Date
11-13-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Michael Howard
Keywords
Attachment, Religion, Spirituality, Trauma, Institutionism, God Representations, Religous Rituals, Faith Development
Disciplines
Christianity | Counseling
Recommended Citation
Perry, Tonya B., "Ministerial Perspectives on Approaches to Caring for a Traumatized Congregant to Enhance Spiritual Development" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7623.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7623
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe experienced Christian Ministers’ experiences caring for a traumatized congregant from various countries worldwide. The criterion for participation was an experienced minister with 15 years of experience, at least 40 years old, and who ministered to three types of traumas. The two main theories guiding this study were Bowlby’s (1969, 1982) attachment theory and Fowler’s (1981) development of faith with references to Erickson’s (1958/1962) psychosocial development, Maslow’s (1954) Hierarchy, and cognitive behavior theory (Beck, 1952; Ellis, 1962). The three main research questions were: How does an experienced Christian minister describe their experiences while caring for a traumatized congregant? How do experienced Christian ministers describe the challenges of working with traumatized congregants? How do experienced Christian ministers describe from their experience the most effective approach to working with traumatized congregants? The data was collected utilizing in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended personal interviews with 12 ministers, selected by a purposeful, criterion sampling method. The data analysis process began with bracketing and memoing throughout the interviews and then involved multiple layers, beginning with audio and video transcription, member checking, horizontalization, triangulation, open coding, imagination variation, and constant comparison of emerging themes and groupings. Four themes emerged: Theme 1: Experiences, Theme 2: Challenges, Theme 3: Approaches, and Theme 4: Diverging Thoughts. The implications of this study apply to all ministers, the church community, counselors, and anyone caring for the traumatized.
