| Mary Ragan, Ph.D., on Diving Into
the Wreck. How are chaplains coping with their
increasing need for self-healing as they daily
confront pain and trauma?
Diving
Into the Wreck – Part 2
All
in Due Time
This week Mary Ragan, Ph.D., director of the
Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute in New
York City, continues her discussion of the traumas
confronted by chaplains and options for self-healing.
The essay’s title, “Diving Into the Wreck,” is
taken from the poem of the same name by Adrienne
Rich, who writes:
I came to explore
the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
And the treasures that prevail. [in The Fact of A Doorframe.
Norton, 1984]
Since clergy and other religious professionals
are often first-responders in trauma situations,
issues of self-care and nurturance become ever
more urgent. Helpers in general, and clergy in
particular, tend to be slow to recognize their
own needs and to respond effectively in a timely
manner. While it is generally true that more
immediate interventions facilitate a better prognosis
for healing, it was also made clear in this chaplains’
group [who were all involved in large-incident
trauma—many in the World Trade Center tragedy—and
met monthly with the author beginning in fall
2003] that many of them would have been unable
to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 before now.
They needed distance from the event and an opportunity
to understand what had happened to them in a
private way before “going public.”
For some, speaking of the experiences related to these catastrophic events
could only be done effectively with those who had shared the same experience.
They were especially sensitive to any kind of conversation that suggested an
exploitation of the pain of others through telling the story in any way that
capitalized on its dramatic content without protecting the sacred privacy of
both the living and the dead.
Carrie Doehring’s book Taking Care is a helpful resource regarding
the issues of self-care. The challenge of staying in touch with the humanity
of the other and with one’s own humanity by monitoring movements toward disengagement
or merger is clearly presented in her work.
Mary Ragan Ph.D., CSW is a senior staff
therapist at the Psychotherapy & Spirituality
Institute in New York City. She is an adjunct
faculty member
at General Theological Seminary and Fordham University.
The subject of her doctoral dissertation was
the psychotherapy of traumatic grief.
Do you have thoughts about spiritual development
you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send
an e-mail of any length to info@PlainViews.org.
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