Bringing trauma-informed understanding into Christian theology, pastoral care and worship
Trauma affects how people experience themselves, their relationships, their faith and their place within Christian communities. Yet its impact is not always recognised or understood, and well-intentioned pastoral responses can sometimes deepen distress rather than offer the care and support people need.
Trauma-informed theology brings psychological understanding of trauma into conversation with Christian theology and pastoral practice. It asks how our understanding of God, our interpretation of Scripture, our practices of worship and our relationships within the church can respond more thoughtfully to the experiences of trauma survivors.
This website brings together research, theological reflection and practical resources to help Christian worshipping communities become more trauma-informed. It also offers training and opportunities for pastoral leaders and professionals to develop their understanding and practice.
Start Exploring
Discover more about trauma-informed theology, the impact of trauma and how greater understanding can help develop safer, more compassionate Christian worshipping communities.
Explore how psychological understandings of trauma and Christian theology can inform pastoral care, worship and the life of Christian communities.
Learn about trauma, its psychological, emotional and physical effects, and how these experiences can shape relationships, faith and everyday life.
Read articles and reflections exploring the relationship between trauma, Christian faith, theology and pastoral practice.
Free Resources
Develop your understanding of trauma and discover practical ways to create safer, more compassionate Christian worshipping communities.
Explore a growing collection of free, downloadable guides designed to support trauma-informed approaches to Christian faith, worship and pastoral care.
Start exploring today, download your free resources and take the next step towards trauma-informed practice.
Joanna Naomi Douglas
Joanna Naomi Douglas is a practising Christian, PhD researcher and speaker working at the intersection of trauma, theology and pastoral practice. Her doctoral research explores the experiences of Christian trauma survivors living with trauma-related dissociative disorders and how their experiences can inform a trauma-informed theological and therapeutic framework for pastoral practice in Christian worshipping communities.
Through her research, writing and training, Joanna seeks to bridge the gap between theological scholarship, psychological understandings of trauma, safeguarding practice and the lived experiences of trauma survivors. Her work explores how Christian theology, worship and pastoral care can respond more thoughtfully to trauma, helping worshipping communities develop more compassionate, informed and responsible approaches to care.
Joanna is passionate about equipping Christian communities and pastoral leaders to engage with trauma in ways that take both the complexity of trauma and the importance of faith seriously.
Training and Workshops
Where trauma, theology and practice meet, new possibilities emerge for understanding, responding to and supporting those affected by trauma.
Joanna Naomi Douglas delivers specialist trauma-informed training and workshops that bring psychological insight into conversation with Christian theology, safeguarding and pastoral practice.
Designed for churches, Christian organisations, safeguarding professionals and pastoral leaders, Joanna’s training explores how trauma shapes experiences of faith, relationships, belonging and participation in Christian communities.
Grounded in research, theological reflection and the lived experiences of trauma survivors, each session offers critical insight and practical approaches to strengthening trauma-informed awareness, safeguarding practice and compassionate responses within Christian settings.
Training and workshops can be tailored to the specific needs and contexts of individual organisations.
