covid-19<br />
Staff Counselling<br />
Service<br />
We are delighted to announce<br />
that NHS England have<br />
confirmed that they will<br />
continue to fund the counseling<br />
service that <strong>ACC</strong> have been<br />
providing since April <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
Both the feedback that clients<br />
have provided to the service<br />
and directly to the NHS has<br />
shown how much staff have<br />
appreciated it.<br />
Our thanks once again go<br />
to all of the counsellors, case<br />
managers and service coordinator,<br />
who are working<br />
for the service. If you are a<br />
registered counsellor member<br />
and are interested in joining the<br />
service all of the information is<br />
available on our website https://<br />
www.acc-uk.org/news/hidden-<br />
holding-pages/ccss-volunteer-<br />
information.html<br />
The service provides<br />
counselling to:<br />
• NHS clinical and non-clinical<br />
staff working with COVID-19<br />
patients in a hospital setting<br />
• Ancillary staff working in<br />
COVID-19 areas in hospital<br />
settings including cleaners,<br />
porters and mortuary workers<br />
• Paramedics and anyone<br />
working within the<br />
ambulance services caring for<br />
patients with COVID-19<br />
If you know anyone who would<br />
qualify for counselling from the<br />
service, referral forms are also<br />
available on the <strong>ACC</strong> website.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
33
Integration of my psychology and my Christianity?<br />
A personal story of intersectional identity*<br />
by Dr Martyn Baker<br />
About thirty years ago, I<br />
remember thinking I had<br />
lapsed into something of a<br />
closet Christian in my work. Not<br />
fond of raising my head above<br />
the parapet, but felt I had to do<br />
something about it. I also felt I was<br />
the only Christian psychologist in<br />
the UK (you may be smiling, but I<br />
really did).<br />
Imagine my surprise, when: I<br />
read a book by Fraser Watts,<br />
who I knew was big in the British<br />
Psychological Society, and notice<br />
that the Preface was signed off<br />
something like, “Fraser Watts, St<br />
Swithins Day 1986”– I was curious.<br />
A colleague confirmed that<br />
Watts was indeed an ordained<br />
priest as was another well-known<br />
psychologist who he worked with<br />
at The Maudsley. Soon afterwards,<br />
a poster mysteriously appeared on<br />
a departmental noticeboard, for<br />
a day conference of the Network<br />
of Christians in Psychology (now<br />
BACIP). I promptly booked and<br />
went, and discovered more<br />
Christian psychologists. (One<br />
especially, who I had not seen<br />
since research assistant days, but<br />
had become a Christian in the<br />
intervening years.) The conference<br />
talks came in a decided second<br />
behind the simple encouragement<br />
of being there.<br />
From the mid-1990s, I was<br />
researching or supervising<br />
several sets of qualitative data on<br />
religious and spiritual (R/S) issues<br />
for psychological therapists and<br />
clients. In addition to my growing<br />
association with this research and<br />
BACIP, another part of asserting<br />
‘Christian visibility’ in the workplace<br />
might be in submitting for<br />
publication articles on R/S issues in<br />
a clinical setting.<br />
Several years later, having left<br />
university and the NHS , I finally<br />
used the launch of Christian<br />
Psychological Services London<br />
(CPSL, 2013) to more fully ‘hold<br />
myself out’ as a Christian clinical<br />
psychologist, working part-time for<br />
a Christian counselling charity, and<br />
then privately. It was at this point<br />
that a long-held personal ambition<br />
revived – to try to describe the<br />
activity of a Christian psychological<br />
therapist, without too much<br />
bible jargon, and based not upon<br />
aspirational ‘oughts’ or ‘shoulds’,<br />
nor upon illustrative case studies,<br />
but upon a straightforward account<br />
of what I actually do. However,<br />
after numerous unsatisfactory<br />
attempts to write this down, I gave<br />
up! Concepts seemed to elude<br />
me, and descriptive versions were<br />
folksy and unconvincing, fluffy and<br />
insubstantial.<br />
Below, is the version I have<br />
ended up with, based on the<br />
articles mentioned above, but<br />
perhaps more personal than I had<br />
envisaged., I have asked myself:<br />
“How have the qualitative research<br />
findings that I worked on, affected<br />
or reflected my experience of<br />
professional practice within CPSL<br />
over the last eight years?”<br />
[1] Some of the results of a study<br />
of Christian psycho-dynamic<br />
counsellors’ experiences of training<br />
and practice (Martinez & Baker,<br />
2000) produced quite a reaction<br />
in me, that I still remember some<br />
twenty years later. In comparison<br />
to my own personal impetus<br />
towards fuller expression of<br />
Christian faith in a work setting,<br />
the first analytic category,<br />
“Then and Now”, encompassed<br />
the experience of a majority<br />
of participants, where their<br />
pre-training had been more<br />
and expressively Christianity,<br />
but during training and postqualification<br />
this had diminished,<br />
gradually becoming less or not at<br />
all visible. I remember at the time,<br />
half-vowing to myself that this was<br />
not going to be my story! Another<br />
category “Information versus<br />
Intuition” showed that generally<br />
it was left to guesswork how clients<br />
became aware of their therapist’s<br />
R/S affiliation. Whereas for me, I<br />
felt this information should be as<br />
openly available as qualification<br />
and training, voice accent or<br />
surname. Since most CPSL clients<br />
are Christians, my reactions to both<br />
of the categories above accentuate<br />
the tricky professional issue of dual<br />
relationships. I sense myself to be<br />
simultaneously the client’s brother,<br />
just as much as their therapist –<br />
both real, neither to be explicated<br />
as, for example, part of the personal<br />
unconscious. I experience a merged<br />
identity.<br />
[2] This was a personal construct<br />
investigation of Christians’<br />
anticipations of the imagined<br />
assistance they think they might<br />
receive for emotional difficulties,<br />
if it were to come from a church<br />
helper (vicar, housegroup leader,<br />
etc), or from a professional helper<br />
(such as psychologist, secular<br />
counsellor, community psychiatric<br />
nurse) (Mitchell & Baker, 2000). The<br />
above issue of dual relationships<br />
grew more complex for me.<br />
Participants’ expectations seemed<br />
to be of polar opposites. Ideas of<br />
warmth, thoroughness and trust<br />
with the first group contrasted with<br />
34 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
feelings of coldness, superficiality<br />
and suspicion with the other.<br />
Stereotypes they might be, but<br />
suppose I feel the client reacts<br />
to me as these two extremes<br />
embodied in one person, it<br />
could be potentially volatile as I<br />
experience a polarised identity.<br />
In fairness, most of the time I find<br />
myself negotiating a wiggly line<br />
of integration, of middle ground<br />
between the merged sense of self,<br />
and the polarised sense of self.<br />
However, occasionally my identity<br />
switches involuntarily from one<br />
extreme or the other. One time, I<br />
polarised straight into a completely<br />
‘professional’ response to a non-<br />
Christian CPSL client’s request for<br />
in-session prayer: I said that that<br />
is more of a priestly function, not<br />
part of what I offer. Another time,<br />
without notice I switched over to<br />
the merged extreme – a moment<br />
of sudden I-Thou encounter as<br />
I listened deeply to a Christian<br />
client who was sure that he was<br />
bound for hell; I exclaimed, “if<br />
you’re not in heaven, then I don’t<br />
want to be there!” Being well<br />
schooled in professional practice,<br />
I asked myself “Am I losing it? Is it<br />
time to hang my boots up? Or is<br />
there somewhere a superordinate<br />
concept of which ‘merged’ and<br />
‘polarised’ are both exemplars?”<br />
[3] Researching the workplace<br />
values of Christian NHS clinical<br />
psychologists (Baker & Wang,<br />
2004), a noticeable extent of<br />
contradictory experience was<br />
reported, quite often within the<br />
transcripts of one participant’s data.<br />
Rather than conclude they were<br />
suffering from impaired cognitive<br />
ability or labile emotions (a more<br />
regular set of colleagues you could<br />
not have asked for), we concluded<br />
that when they spoke freely, they<br />
were reporting shifting senses of<br />
