A Word from Bob 

As with all of my resource posts, this post will continue to grow and develop. For example, my post on Embodied-Soul Resources started with 15 resources. It is now up to 100 resources. Today’s post started with 46 resources. Now we are at 50…and growing…

“Trauma” is a word, and an experience, that every Christian and every biblical counselor must reckon with. Because of this reality, I’ve collated the following resources on trauma, traumatic-suffering, and biblical counseling.

Obviously, I do not agree with every word of every resource listed here. Instead, I provide the following titles, links, and introductory summaries so that you have access to a cross-section of biblical perspectives on trauma for your life and ministry. I trust you to be “good Bereans” (Acts 17:10-11) who will search the Scriptures to assess content in each resource.

I provide resources from the following biblical counseling sources. The number in parenthesis indicate how many of the resources come from that biblical counseling entity. The numbers add up to more than the total number of resources because many entities overlap—such as CCEF and The Journal of Biblical Counseling.

• Leading biblical counseling groups: CCEF (15), ACBC (6), BCC (5), ABC (3), BCUK (1);
• Leading biblical counseling publications: The Journal of Biblical Counseling (7), and The Journal of Biblical Soul Care (1);
• Leading biblical counseling seminaries: Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (5), The Master’s University (3), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (3), Faith Bible Seminary/Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries (2), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1);
• Leading biblical counseling publishers: New Growth Press (5), P&R Publishing (3), Shepherd Press (1), Harvest House (1).

Two Introductory, Foundational Resources on Biblical Counseling and Trauma Care 

For an introduction to a biblical understanding of trauma care, I recommend starting with these two resources. 

Darby Strickland, Foundations of Trauma Care for Biblical Counselors 

In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, readers gain an understanding of what trauma is and why our ministry to trauma victims needs to be carefully structured from the outset. Darby Strickland charts a path for biblical counselors using Scripture, counseling illustrations, and the three foundations of trauma-informed care. She also offers tools readers can utilize in their counseling. 

Nate Brooks, Tate Cockrell, Brad Hambrick, Kristin Kellen, and Sam Williams, What Is Redemptive Counseling / Clinically Informed Biblical Counseling?

The purpose of this document from the biblical counseling faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is to describe ten core convictions of Redemptive Counselors (RC), also known as Clinically-Informed Biblical Counselors (CIBC). For an introduction to clinically-informed biblical counseling, this is an excellent place to begin. 

Thirty-Six Important Resources for Biblical Counseling and Traumatic-Suffering 

John Babler, Biblically Informed Trauma Care 

In this ACBC podcast, ACBC Executive Director Dale Johnson interviews John Babler who describes how “the concept of trauma is not foreign to the pages of Scripture. God is the one that provides healing, hope, and comfort.” 

John Babler, Counseling Those Impacted by Trauma 

In this ACBC podcast, Dale Johnson interviews John Babler who introduces listeners to his approach to trauma counseling. 

John Babler, PTSD, Memories, and Biblical Counseling

John Babler describes the purpose and focus of his ACBC Essay: “Almost anyone who struggles with the aftermath of a traumatic event will have some difficulty and concerns with memories of the event. Biblical counselors who understand traumatic events in general, and who have considered the biblical teaching on memories can provide effective counsel to those struggling with trauma. In this paper the author will present examples of actual traumatic events, provide an overview of the world’s approach to such events, and then suggest a model through which Christians can minister effectively to those who have been impacted by trauma.”

Ernie Baker, Discerning Trauma Informed Therapy 

This is the first of a two-part ACBC podcast where ACBC Executive Director Dale Johnson interviews biblical counselor Ernie Baker who teaches at The Master’s University and ministers at First Baptist Church of Jacksonville. In this podcast, Dr. Baker uses a seven-step process to assess trauma-informed therapy.

Ernie Baker, Engaging Trauma Biblically

In this second ACBC podcast with Dale Johnson and Ernie Baker, Pastor Baker discusses in what sense the Bible is trauma-informed, and how biblical counselors can minister Scripture as they work with those who have experienced traumatic suffering.

Brooks, Nate. The Bible Keeps Record of Trauma. But Is It Trauma Informed? 

In this Christianity Today article, biblical counselor Nate Brooks addresses the question of what it means to be trauma-informed, and how the Bible addresses trauma.

Nate Brooks and Ann Maree Goudzwaard, Emotional Abuse Harms the Body Too 

In this Biblical Counseling Coalition blog post, biblical counselors Nate Brooks and Ann Maree Goudzwaard explain that emotional abuse and physical abuse are inextricably intertwined, just as physical bodies and spiritual souls are intertwined. They then ask how a biblical theology of embodied-souls can help us to minister comprehensively to suffering people.

