Child Sexual Trauma, Dissociation, and the Soul: A Christian Psychology Conceptualization

Over the past 30 years, the field of knowledge and insight into the phenomenon of structural or pathological dissociation has grown immensely. Recent findings have shed light on the etiology of complex traumatic stress disorders (CTSDs) like dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the intimate connection between chronic childhood sexual trauma and the persistent barriers to psychotherapeutic remediation in adult survivors. Modern scientific and theoretical advances notwithstanding, Christian counselors and pastors who counsel may benefit from a conceptualization of severe dissociative disorders, their treatment, and therapeutic outcomes that entails a thoroughgoing Christian perspective. This integrative task requires a broad survey of the pertinent psychological literature in the light of the Bible’s teaching on interpersonal suffering, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the healing power of the triune God