self; a kaleidoscope of experience.<br />
At the time, I construed the<br />
differences in the data – originally<br />
understood as contradictions –<br />
as indicating linear change in<br />
participants’ experience of their<br />
professional self over the course<br />
of, say, a working week, or day. It<br />
ought to be possible to measure<br />
their experience within one time<br />
block, followed by measuring the<br />
levels of a further time block, etc.<br />
(I even drew out from the very rich<br />
data, verbatim phrases of different<br />
levels of experience to calibrate<br />
the degree of change on particular<br />
value dimensions. Fully intending<br />
to study further the histograms<br />
thus produced, I… never got round<br />
to it.)<br />
So, how does all this have<br />
implications for my experience<br />
of myself working as a Christian<br />
therapist in CPSL? Well, it was not<br />
until more recently (for example,<br />
Diamond & Gillis, 2006; Kort, 2019)<br />
that I envisaged the notion of<br />
intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2008)<br />
as conceptualising a continuous<br />
perpetual motion in the sense of<br />
self of the therapist, not just of<br />
the client. ‘Intersectional identity’<br />
might be a way of re-thinking<br />
what I had been thinking of as<br />
changeableness and instability.<br />
Of course! No wonder, the<br />
intersection junctions of my<br />
journey along the Christian<br />
highway and my travel along the<br />
Therapist auto-route – without<br />
traffic lights, roundabouts or<br />
motorway interchanges – will<br />
almost necessarily arouse my<br />
experience of… (I was just about to<br />
say, professional instability… but I<br />
didn’t).<br />
Thank you for reading! If you have<br />
developed any ideas along similar<br />
lines, I would be pleased to hear<br />
from you. It may be time for me to<br />
call it a day, professional practice<br />
wise, but that doesn’t stop the need<br />
to continue thinking.<br />
*This article is adapted from a<br />
presentation within the Faith in<br />
psychotherapy? conference given<br />
by Christian Psychological Services<br />
London, hosted online by the<br />
British Association of Christians in<br />
Psychology, Saturday 20th March<br />
<strong>2021</strong>.<br />
References:<br />
Baker, M., & Wang, M. (2004).<br />
“Examining connections<br />
between values and practice<br />
in religiously committed UK<br />
clinical psychologists.” Journal of<br />
Psychology and Theology. 32(2),<br />
pp.126-136.<br />
British Association of Christians<br />
in Psychology. (<strong>2021</strong>). https://www.<br />
bacip.org.uk/ (accessed 9th June<br />
<strong>2021</strong>).<br />
Christian Psychological Services<br />
London. (2013). https://cps-london.<br />
co.uk/ (accessed 9th June <strong>2021</strong>).<br />
Crenshaw, K. (2008). “What kind<br />
of ally are you?” In: pp.7-11 of<br />
http://www.intergroupresources.<br />
com/rc/Intersectionality%20<br />
primer%20-%20African%20<br />
American%20Policy%20Forum.<br />
pdf (accessed 9th June <strong>2021</strong>).<br />
Diamond, S., & Gillis, J. (2006).<br />
“Approaching multiple diversity.”<br />
In: C. Lago (Ed.), Race, culture<br />
& counselling: The ongoing<br />
challenge pp.217-238. London: OUP.<br />
Kort, J. (2019). “Understanding<br />
intersectional identities.”<br />
Psychology Today. (25th June<br />
2019).<br />
Martinez, S., & Baker, M. (2000).<br />
“Psychodynamic and religious?<br />
Religiously committed psychodynamic<br />
counsellors, in training<br />
and practice.” Counselling<br />
Psychology Quarterly. 13(3),<br />
pp.259–264.<br />
Mitchell, J., & Baker, M. (2000).<br />
“Religious commitment and<br />
the construal of sources of help<br />
for emotional problems.” British<br />
Journal of Medical Psychology. 73,<br />
pp.289-301.<br />
Dr Martyn Baker<br />
About the author<br />
Dr Martyn Baker<br />
is with Christian<br />
Psychological<br />
Services Essex,<br />
and was deputy<br />
director of Clinical Psychology<br />
training at the University of East<br />
London.<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
35
<strong>ACC</strong> CHILDREN<br />
AND YOUNG<br />
PEOPLE FORUM<br />
by Elaine Bennett<br />
<strong>ACC</strong> has increasingly sought to<br />
develop support for members<br />
working with children and young<br />
people and promoted the two<br />
conferences in 2019. <strong>ACC</strong> has<br />
also commented on various<br />
consultations about young people’s<br />
mental health and emotional<br />
wellbeing and will continue to<br />
lobby for their needs, even more<br />
pertinent as we move forwards<br />
from Covid-19.<br />
As a further development we are<br />
now in the process of forming a<br />
small Steering Group to help us<br />
establish an <strong>ACC</strong> Children and<br />
Young People Forum. The vision<br />
is to support our members who<br />
counsel young people from 6–18<br />
years and the suggestions being<br />
considered are to:<br />
• hold quarterly Forum<br />
meetings as opportunities to<br />
discuss topical issues and be<br />
a supportive network, which<br />
Sharon Hastings has kindly<br />
agreed to facilitate,<br />
• devote a page within each<br />
edition of accord for relevant<br />
articles about issues which<br />
can arise when working with<br />
children and young people,<br />
• establish a section on <strong>ACC</strong>’s<br />
website which will have<br />
resources and links for Children<br />
and Young People Counsellors,<br />
• develop resources for the<br />
profession to assist counsellors<br />
working with CYP to encourage<br />
the innate spiritual capacity of<br />
the child (following Rebecca<br />
Nye and others) as therapeutic<br />
resources.<br />
We have developed a questionnaire<br />
which will be circulated to all<br />
members to ascertain how many of<br />
you work with children and young<br />
people and how you think the<br />
Forum could support you. We are<br />
also interested to know how many<br />
members may want to work with<br />
children and young people.<br />
The current members of the<br />
steering group are practitioners<br />
with a variety of experiences<br />
working with children and young<br />
people in different settings.<br />
Heather Barton is a qualified<br />
Counsellor, Play Therapist, Coach,<br />
Supervisor and Trainer. She has a<br />
BA in Integrative Counselling, and<br />
MAs in Play Therapy and Relational<br />
Counselling and Psychotherapy.<br />
Heather is currently close to the<br />
end of studying for a Professional<br />
Doctorate in Counselling and<br />
Psychotherapy Studies at Chester<br />
University. She has a private<br />
practice, and for the last fifteen<br />
years has also been working as a<br />
school counsellor/play therapist,<br />
working with CYP from four years<br />
old to eighteen plus, in many<br />
different settings.<br />
Vicky Bell is a CYP Counsellor<br />
and Supervisor of CYP counsellors<br />
for a large community based<br />
commissioned service on the<br />
South Coast. She also has a private<br />
practice working predominately<br />
with families and CYP, alongside<br />
providing Pastoral Supervision.<br />
Vicky provides these services face<br />
to face, online using video calling<br />
and text based (email and instant<br />
messaging) and over the phone.<br />
She qualified 13 years ago as a<br />
Person-Centred Therapist, later<br />
completing training including<br />
systemic family work, online<br />
working (pre covid-19), supervision<br />
and reflective practice. Vicky has<br />
worked in schools, community<br />
and 3rd sector settings. All<br />
have been non faith-based and<br />
included working for RELATE,<br />
Place2Be, YMCA, as well as smaller<br />
organisations.<br />
Elaine Bennett counsels children,<br />
adolescents and adults and has<br />
a private practice. She has a BA<br />
(Hons) Counselling and MEd (Child<br />
and Adolescent Psychotherapeutic<br />
Counselling). She has experience of<br />
working with children and young<br />
people in schools, with Place2Be,<br />
a London sixth form college, the<br />
BIG C cancer charity and young<br />
people’s counselling agency.<br />
Pete English is a school counsellor<br />
and is the project lead for<br />
ListeningPeople - from AtaLoss.<br />
org. He trains those who work<br />
with young people to understand<br />
how loss and bereavement has an<br />
impact.<br />
Ange Harris has an MA in<br />
Integrative Counselling from the<br />
University of Roehampton. She<br />
36 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
works two days a week as a school<br />
counsellor for the Norwich School<br />
and counsels adults and young<br />
people from age 13 in private<br />
practice.<br />
Christine Pinder has been<br />
counselling for more than 35<br />