Barrett Craig. Help! I’ve Been Traumatized by Combat

Shepherd Press describes this trauma resource as follows: “For some veterans, the stress from combat becomes so overwhelming that it debilitates them, preventing them from carrying on in life. Relationships are affected, addictions begin, sleepless nights are frequent, and thoughts of suicide may seem attractive. This mini-book demonstrates that these responses are common. It also offers hope and practical help on a journey of restoration from the darkness of combat into the light of life.”

Dave Dunham, Helping Trauma Victims Read the Bible 

In this Biblical Counseling Coalition blog post, Dave Dunham explains that trauma impacts every aspect of a victim, including how they read the Bible. The horrors of trauma can become a primary lens through which people read the Bible, distorting and coloring the text in destructive ways. Faithful biblical counselors will need to help trauma victims learn to read the Bible from God’s perspective instead of their own. Reading Scripture through the lens of their trauma is a common experience for victims. In fact, in some circles, it is applauded as a literary approach, and in some therapies, it is commended as a meaningful contribution to an individual’s processing of their own story. It’s worth considering this hermeneutic for a moment.

Greg Gifford, Does the Body Keep the Score? Biblical Counseling and the Body 

In this Journal of Biblical Soul Care article, Greg Gifford contends that, “In response to The Body Keeps the Score position, biblical counselors must ask the question, ‘According to the Bible, can the body actually keep the score?’ If the body keeps the score, what score does the body actually keep? It is the conclusion of this essay that the body only causes physical responses and can only influence immaterial responses—of note, the body never causes immaterial responses.”

Brad Hambrick, A Reflection on The Body Keeps the Score, Trauma, and Counseling 

Biblical counselor Brad Hambrick explains his focus in this Biblical Counseling Coalition blog post: “My goal in this article is not to pull the ‘greatest hit’ from a 400-page book, as if trauma care could be reduced to a one hit wonder. My goal is to highlight an aspect of the experience of trauma that makes the verb ‘counseling’ (interpersonal relationship) as important as the noun ‘counsel’ (the content of our advice) in the care of those who have been traumatized. My hope is that as biblical counselors we will strive to be as excellent a student of the experience of our counselee as we are the advisements that emerge from Scripture so that we will be an ever more accurate ambassador of Christ who understands deeply (Rom. 8:26) for the purpose of interceding accurately (Rom. 8:27).

John Henderson, Trauma and a Review of The Body Keeps the Score

In this MP3 from the Faith Biblical Counseling Conference, John Henderson provides a balanced assessment of The Body Keeps the Score.

John Henderson, Brent Aucoin, and Janet Aucoin, Hope for Adult Survivors of Severe Trauma 

This MP3 package of the 2024 Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry Preconference on Hope for Adult Survivors of Severe Trauma includes 6 sessions: 1.) Defining Trauma Biblically. 2.) Experience and Expression of Trauma from Childhood. 3.) The Body Truly Matters and the Heart Truly Matters. 4.) Handling the Past Biblically (Applied to Severe Childhood Abuse). 5.) Ministry of the Word to Survivors of Childhood Trauma. 6.) Hope for Adult Survivors of Severe Trauma Case Study. 

Justin Holcomb and Lindsey Holcomb. Children and Trauma: Equipping Parents and Caregivers 

In this New Growth Press booklet, authors “Justin and Lindsey Holcomb help parents and caregivers recognize the signs of trauma and guide them in stepping into children’s lives and demonstrating Jesus’ care and protection for them. The compassionate response of parents or caregivers can help children who have experienced trauma to access spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.”

Eliza Huie, Trauma Aware: A Christian Guide to Providing Help and Care 

Here’s the Harvest House description of Trauma Aware by biblical counselor Eliza Huie. “Eliza Huie equips readers with biblical foundations and clinical insights to help them better understand trauma and offer care to those suffering from its debilitating effects. Trauma can entangle the soul, freeze the body, and cloud the mind. In the face of this struggle, Trauma Aware serves as an accessible guide that will provide readers with practical direction on a path to recovery.”

Tim Lane, PTSD: Healing for Bad Memories

CCEF describes this booklet by then CCEF Executive Director Tim Lane as follows, “The event occurred in the past, possibly many years ago, but you still carry it with you wherever you go. Some days the memory keeps replaying over and over again in your mind. You feel angry, jumpy, even guilty, or ashamed. You want to move on with your life and wonder why you can’t just ‘get over it.’ With wisdom and compassion, Tim Lane walks with readers through this difficult struggle.”

