Date

5-25-2023

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Fernando Garzon

Keywords

multicultural sensitivity, religiously accommodative treatments, Internal Family Systems, Inner Healing Prayer, multiple trauma, childhood trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression

Disciplines

Counseling

Abstract

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a non-pathologizing psychospiritual therapeutic model in which “all parts are welcome.” Christian Inner Healing Prayer (CIHP) is an intervention that invites an authentic experience with the Divine to address inner wounds. Both methods are touted as beneficial to clients with trauma histories. However, IFS is an evidenced based treatment while only preliminary research on CIHP has been done. Several efforts to create a Christian cultural accommodation of IFS have been authored; two implicitly reference CIHP. None have been researched. This study is an N of 1 time series study of the efficacy of IFS with CIHP religious accommodation on symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, effects to hope, forgiveness, Self access, Self leadership, Self qualities, love of self, and love of God were investigated utilizing multiple psycho-metric instruments and measures. The study’s results demonstrated IFS/eCIHP significantly correlated with a decrease in post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in a small group of N-of-1 Christian clients with histories of childhood trauma. Simultaneously, increases in Self access, Self-leadership, Self-qualities, hope, love of self, and love of God were documented in that same group of participants after eight sessions of treatment. However, IFS/eCIHP did not correlate with evidenced increased forgiveness for the participants. Future research recommendations are made.

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