years, starting in the eighties in a<br />
counselling agency working with<br />
young people, and more recently<br />
a group of us set up a much<br />
needed service in Suffolk offering<br />
counselling to 11–25 year olds. She<br />
also has a small private practice<br />
and in the other half of her life is a<br />
vicar in her local Anglican church.<br />
Sulette Snyman devoted 17<br />
years of her professional life to<br />
establishing Neurofeedback<br />
Therapy as a force to be reckoned<br />
with. Her first encounter with<br />
Neurofeedback was on a very<br />
personal level when her son was<br />
diagnosed with a concentration<br />
challenge. His remarkable results<br />
inspired thousands of parents to<br />
put their children through the<br />
programme. As franchisor to 60<br />
franchisees she was responsible<br />
for delivering more than 700,000<br />
hours of Neurofeedback Training<br />
sessions. Her passion is to help<br />
children reach their full potential.<br />
Sulette says there is nothing more<br />
satisfying as to see a child go from<br />
struggling to being a hero.<br />
Hannah Stanwell Smith is an<br />
integrative counsellor with<br />
experience of working with adults<br />
and young people in her private<br />
practice and has also worked as<br />
a school counsellor in a Norfolk<br />
School. Hannah has a First Class<br />
BA (Hons) Counselling degree and<br />
is trained to work with clients who<br />
have experienced trauma, having<br />
spent over five years working for<br />
an agency supporting survivors<br />
of childhood sexual abuse, rape,<br />
sexual assault and domestic<br />
violence.<br />
If you would like to be part of the<br />
Steering Group to develop the<br />
Forum please email Elaine Bennett<br />
on ebccss@acc-uk.org.<br />
As a Taster of what may come Pete<br />
English has prepared the following<br />
scenarios for reflection.<br />
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SCHOOL<br />
COUNSELLOR<br />
Sasha<br />
I could tell things weren’t good as<br />
soon as Sasha walked in through<br />
the door. She slumped down on<br />
the chair and stared at her thumb,<br />
blood red from where she had<br />
been picking at the skin.<br />
I allowed a few moments of silence<br />
to pass and tried my best not to<br />
interrupt it. ‘Mr Evans hates me.’ I<br />
reflected with a questioning tone<br />
at the end of my sentence. ‘Hates<br />
you?’ I enquired. ‘He does – he’s got<br />
it in for me. He never picks on Sarah<br />
or Charis, just me, and the boys<br />
get away with it,’ she explained<br />
whilst simultaneously ripping her<br />
appointment card into tiny pieces<br />
which fell to the floor.<br />
I made a mental note to ‘shelve’ my<br />
carefully planned session exploring<br />
Sasha’s loss of her grandad and<br />
continued to listen intently as my<br />
eye caught the growing pile of<br />
shredded card on the floor around<br />
Sacha’s non-uniform trainers.<br />
Sasha’s perception is that<br />
Mr Evans hates her. Is that a<br />
possibility?<br />
Sam<br />
I have never played Fortnite, but<br />
Sam has. He tells me that he is<br />
really good and I praise him for<br />
the skills that he is learning –<br />
patience, teamwork, endurance,<br />
no copyright<br />
infringement is<br />
intended”<br />
communication. I’m not sure that<br />
his mum sees it that way, especially<br />
when she sees the glow of a tablet<br />
as she passes his bedroom door<br />
at 2.30 on a school day morning.<br />
Sam admits that he is tired. ‘But I’m<br />
900th. I won some money!’ ‘Tell me<br />
about it Sam. Is there a new level<br />
out now? How do you feel about<br />
the world of Fortnite changing<br />
overnight?’ I ask. (How did you feel<br />
about your dad leaving suddenly<br />
overnight I want to say).<br />
How important is it that we<br />
understand Fortnite?<br />
COUNSELLING SPACE<br />
The new, very enthusiastic PE<br />
teacher, presses ‘play’ on the high<br />
energy music video that she has<br />
decided to use as a warm up in<br />
the hall close to the room I use to<br />
counsel in. I quite like the track<br />
and evidently so do the Year 8’s<br />
who are joining in with the chorus<br />
encouraging all of us to ‘funk it up’.<br />
The enthusiastic PE teacher is less<br />
enthusiastic when she realises that<br />
the giggling is from a group of boys<br />
who have amended the lyrics to<br />
something less appropriate!<br />
Rooms in school are at a<br />
premium. What can you do if the<br />
room you work in is unsuitable?<br />
Ellie<br />
I notice that Ellie is rubbing her arm<br />
and has pulled her sleeve down.<br />
‘Mum’s acting really weird again.’<br />
‘She’s never in the house and she’s<br />
got this new boyfriend.’ I listen<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
37
intently and wonder whether the<br />
cuts on her arm are fresh. ‘Do we<br />
need to talk to Miss?’ I tentatively<br />
enquire. Ellie nods and looks down<br />
at the floor.<br />
Self-harming behaviour is just<br />
attention seeking. How would you<br />
respond to a comment like this?<br />
CASELOAD<br />
At lunchtime a teacher stops me<br />
as I walk over to the canteen. ‘Have<br />
you seen Jack today?’, he enquires.<br />
‘Any chance you can fit him in? I’ll<br />
send him over at 2.00,’ he says as<br />
he disappears through the Science<br />
laboratory doors.<br />
How flexible would you be to see<br />
an extra child at the end of your<br />
session? What are the pros and<br />
cons of doing so?<br />
VICKY BELL HAS SUGGESTED<br />
SOME RESOURCES FOR<br />
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE<br />
COUNSELLORS BELOW.<br />
When Dinosaurs Die: A guide to<br />
understanding death, Lauri Krasny<br />
and Marc Brown<br />
https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-<br />
Dinosaurs-Die-Understanding-<br />
Families/dp/0316119555<br />
Many books for children about<br />
death are limited in the death that<br />
they consider. This book is different<br />
in that it explores many many types<br />
of deaths including those that are<br />
often not mentioned elsewhere<br />
or are more difficult to talk about,<br />
such as due to drugs and war.<br />
I believe it is so important that<br />
children can experience having the<br />
type of death that has impacted<br />
them mentioned in a universal<br />
format, thus acknowledging even<br />
if it is in a small way that there<br />
are others of their age who such<br />
deaths have also touched. Please<br />
don’t think that this book is only<br />
useful for these situations though.<br />
It considers all manner of deaths<br />
and types of relationships and ages<br />
as well as commenting on different<br />
practices and beliefs related to the<br />
body and death itself.<br />
This well illustrated book can be<br />
used by anyone who has contact<br />
with children, be they parents/<br />
carers or family members, youth<br />
and children’s workers, and I have<br />
also used it as a therapist.<br />
Help I’ve got an Alarm Bell going<br />
off in my head – How panic, anxiety<br />
and stress affect your body. K. L.<br />
Aspden<br />
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Help-<br />
Alarm-Bell-Going-Head-ebook/<br />
dp/B0167ILI0O<br />
This is what is said about the book.<br />
‘Designed for ages 9–12, the book<br />
aims to teach children who suffer<br />
from anxiety, stress or anger about<br />
the fight, flight or freeze response<br />
in their bodies and what can trigger<br />
it, and helps them to understand<br />
that it is something that everyone<br />
experiences. It also includes ways<br />
to manage the stress reaction and<br />
reduce feelings of shame. It is an<br />
invaluable resource for anyone<br />
supporting children who are easily<br />
triggered into anxiety or anger,<br />
including parents and carers,<br />
support workers, teachers, and<br />
therapists.’<br />
The book is simply written in an<br />
accessible way for children to<br />
read themselves and has large<br />
illustrations on each page to bring<br />
what is being said to life and make<br />
it accessible to even the most<br />
reluctant reader. I have used this<br />
book as a therapist and suggested<br />
it to parents to even use with their<br />
child or provide for their child to<br />
aid their own understanding and<br />
normalising of what is happening<br />
to their bodies, which they often<br />
find very concerning. The book<br />
provides a simple way of explaining<br />
how the brain and nervous system<br />
work and can lead to our bodies<br />
becoming over sensitive and<br />
setting off false alarms.<br />
A great book for parents/carers,<br />
youth and children’s workers and<br />
therapists.<br />
When a parent is concerned<br />
about Deliberate Self Harm or a<br />
young person is mentioning that<br />
their parent/carer is struggling<br />