Diane Langberg, Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores 

Though she would not describe herself as a biblical counselor, this is an important Christian resource for biblical counselors to engage with. Here is the book description by New Growth Press: “Dr. Langberg calls all of those who wish to help sufferers to model Jesus’s sacrificial love and care in how they listen, love, and guide. The heart of God is revealed to sufferers as they grow to understand the cross of Christ and how their God came to this earth and experienced such severe suffering that he too is ‘well-acquainted with grief.’ The cross of Christ is the lens that transforms and redeems traumatic suffering and its aftermath, not only for the sufferer, but it also transforms those who walk with the suffering.” Additional Note: Biblical counselor Mike Emlet, of CCEF, provides this endorsement. “Diane Langberg brings to these moving essays decades of experience working with trauma survivors in the US and abroad. This is no arms-length reflection on the nature of human suffering. Throughout, she repeatedly points her readers to Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant, who is the only hope for victim and perpetrator alike—and for the counselor who desires to be used by God to make a difference amidst terrible brokenness and sin.”

Jeremy Lelek, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Recovering Hope

Here is the P&R Publishing description of this biblical counseling booklet, by ABC President Jeremy Lelek, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—a profoundly intense response to profoundly dangerous experiences, manifests itself in fear, terrifying vulnerability, and lack of a sense of control. While these responses are often involuntary, Jeremy Lelek reminds readers that they are still responses, and, thus, different responses are possible. Here he relates the narrative of creation, fall, and redemption to the experiences of PTSD, reminding readers that the gospel speaks to their experiences with danger as part of its redemptive message. He points to the wisdom of God in our suffering and reminds us of the saving grace offered by Jesus, guiding readers to the peace and contentment found in seeking God’s glory.”

Esther Liu, Bringing Hope in the Aftermath of Trauma: Danielle’s Story

In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, biblical counselor Esther Liu uses the story of a woman named Danielle, to describe how a trauma victim can develop ways of living that cause them to feel different and isolated from other people. These patterns are often resistant to change and can lead to deep discouragement and loneliness. Liu reminds us that Scripture is a story of hope, and she describes the specific passages that helped Danielle believe that hope is for her, too.

Chris Moles, Contributive, Not Causative: Trauma-Informed Biblical Care for Those Who Have Abused Others 

In this CCEF audio, Chris Moles explains that education and accountability are critical to confronting abusers, but what are we to do when the abuser has been a victim of abuse as well? Does the Bible offer hope and practical care for those who must wrestle with the complexities of the cruelty they have experienced, which they now perpetrate on others? In this breakout, we will consider a theologically-grounded approach to understanding and addressing past trauma that also calls abusers to own and repent of present acts of abuse.

New Growth Press, Trauma and Abuse Mini-Book Packet

The New Growth Press Trauma and Abuse Mini-book Sample Pack features one each of 13 New Growth Press mini-book titles. In it, you will find a wealth of practical, biblical help for trauma sufferers, abuse victims, and those who seek to help. Topics covered include protecting children from abuse, caring for abuse survivors, a biblical response to abusers, and PTSD. Each mini-book is small enough for the average reader to finish in less than thirty minutes and filled with the practical help that pastors, counselors, and believers around the world have come to trust. The following books are included: Bringing Christ to Abused Women, Caring for Survivors of Sexual Abuse, Children & Trauma, Domestic Abuse, Living with an Angry Spouse, Protecting Children from Abuse in the Church, PTSD, Recovering from Child Abuse, Sexual Assault, The Spiritual Impact of Sexual Abuse, Uncovering Domestic Abuse, What the Bible Says to Abuse Survivors and Those Who Hurt Them, and When Children Experience Trauma.

Curtis Solomon, I Have PTSD: Reorienting after Trauma 

In this New Growth Press mini-book, biblical counselor, SBTS professor, and BCC Executive Director Curtis Solomon “helps those who have suffered the disorienting effects of a traumatic experience to reorient their lives to the path God has for them.”

Darby Strickland, Finding Refuge: Helping Those Who Re-Experience Traumatic Memories 

This Journal of Biblical Counseling article focuses on how to recognize and help those whose traumatic memories intrude into their everyday lives in vivid and debilitating ways. Biblical counselor Darby Strickland shares about God’s heart for these sufferers and how to help those whose episodes can be so severe that they feel like they are re-experiencing their trauma all over again.

Darby Strickland, Something Scary Happened: Helping Children with Trauma

Biblical counselor Darby Strickland, in this New Growth Press booklet, “uses the story of Miles to help parents and caregivers share the comfort of taking their fears to the good Shepherd by applying Psalm 23 to difficult experiences. Through a special section at the end of the book, Strickland helps parents recognize the feelings and behaviors children might have in response to their trauma and guides them in how to help children talk about what scared them.”