to understand their DSH I often<br />
signpost them to this pdf<br />
https://harmless.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2020/09/Familyand-Friends-Leaflet-min.pdf<br />
I feel it addresses many of the<br />
concerns and unhelpful things that<br />
they can think and say and provides<br />
information and encourages a<br />
supportive approach with the<br />
young person.<br />
Elaine Bennett<br />
About the author<br />
Elaine Bennett<br />
is a child,<br />
adolescent and<br />
adult counsellor.<br />
In response to<br />
the ACE agenda<br />
together with Sir<br />
Norman Lamb<br />
she established the Norfolk<br />
Trauma Forum. This is currently<br />
developing proposals for early<br />
intervention programmes in<br />
schools, a local prison and the<br />
community and investigating<br />
the potential for rolling out<br />
trauma informed training<br />
in Norfolk. Elaine is a PhD<br />
candidate at the University<br />
of Cambridge hoping to<br />
research the impact of teachers'<br />
attachment styles on the<br />
teacher-student relationship.<br />
38 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
Meeting <strong>ACC</strong>EnT Forum Members<br />
by Leroy Harley<br />
was born in Hackney, East<br />
I London in 1958, I am the third<br />
oldest of a family of eight, five boys,<br />
sadly one died 15 years ago, and<br />
three girls. I am a father of five,<br />
two boys and three girls. I have<br />
been married for over 30 years to<br />
a wonderful woman. My first job<br />
after leaving school was in a bank.<br />
I was a youth worker for about 30<br />
years, both full and part time. My<br />
last job was as a teaching assistant<br />
in a special needs school, which I<br />
think was the job that I enjoyed the<br />
most. Sadly, I had to retire in 2019,<br />
the flip side is that I get to do more<br />
of what I enjoy, such as, counselling,<br />
riding my bike, walking, reading,<br />
and spending time with my 11 year<br />
old girl. I used to enjoy playing<br />
badminton, but an injury put paid<br />
to that.<br />
I got into counselling by accident.<br />
I found out from friends that I was<br />
a good listener. I was listening to<br />
friends in the hope this would<br />
help me find solutions to some<br />
of the issues I was going through,<br />
sadly that was not the case.<br />
Someone suggested that I do a<br />
basic counselling course, which<br />
I enjoyed, learning that I was a<br />
good listener, enjoyed listening to<br />
people and that I did not have to<br />
have all the answers. I went on to<br />
do a level 2/3 Christian counselling<br />
course. Through that course I learnt<br />
more about myself, including that<br />
sometimes I chose to help others<br />
as a way of not looking too hard<br />
at the issues I was going through.<br />
One thing I noticed was that race<br />
was never even mentioned or<br />
discussed on the course. At the end<br />
of this course, which my church<br />
paid for, they set up a counselling<br />
service, which I have been part<br />
of since 2009. It took a further 10<br />
years for me to take my Diploma in<br />
counselling and psychotherapy.<br />
“race could only<br />
be discussed if we as<br />
black people raised<br />
the subject<br />
One of the things that annoyed me<br />
was that looking at the programme<br />
for the two-year course was that<br />
race was on the agenda twice over<br />
the two years. <strong>Accord</strong>ing to some of<br />
the white students, race could only<br />
be discussed if we as black people<br />
raised the topic. This also meant the<br />
issue of race was not discussed with<br />
their black clients. They said they<br />
did not see colour and only saw the<br />
issue that the clients came in with.<br />
I became very concerned about the<br />
black clients they had and would<br />
encounter. As by denying their race<br />
you are denying who they are and<br />
that means you are denying me.<br />
In May 2020 I, along with others,<br />
watched in horror the murder of<br />
George Floyd on TV. Several things<br />
flooded my thoughts, such as my<br />
parents’ treatment when they<br />
arrived in this country in 1957, my<br />
harassment by police as a young<br />
man, the counselling course and<br />
what my white colleagues had said,<br />
the murders of others at the hands<br />
of the police or where the police<br />
investigations had been poor, both<br />
in this country and America, such<br />
as Cherry Groce, Cynthia Jarrett,<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
39
Stephen Lawrence, Breonna Taylor<br />
and others. After being very angry,<br />
I decided enough was enough<br />
I could no longer stand by and<br />
allow such treatment to continue<br />
without taking action. I wrote a<br />
couple of emails, one to BACP and<br />
the other to <strong>ACC</strong>. I wrote to <strong>ACC</strong><br />
even though at the time I was no<br />
longer a member, I had left as I<br />
did not see myself represented in<br />
accord. To my surprise and delight<br />
I got a call from Kathy Spooner,<br />
from that phone call the Inclusion<br />
and Diversity group, now <strong>ACC</strong>EnT,<br />
was formed. The group was formed<br />
to ensure diversity is represented<br />
across <strong>ACC</strong>. Within months of the<br />
group forming we drew up a list<br />
of things we wanted to achieve,<br />
such as representation on the <strong>ACC</strong><br />
board, to act as a consultation/<br />
advisory group, to be able to share<br />
ideas and support each other, to<br />
increase the take up of counselling<br />
by exploring and devising ways to<br />
get more black men interested in<br />
counselling from both sides of the<br />
couch, and other things.<br />
Getting black men more interested<br />
in counselling has been a passion of<br />
mine for several years. Over the last<br />
15 years or so I have been meeting<br />
with a group of black men from<br />
various churches to sit, eat and have<br />
real, honest conversations. I started<br />
this group with a friend of mine,<br />
who I had been meeting with, and<br />
recognising how much we were<br />
getting out of our conversations,<br />
we decided to share the benefits<br />
with other black men. The group<br />
meets monthly, and conversations<br />
have been varied - marriage, raising<br />
children, racism in the church<br />
and society, the murder of George<br />
Floyd, issues with siblings, etc.,<br />
always considering what the Word<br />
of God has to say on the topic. The<br />
men who have attended the group<br />
have felt energised and go back<br />
into their environment, with added<br />
tools to help in their relationships<br />
at home and in their workplaces.<br />
Others have thought that they<br />
were the only ones going through<br />
the issues and were glad to hear<br />
that they were not alone.<br />
We were invited to a local church<br />
men’s group to talk about<br />
counselling and the benefits of this<br />
group. One of the comments made<br />
about counselling was, “why should<br />
we talk to strangers about our<br />
problems?”. They clearly recognised<br />
they were going through some<br />
issues and yet felt they could not<br />
or did not want to talk through the<br />
issues. I am aware of the message<br />
that I and other men got, when<br />
growing up, about “being a man”,<br />
“men are not supposed to cry”,<br />
“we are to suck it up”, “be brave”,<br />
etc. Sadly, these messages stay<br />
with us and I did bottle things up<br />
which was not good for me. One<br />
of the things that came out of the<br />
meeting with these men is that a<br />
few of them came for counselling<br />
as they recognised the need to talk.<br />
The murder of George Floyd<br />
came a few days before our<br />
monthly meeting. Having had our<br />
discussion I was able to excise a lot<br />
of the anger that I was feeling and<br />
it was this, and through listening<br />
to and expressing<br />
what was going on<br />
for me, that I came<br />
to know that I had to<br />
do something, hence<br />
the emails to <strong>ACC</strong><br />
and BACP. The other<br />
more challenging<br />
thing which I had<br />
avoided for a long<br />
time, was having<br />
the discussion with<br />
white people. I was<br />
far too angry with<br />
white people and<br />
just did not feel they<br />
“Why should we<br />
talk to strangers<br />
about our problems?<br />
cared enough to want to have the<br />
discussion. I have tried in the past,<br />
but comments such as “I’m not<br />
racist”, “I have black friends”, “I don’t<br />
see colour”, “Why is race an issue?”,<br />
have very quickly shut down any<br />
discussion. However, the Black Lives<br />
Matter protests across the world<br />
have made having the discussion<br />
on racism more accessible.<br />
Having spoken to several white<br />
people my assumptions were<br />
wrong. Whilst there are some<br />
who did not want to talk about<br />
racism most did, and that was<br />
healthy for both parties. I felt more<br />
encouraged after those discussions<br />
as it meant there is hope for<br />
the future. My supervisor and<br />
counsellor are both white and I was<br />
not sure if I was going to raise the<br />
issue with them. However, the first<br />
thing my supervisor asked me was<br />
'how was I feeling', - that was a nice<br />
opening question, as it showed me<br />
it was about me. Being honest with<br />
myself meant I was able to have<br />
some open and honest discussions<br />
with friends and family.<br />
I want to end with this from Dr<br />
Martin Luther King Jr<br />
“Our loyalties must transcend our<br />
race, our tribe, our class, and our<br />
nation; and this means we must<br />
develop a world perspective.”<br />
Leroy Harley<br />
Dr Martin Luther King Jr.<br />
40 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
Pregnancy loss<br />
by Amanda Padley<br />
Pregnancy loss affects around<br />
1 in 4 women and if not<br />
personally affected then most of<br />
us know someone who has been.<br />
Yet despite the high statistics, it<br />
remains an often taboo subject<br />
with women, partners and families<br />
struggling to find help. In April this<br />
year, the government announced<br />
that 26 new dedicated NHS hubs<br />
would be created to support<br />
thousands of pregnant women and<br />
new mothers who would be able to<br />
access specialist help and support.<br />
The 26 hubs will bring maternity,<br />
reproductive and psychological<br />
services together as part of the<br />
NHS long term plan. Around 6000<br />
women will be able to access care<br />
for a wide range of maternity and<br />
mental health services. The hubs<br />
are planned to be open by April<br />
2022. While there is a recognition of<br />
the devastating effect of pregnancy<br />
loss, nothing is mentioned about<br />
post-abortion support for women.<br />
My name is Amanda, I’m an art<br />
psychotherapist working for a<br />
charity in North Wales called<br />
IPAC Options. IPAC focuses on<br />
unplanned or crisis pregnancy and<br />
pregnancy loss, including abortion,<br />
and is part of the PCN (Pregnancy<br />
Centres Network), a network<br />
which has currently around eighty<br />
five centres across the UK and is<br />
expanding. Many centres have<br />
waiting lists, an indication of the<br />
need for the work. Along with<br />
crisis pregnancy and post abortion<br />
support, I have also met with clients<br />
who have experienced multiple<br />
miscarriages and also those who<br />
are going through the gruelling<br />
process of fertility treatment. The<br />
centres are not just for women but<br />
also their partners, as pregnancy<br />
loss can affect the wider family or<br />
be a secret invisible grief.<br />
ART THERAPY<br />
I think I have always had a<br />
fascination with the miracle of<br />
birth. The words of Psalm 139, ‘for<br />
I am fearfully and wonderfully<br />
made, knit together in the secret<br />
place,’ have always held an awe for<br />
me; so it felt natural to specialise<br />
in this area. For many years as<br />
an artist I had worked dyadically<br />
with women and children, but<br />
it was the women’s stories that<br />
captivated me rather than working<br />
with children, so when I began<br />
my placement I chose a women’s<br />
centre. Art therapy uses visual<br />
expression and art materials as the<br />
primary source of communication.<br />
Sometimes words are inadequate,<br />
particularly with trauma, so using<br />
symbols and metaphors enables<br />
us to speak from deep within<br />
and express ourselves through<br />
artmaking. That is not to say that<br />
art therapists don’t talk with their<br />
clients. I have primarily worked<br />
with adult women, and women<br />
like to talk! The women at the<br />
centre responded really positively<br />
to art therapy, and as they shared<br />
their stories, I became aware of<br />
how many had been affected by<br />
pregnancy loss and post abortion<br />
grief.<br />
A WOMAN’S CHOICE<br />
In this country it is a woman’s<br />
choice and legal right to terminate<br />
a pregnancy. However that does<br />
not mean it is a simple choice; often<br />
complications and coercement<br />
have influenced that decision. I<br />
have had clients confused and<br />
angry that no one had warned<br />
them about the negative<br />
consequences of abortion. They<br />
told me, ‘A friend had one and<br />
she was fine.’ Another recalled<br />
that they had seen a character on<br />
a soap opera have a termination<br />
and just move on; then why did<br />
they feel this way when it was only<br />
a bunch of cells? Confusion, grief<br />
and anger often accompany post<br />
abortion work. There is always the<br />
‘What if’ and the ‘What would have<br />
been’ at the back of the mind. For<br />
some women post abortion loss<br />
or trauma, is an unspoken secret,<br />
complicated and a disenfranchised<br />
grief, a taboo not recognised by<br />
society and difficult to find help<br />
for. Figures published by BPAS<br />
(British Pregnancy Advice Service)<br />
state 95% of women felt they had<br />
made the right choice, 5% did not.<br />
In 2019 alone 207,384 women had<br />
abortions (Dept of Health and<br />
Social care) so 5% means 10,369.2.<br />
Over ten thousand women did not<br />
feel they made the right choice.<br />
As Christians we have the biblical<br />
model of God’s recognition of<br />
unborn life, but the rights of the<br />
foetus are outweighed in our<br />
society by the rights of the mother<br />
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41
and the subject of abortion is highly<br />
emotive. To work professionally we<br />
must be impartial and for me it is<br />
simply a case of meeting people<br />
where they are at, just as Jesus did,<br />
and trusting God for the bigger<br />
picture.<br />
MISCARRIAGE<br />
Most people associate baby loss<br />
with miscarriage, which affects<br />
around 1 in 4 women. While some<br />
women accept this as something<br />
that just happens, others can find it<br />
devastating. Even the terminology<br />
of miscarriage, a pregnancy<br />
miscarried, being ‘lost’, may make<br />
the Mother feel at fault somehow<br />
and she may develop complicated<br />
feelings towards her body which<br />
impact on her self esteem. Access<br />
to the Miscarriage specialist groups<br />
is very patchy across the country<br />
and only after three miscarriges<br />
will it be medically investigated.<br />
Early miscarriage can be just as<br />
devastating as a later loss, the<br />
number of weeks a woman is<br />
pregnant does not equate to<br />
her feelings of loss and grief, nor<br />
indicate how far the bonding of<br />
parent and infant has progressed.<br />
An infant loss after 22 weeks has<br />
both a birth and death certificate,<br />
but very often miscarriage is an<br />
invisible loss with nothing to<br />
commemorate the life.<br />
ART WORK<br />
Using art I have worked with clients<br />
creating memory boxes filled<br />
with precious mementos, letters<br />
and even certificates of life, all<br />
preciously stored and contained<br />
within. Clients have also designed<br />
jewelry, painted stones, written<br />
poems and planted gardens. These<br />
are all ways of commemorating<br />
and expressing emotion. I have<br />
asked clients to form a clay bulb<br />
and used this as a focus for<br />
guided imagery, where we plant<br />
the bulb safely within a beautiful<br />
garden that is watched over by<br />
a gardener. Clients have found<br />
this particularly powerful and by<br />
introducing the gardener there is<br />
a spiritual element that the client<br />
may choose to explore. Art creates<br />
a visible tangible focus for what is<br />
often an invisible unacknowledged<br />
grief. By creating an object, it holds<br />
and legitimises the feelings – this<br />
happened, it mattered, I matter. I<br />
have been a witness of grief and<br />
a keeper of secrets, some clients<br />
choosing to leave their objects with<br />
me, while others take them home<br />
and treasure. The act of creation<br />
is the opposite of loss and life<br />
affirming while allowing the client<br />
to authentically express their grief.<br />
Working creatively also offers the<br />
client personal agency at a time<br />
when they may feel out of control<br />
and overwhelmed by their loss.<br />
ART IN A PANDEMIC<br />
In this time of pandemic I have<br />
sent out art materials and I have<br />
also used therapeutic journaling,<br />
talking through an art directive<br />
and asking the client to reflect<br />
and journal, which engages them<br />
psychodynamically. I have found<br />
advantages working remotely<br />
in being able to offer greater<br />
accessibility and the clients have<br />
responded positively with this<br />
new way of working. At a time<br />
when it feels all<br />
resources<br />
are being<br />
directed<br />
towards coping with the pandemic,<br />
women are still facing unplanned<br />
pregnancy and pregnancy loss.<br />
Isolation can make it even more<br />
difficult for those seeking help. This<br />
is vital work. I hope to train others<br />
about pregnancy loss and raise<br />
awareness to break the taboos of<br />
societal silence.<br />
Reading:<br />
Grief unseen, Healing Pregnancy<br />
loss through the Arts, Laura Sefel.<br />
Therapeutic Arts in Pregnancy,<br />
Birth and New Parenthood,<br />
Susan Hogan.<br />
Pregnancy & Abortion<br />
Counselling, Joanna Brien & Ida<br />
Fairbairn.<br />
Complicated Grief, Attachment &<br />
Art Therapy, Briana MacWilliam.<br />
Amanda Padley<br />
About the author<br />
I’m an Art<br />
psychotherapist,<br />
wife, mother,<br />
writer and potter,<br />
who lives near<br />
Wrexham in North Wales,<br />
halfway up the first mountain.<br />
After working for many years as<br />
a community artist and being<br />
interested in spiritual art, I<br />
achieved a twenty year dream of<br />
studying art therapy and finally<br />
went to University aged 42. I<br />
loved the training and felt drawn<br />
to working with adult women<br />
and women’s issues. I have<br />
three miniature pekin chickens<br />
which make wonderful garden<br />
companions and a she-shed<br />
where I enjoy the calm discipline<br />
of working on a potter’s wheel.<br />
It feels the opposite of working<br />
with clay in therapy. If all that<br />
sounds very busy, I am forced to<br />
take very good care of myself as<br />
I also live with MS and disability.<br />
I am currently also studying<br />
part-time for my PGCE. I hope<br />
to go to teach and train other<br />
professionals about pregnancy<br />
loss.<br />
42 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature<br />
Supporting a nation<br />
in mourning<br />
by Yvonne Tulloch<br />
wonder how much you think<br />
I about death? Does it scare you?<br />
Do you expect it to happen?<br />
You may, sadly, be grieving yourself.<br />
The pandemic of the past year has<br />
brought us up sharp, with death a<br />
constant reality.<br />
Before March 2020 few of us in<br />
Britain gave death a thought.<br />
Decades of medical advances,<br />
lengthening lifespans and people<br />
dying distanced from daily life, in<br />
hospitals, care homes and hospices,<br />
led to what many termed a ‘deathdenying<br />
society’– subconsciously<br />
thinking that death only happens<br />
when we’re old and is not<br />
something to be addressed now.<br />
We have learnt to push death to<br />
the back of our minds and to avoid<br />
anything connected. The legacy<br />
of this is a tendency to dismiss the<br />
only certainty there is in life – that<br />
sooner or later, we all will die – with<br />
widespread ignorance of grief and a<br />
general unpreparedness for death.<br />
I’ve been involved in bereavement<br />
support for nearly ten years now.<br />
My husband’s sudden death in<br />
2008 made me realise the lack of<br />
understanding in our country of<br />
the impact of bereavement and<br />
how hard it is to find support.<br />
As a minister in the Church of<br />
England I had been used to taking<br />
funerals and I thought I knew<br />
about grief. But when I experienced<br />
bereavement myself, I discovered<br />
how little I did.<br />
THE NATURE OF GRIEF<br />
Bereavement affects every area<br />
of life; grief is a roller coaster of<br />
emotional responses, and death<br />
presents a minefield of practical<br />
challenges and changes that have<br />
to be addressed. The combination<br />
can knock us physically, mentally,<br />
relationally, even spiritually, and<br />
leave us in deep despair. For most<br />
people, the deep pain is felt some<br />
while after the death, when the<br />
reality of the loss has sunk in. But by<br />
then the support of those around<br />
has often dwindled and the journey<br />
to recovery can be a long and<br />
isolated road.<br />
However, grief is necessary. Grief<br />
is the natural, human response<br />
to loss – a journey that has to be<br />
travelled – a darkness that has<br />
to be faced, in order to reach the<br />
light and hope of a new normal<br />
and a healthy, secure tomorrow.<br />
God created us for relationship<br />
and when relationship is lost, we<br />
feel it keenly. And if support is not<br />
found, bereavement can lead to<br />
further problems: the breakdown<br />
of the relationships we have, anger,<br />
addiction, job loss or debt, to<br />
name just a few. Importantly also,<br />
without help the darkness can be<br />
prolonged and lead to depression,<br />
or other mental health issues. Also,<br />
a number of people, when not<br />
supported, will carry on however<br />
they can, suppressing their grief,<br />
only for problems to emerge later.<br />
For those bereaved since the<br />
start of the pandemic there is a<br />
greater risk of grief being put on<br />
hold. Lockdown and the social<br />
restrictions of the past year have<br />
meant that many bereaved people<br />
have been denied the things that<br />
normally enable acceptance and<br />
the start of the processing of the<br />
loss; not being able to see or speak<br />
to loved ones before they died, or<br />
be comforted by family and friends,<br />
or attend the funeral to say their<br />
goodbye. With over 600,000 deaths<br />
usually each year to add to those<br />
from Covid-19, the consequence of<br />
this is a nation in mourning – some<br />
10 million people not knowing what<br />
to do with their grief, or where to<br />
turn. This is a problem that needs<br />
to be faced up to and aided if<br />
we’re to avoid large scale negative<br />
outcomes for years to come.<br />
BEREAVEMENT WORK BORN<br />
OUT OF GRIEF<br />
When my husband died, I<br />
found things bad enough. In<br />
a matter of days, I went from<br />
being a highly capable person to<br />
utterly dysfunctional. The sorrow<br />
weighed heavily, like a physical<br />
weight. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t<br />
sleep, I couldn’t think straight or<br />
remember what had been said or<br />
what I needed to do. So, I couldn’t<br />
do my job. People around me<br />
wanted to help but they seldom<br />
knew how. Practical assistance,<br />
cards, flowers and kind messages<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
43
“Reaching out to<br />
help those in need<br />
is our calling as<br />
Christians<br />
of love kept me going. But to my<br />
further pain, some people chose<br />
to keep away to ‘give me space’<br />
and others crossed the road to<br />
avoid speaking. Day by day, week<br />
by week, although many people<br />
did their best to help, life collapsed<br />
around me, and six months later I<br />
was at my wits’ end.<br />
It was through finding, but only<br />
by chance, two Christian support<br />
services that I was able to turn<br />
my situation around: Care for the<br />
Family’s Widowed Young Support,<br />
providing weekends and days for<br />
those who lose a partner young<br />
and Holy Trinity Brompton’s The<br />
Bereavement Journey course. There<br />
I met people who understood grief<br />
and who helped me to navigate the<br />
challenges I was facing. I discovered<br />
that my oscillating emotions and<br />
reactions were normal, and in<br />
finding others who had survived<br />
what I was going through I saw<br />
hope.<br />
Out of that experience my work<br />
in bereavement was born. I<br />
determined there and then to<br />
do what I could to ensure that<br />
bereaved people across the country<br />
could access understanding<br />
support quickly and would not be<br />
left grieving alone. By 2016, I had<br />
formed the charity AtaLoss.org,<br />
to provide a signposting website<br />
for the bereaved. This now has<br />
over 900 services – both local and<br />
national, a wealth of information<br />
and an online counsellor chat<br />
service, and has become the UK’s<br />
central, ‘go to’ place when someone<br />
dies – a lifeline for many over this<br />
past pandemic year.<br />
However, I also wanted to enable<br />
Christians to support the bereaved.<br />
Christians are no different in being<br />
influenced by death denial and we<br />
can avoid people we hear of who<br />
have been bereaved for fear of<br />
saying or doing the wrong thing.<br />
Bereavement also naturally raises<br />
the big questions of life: about<br />
purpose, the afterlife and nature<br />
of God – the very questions we<br />
want people to ask. Yet because<br />
of our death denial, we miss the<br />
opportunity of addressing these.<br />
Those of us who do step in can also<br />
fall victim to platitudes and cliches<br />
if we’re not careful, or we may offer<br />
Scriptures or spiritual ‘reassurances’<br />
that things will be better, when we<br />
need to affirm the struggle and<br />
come alongside the person in their<br />
pain. This means that bereaved<br />
people quite often find churches<br />
hard places to be.<br />
Reaching out to help those in need<br />
is our calling as Christians and is<br />
in itself the message of God’s love.<br />
Interestingly, ‘helping widows and<br />
orphans in their distress’ is how<br />
the New Testament describes<br />
authentic church (James 1:27) and<br />
Jesus is ‘a man of sorrows and<br />
acquainted with grief’. But we<br />
have been reluctant to become<br />
acquainted with grief ourselves.<br />
LOSS AND HOPE<br />
One of the consequences of<br />
the pandemic is that things are,<br />
thankfully, changing. Its constant<br />
focus on death has disturbed us<br />
all, reminded us of our mortality<br />
and stirred us up to seek to help<br />
those who grieve. One of the<br />
projects I’m involved with is Loss<br />
and HOPE, a coalition project<br />
launched at Lambeth Palace on<br />
what turned out to be the very day<br />
the first UK Covid-19 death was<br />
announced. With the Church of<br />
England’s Life Events Department,<br />
Care for the Family and HOPE<br />
Together we are seeking to equip<br />
churches to support the bereaved.<br />
Before the pandemic the National<br />
Bereavement Alliance called<br />
for a 3-tiered approach across<br />
Britain to build capacity to meet<br />
the burgeoning demand. They<br />
argued that if first, information<br />
and signposting could be offered,<br />
and then second, understanding<br />
community support could be<br />
found, then the third level of<br />
specialist intervention could be<br />
reserved for the prolonged or<br />
complex needs. Our desire was for<br />
the local support to come from<br />
Christians and the Church.<br />
Consequently, The Bereavement<br />
Journey course that helped me<br />
so much years ago is now being<br />
promoted to churches across the<br />
UK as a church-wide response to<br />
the pandemic. Offered with all the<br />
resources, training and support<br />
needed to make it easy for any<br />
church to run face-to-face or online,<br />
it is a six-session course of films<br />
and discussion groups for people<br />
bereaved in any way, to enable<br />
them to process their loss. The first<br />
five sessions deal with issues of<br />
bereavement that are unrelated<br />
to faith, making it accessible for<br />
anyone of any faith or none, and<br />
a sixth optional session offers my<br />
own Christian response to the faith<br />
questions I find are commonly<br />
asked. The Loss and HOPE website<br />
aims increasingly to offer resources<br />
to enable Christians to discuss<br />
and prepare for death, support<br />
bereaved people as individuals and<br />
provide a comfortable environment<br />
for those who grieve. It is our hope<br />
that in so doing many thousands of<br />
grieving people across our land will<br />
experience the love and comfort<br />
of God and find new meaning and<br />
hope through the Church.<br />
Yvonne Tulloch<br />
About the author<br />
Yvonne Richmond<br />
Tulloch is Founder<br />
and CEO of<br />
AtaLoss.org, the<br />
UK’s signposting<br />
website for the<br />
bereaved:<br />
https://www.<br />
ataloss.org/<br />
For more information see<br />
https://www.lossandhope.org/<br />
44 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
In Touch<br />
Table Talk for Wellbeing – Creating<br />
space to talk about Mental Health<br />
Over the past couple of years<br />
we have witnessed a rise<br />
in people talking about mental<br />
health in the public domain<br />
like never before. Across TV<br />
programmes, social media feeds,<br />
magazine articles and radio<br />
shows, we continue to hear that<br />
mental health matters and that<br />
when life gets tough it is vital to<br />
reach out and talk.<br />
“However encouraging people to<br />
talk and enabling them to talk<br />
are two very different things”.<br />
The current emphasis on<br />
wellbeing provides us an<br />
opportunity to help people<br />
from all walks of life join<br />
the conversation. For some,<br />
the counselling room is the<br />
right place, but for many the<br />
conversation can start elsewhere.<br />
There are those who may not<br />
need, or are not ready for,<br />
counselling but are looking for<br />
an opportunity to talk about<br />
wellbeing. Others may feel like<br />
they need permission to start<br />
exploring the topic and some, we<br />
just need to get the conversation<br />
going for the first time.<br />
“Table Talk for Wellbeing<br />
provides an opportunity for<br />
people to start exploring<br />
wellbeing for themselves,<br />
wherever they are at”.<br />
During 2020, The Ugly Duckling<br />
Company teamed up<br />
with the charity Renew<br />
Wellbeing and mental<br />
health experts to explore<br />
what a resource around<br />
wellbeing might look<br />
like. The aim - to start a<br />
conversation around Mental<br />
Health in an accessible way<br />
and to encourage people<br />
to explore ways to live well.<br />
The result was ‘Table Talk<br />
for Wellbeing’, a pack of<br />
question cards containing<br />
six themes built around<br />
the “Five Ways to Wellbeing”<br />
which was developed by The New<br />
Economics Foundation with the<br />
Government's Foresight report<br />
in 2008. The “Five Ways” are<br />
Connecting, Keeping Learning,<br />
Getting Active, Taking Notice and<br />
Giving.<br />
Using the Five Ways provides a<br />
shared language to talk about<br />
wellbeing across care systems and<br />
faith and community groups and<br />
to share good habits.<br />
The sixth theme in the pack is<br />
a picture round and provides<br />
an opportunity for a more<br />
open ended discussion; to form<br />
our own questions, talk about<br />
emotions or keep it light hearted.<br />
The questions and pictures are<br />
designed to promote good chat<br />
about wellbeing and the picture<br />
pack makes it accessible to<br />
anyone of any ability.<br />
Table Talk is a great resource<br />
to connect with people in our<br />
churches and communities and<br />
with restrictions being lifted in all<br />
sorts of settings in homes, cafes,<br />
pubs and churches. Table Talk is<br />
fun as well as encouraging good<br />
honest chat.<br />
Table Talk for Wellbeing is<br />
available for £20.00 (plus P&P)<br />
from<br />
www.theuglyducklingcompany.com<br />
Counselling Service<br />
42a Warwick Road, Carlisle CA1 1DN<br />
Christian counsellors providing<br />
professional, confidential<br />
counselling in Carlisle and<br />
North Cumbria.<br />
Borderline urgently needs<br />
qualified voluntary counsellors,<br />
please get in touch if you can<br />
help.<br />
For more information contact<br />
Anne Fearon<br />
01228 596900<br />
info@borderlinecounselling.co.uk<br />
www.borderlinecounselling.co.uk<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
45
Offering online and phone services:<br />
Counselling, Clinical Supervision,<br />
Mentoring, Coaching, Christian<br />
counselling and multicultural<br />
(inclusive of all backgrounds/<br />
cultures).<br />
(face-to-face counselling within<br />
Southeast London, Bromley will<br />
resume post-pandemic).<br />
<strong>Issue</strong>s worked on range from<br />
emotional and mental health<br />
issues, relationships issues and life<br />
management related problems.<br />
Clinical supervision: individuals and<br />
groups (qualified and trainees) to<br />
review their work with clients or<br />
service users.<br />
Counselling fees: based on<br />
income (full-time & part-time &<br />
concessionary)<br />
Supervision cost: £48.50 per 1 hr.<br />
(£38.50 for Trainee Counsellors /<br />
Therapists<br />
Availability: Weekdays & evenings<br />
Contact: 0784 762 0103<br />
PART OF UCHM<br />
Huddersfield<br />
Christian<br />
Counselling,<br />
College and<br />
Resource Centre<br />
Trinity Training<br />
Level 3 Intermediate Certificate<br />
in Counselling<br />
Starting September 13th <strong>2021</strong><br />
The course integrates theory, basic<br />
counselling skills, counselling process<br />
and biblical theology<br />
Level 4 Advanced Diploma<br />
in Counselling<br />
Starting September 14th <strong>2021</strong><br />
The course teaches an integrative<br />
counselling model and within this a<br />
person centred framework is used<br />
to develop each counsellor's own<br />
integration<br />
UCHM Training Courses are<br />
accredited by<br />
For further information please contact:<br />
Tel: 01484 461098<br />
Email: training@uchm.org<br />
BARNABAS<br />
COUNSELLING<br />
TRAINING<br />
Lively, illustrated,<br />
dynamic<br />
CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING<br />
COURSES<br />
ONLINE SUPERVISION<br />
TRAINING<br />
Level 5 Intermediate Diploma<br />
in Counselling Supervision<br />
(CPCAB accredited)<br />
MODULE 1-2: 15/16 October <strong>2021</strong><br />
MODULE 3-4: 12/13 November<br />
MODULE 5-6: 10/11 December<br />
MODULE 7-8: 21/22 January 2022<br />
MODULE 9-10: 25/26 February<br />
contact Julie Allday<br />
tel: 01243 543403<br />
Email: info@barnabastraining.com<br />
www.barnabastraining.com<br />
We seek to help and support those<br />
who are suffering emotional and<br />
personal issues helping them find a<br />
way forward through their difficulties.<br />
Particularly in the following areas:<br />
Bereavement * Trauma * Loss * Stress<br />
* Physical / Mental / Sexual Abuse *<br />
Depression * Drug/Alcohol Abuse<br />
* Gender * Sexuality * Relationships<br />
* Marriage * Anxiety * Loneliness<br />
Counselling is carried out by<br />
professionally trained counsellors<br />
using a range of recognised models of<br />
counselling.<br />
Tel: 078 1710 6295<br />
The Olive Tree Centre, Eastwood<br />
Baptist Church, Nobles Green Road,<br />
Eastwood, Leigh on Sea,<br />
Essex, SS9 5PY<br />
enquiries@olivetreecentre.org.uk<br />
www.olivetreecentre.org.uk<br />
Registered Charity - Number 1075617<br />
Manna House Counselling Service<br />
CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING<br />
COURSES <strong>2021</strong><br />
Providing <strong>ACC</strong>/OCN training for<br />
pastoral workers and trainee<br />
counsellors<br />
L2 - Introduction to Christian<br />
Counselling<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> School 9 th – 14 th August/<br />
6 x Saturdays 4 th Sep - 20 th Nov <strong>2021</strong><br />
L4 - Diploma in Christian<br />
Counselling 2yrs p/t<br />
7 th September <strong>2021</strong> - 18 th July 2023<br />
For further information visit<br />
www.themannahouseonline.com<br />
Tel: 01604 633304 or email<br />
Training@mannahouse.org.uk<br />
Safeguarding for Counsellors<br />
Church Safeguarding Consultancy provides a<br />
professional consultancy service to churches, faith<br />
communities, counselling agencies, missions,<br />
charities, and not-for-profit organisations to assist in<br />
safeguarding children and adults.<br />
Our aim is to make our faith communities<br />
safer places for all.<br />
We offer support and advice, safeguarding training<br />
in child and adult protection, writing policies, review<br />
current & non-recent cases, audit, management<br />
investigation, risk assessment and supervision.<br />
For more information, please contact:<br />
Church Safeguarding Consultancy<br />
9 Shawbrook Close, Euxton, Chorley, PR7 6JY<br />
Telephone: 07761 486 764<br />
Email: Info@churchsafeguarding.com<br />
www.churchsafeguarding.com<br />
46 accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong> www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
In Touch<br />
Do you have a<br />
female friend or<br />
family member who<br />
is in need of some<br />
support?<br />
We’re here to help.<br />
www.waterlilyproject.org.uk<br />
The Water Lily Project is a registered<br />
Christian charity, who support women<br />
through divorce, bereavement, illness,<br />
depression/anxiety, financial difficulties,<br />
addictions, domestic abuse or mental<br />
health issues. During Covid-19 we can offer<br />
the following:<br />
• Online FREE 1:1 support, signposting to<br />
other organisations where needed<br />
• Online Prayer support or Companion<br />
Calls from Christian Volunteers<br />
• Craft/Card packs delivered to door to<br />
relieve boredom through lockdown<br />
• Online access to art/craft sessions, Cafe<br />
Church, Book Clubs etc.<br />
Based in Christchurch, Dorset<br />
For support call: 07507 890116<br />
Or email<br />
support@waterlilyproject.org.uk<br />
Counselling Together, is a Christian<br />
counselling service currently<br />
offering face to face and online<br />
counselling to clients in and around<br />
the New Forest. As a registered<br />
charity, we work closely with local<br />
churches to support the clients<br />
across the New Forest.<br />
We currently have spaces to take<br />
on new clients, face to face and<br />
remotely via Zoom. We also have a<br />
bursary fund that can be applied<br />
for subject to availability and<br />
assessment.<br />
For further details of what we can<br />
offer you, please contact us on<br />
07983 320450 or email<br />
counsellingtogether@yahoo.com.<br />
To see our full range of services<br />
please head to our website<br />
www.counsellingtogether.co.uk<br />
RESTORATION FOR<br />
ABUSED PEOPLE<br />
(R.A.P)<br />
COUNSELLING &<br />
ADVICE<br />
‘road to restoration’<br />
For the abused &<br />
Deprived from 14yrs RESTORATION & above. Within FOR<br />
Greater London ABUSED PEOPLE<br />
(R.A.P)<br />
COUNSELLING<br />
TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT for<br />
&<br />
counselling in areas of physical, ADVICE<br />
sexual, mental, spiritual, emotional<br />
Within Greater London<br />
abuse.<br />
With CBT/Person–centred/ TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT for<br />
Integrative/Biblical Counselling<br />
in areas of<br />
approach<br />
OR<br />
For the abused & Deprived from 14yrs & above.<br />
Physical, sexual, mental, spiritual, emotional abu<br />
With<br />
CBT/Person –centred/Integrative/Biblical Counselling app<br />
Advocacy on human rights & spiritual<br />
OR<br />
abuse – Regionally & internationally<br />
TEL: 0203 488 1847<br />
Mob: 0796 017 2928<br />
Email: info@rapcharity.co.uk<br />
Advocacy on Human rights & Spiritual Abuse –<br />
Regionally & internationally<br />
TEL: 020 – 34881847<br />
Mob: 07960172928<br />
Email: info@rapcharity.co.uk<br />
WWW.rapcharity.org./ co.uk<br />
WWW.rapcharity.org./ co.uk<br />
OPEN: TUES – THURS (10am – 4pm)<br />
Venues: Across London Borough of<br />
Newham (By appointments only,)<br />
Bear in mind! !! !!!<br />
We, are here as a shoulder to cry<br />
on. To listen & aid you out of your<br />
deprivation.<br />
OPEN: TUES – THURS (10am – 4pm)<br />
Venues: Across London Borough of Newham<br />
(By appointments only,)<br />
Bear in mind! !! !!!<br />
We, are here as a shoulder to cry on.<br />
To listen & aid you out of your deprivation.<br />
A friendly<br />
Counselling Centre for the<br />
wellbeing of the community<br />
Affordable counselling<br />
offered by a team of<br />
Christian Counsellors in<br />
Cheltenham Gloucestershire<br />
Email:<br />
Julie@ccccheltenham.org.uk<br />
for appointment or enquiries<br />
about our services.<br />
Welcome<br />
Counselling<br />
Service<br />
Based in<br />
Witney, our<br />
counsellors<br />
provide a<br />
professional<br />
service to people throughout<br />
Oxfordshire. They work with<br />
clients experiencing:<br />
Bereavement, Marriage <strong>Issue</strong>s,<br />
Anger, Addictions, Low Self-<br />
Confidence, Eating Disorders,<br />
Stress and Anxiety as well as<br />
other issues.<br />
For more information see<br />
www.thewelcomechurch.org.<br />
uk/counselling<br />
counselling@<br />
thewelcomechurch.org.uk<br />
The Haven<br />
Counselling<br />
Centre<br />
Ashby de la Zouch & Loughborough<br />
Registered Charity no. 1082850<br />
Patrons: Babette Rothschild and<br />
Divine Charura.<br />
Professional, confidential, shortand<br />
long-term counselling and<br />
therapy.<br />
Placements for students on 2nd<br />
year of degree or post graduate<br />
diploma courses<br />
(Level 5 and above).<br />
Full team positions for qualified<br />
therapists.<br />
www.thehavenashby.org.uk<br />
for details and application forms<br />
or contact: 01530 560921<br />
thehavencounselling@btconnect.com<br />
www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
47
Be ready to experience the difference<br />
MA in Therapeutic Counselling and Psychotherapy<br />
MA in Counselling<br />
Diploma in Counselling Supervision<br />
MA in Spiritual Formation*<br />
Postgraduate Certificates in:<br />
Chaplaincy<br />
Spiritual Direction<br />
Mentoring and Coaching*<br />
Pastoral Care<br />
Online<br />
Open Day<br />
Visit our online Open Day<br />
waverleyabbeycollege.ac.uk/online-open-day<br />
We are happy to answer your questions:<br />
Email: admissions@waverleyabbeycollege.ac.uk or call 01252 784731<br />
* On successful completion, students are able<br />
to apply for accreditation with the European<br />
Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC)<br />
We hold the EQA conferred by<br />
the EMCC for the Coaching<br />
and Mentoring module of the<br />
Spiritual Formation programme.<br />
QAA Reviewed<br />
Quality Assurance Agency<br />
for Higher Education<br />
waverleyabbeycollege.ac.uk<br />
Waverley Abbey College is the<br />
education division of CWR