Darby Strickland, Trauma: Caring for Survivors 

Darby Strickland, in this P&R Publishing booklet, “helps counselors and helpers to understand trauma and its effects so they can offer compassion and comfort that is both biblical and trauma informed. She presents the foundations of trauma care, so that readers can address the impact of a sufferer’s experience, ensure the safety and stability of the survivor, and build trust with the hurting. These tools will help counselors and helpers to restore a sufferer to flourishing in their love for God and others. In this way, those who counsel trauma sufferers along the perilous journey of recovery can emulate our good and ultimate Guide . . . and learn to trust him for the results.”

Darby Strickland, Trauma and Relational Hypervigilance 

In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, Darby Strickland explains that, “When someone is traumatized in a relationship (e.g., betrayed, rejected, abused), they may become relationally hypervigilant. To protect themselves from further pain, they develop a heightened and pervasive watchfulness that can damage relationships even with people who have not hurt them. Developing trust and moving forward is difficult, even with a caring helper, so Darby Strickland provides guidance to help you get started.” 

Darby Strickland, When Children Experience Trauma: Help for Parents and Caregivers 

New Growth Press describes this booklet as follows, “Biblical counselor Darby Strickland wants parents to know that they are just the right person to help their child. After a traumatic event, a parent’s shepherding can play a vital role in their child’s healing—helping them to feel loved by you and the Lord. You can help children navigate their fears, guide them through their distress, and assist their recovery. Your child does not need you to be an expert in trauma; your child needs you to engage with them as they suffer, pointing the way toward hope and healing.”

Todd Stryd, Psalms 129, 130, and 131: A Framework for Trauma Care 

In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, biblical counselor Todd Stryd offers a biblical framework to help people who have experienced trauma. “The Bible is about recovery,” says Stryd. He asserts that Psalms 129, 130, and 131 form a liturgy of recovery that can help a person work through what happened to them and begin to heal. He shows how this liturgy works with a case study and ends with the recognition that Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Psalms, is everything we need to be made whole again and recover from trauma.

Todd Stryd, “Take a Deep Breath”— How Counseling Ministry Addresses the Body  

In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, Todd Stryd’s aim “is to give due attention to our bodies because they are relevant to thoughtful Christian living, and to locate breathing interventions within a biblical-theological framework. This task requires us to navigate extra-biblical information while remaining faithful to the core tenets of our Christian commitments.”

Joni Eareckson Tada, Crisis and Trauma Counseling 

In this Biblical Counseling Coalition interview, Joni Eareckson Tada shares her approach to trauma counseling.

Paul Tautges, Redeeming Trauma 

In this four-part sermon series preached by Pastor Paul Tautges, he “demonstrates how traumatic suffering is openly discussed in the Bible, how God invites us to bring all our hurts to Him in lament, and how our ultimate healing is in Christ.”

Helen Thorne and Steve Midgley, Mental Health and Your Church: A Handbook for Biblical Care (A Ministry Guide to Mental Illness, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and Addiction)

The Good Book Company describes this book as, “This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, psychiatrist and Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It helps readers understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health—including traumatic-suffering.”

Ed Welch, Blame It on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience

In this revised and updated 2024 P&R Publishing edition, Ed Welch examines varieties of brain dysfunction, psychiatric problems, and more, while giving scriptural principles for helping sufferers and discerning between bodily weakness and sin.

Ed Welch, Counseling the Body: First Steps for Holistic Soul Care

In this article at Desiring God, Ed Welch develops an introductory theology of the embodied-soul, with a special focus on the role of our physical brain and the complicated interaction between our physical brain and our metaphysical mind.

Ed Welch, PTSD and Trauma 

In this brief CCEF blog post, Ed Welch asks and answers the question, Scripture speaks in depth to human suffering, but does its reach extend to trauma?

Ed Welch, Trauma and the Body: An Introduction to Three Books

Coming to terms with the pain of past traumas is a perennial concern for counselors, pastors, and all believers. In this Journal of Biblical Counseling article, Ed Welch introduces readers to three important books on the topic of trauma. He provides a selective summary of the most relevant information from these texts so that readers can both learn from the authors’ careful research and think Christianly about non-Christian literature. The three books are: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk; Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery; and Antonio Damasio’s The Feeling of What Happens.

Twelve Biblical Counseling and Traumatic-Suffering Resources by Me (Bob Kellemen)

Bob Kellemen, 6 Biblical Counseling Convictions 

While I believe that trauma is a vital issue for biblical counselors to understand and gain competencies in addressing, I do not describe myself as “trauma-informed.” In this article, I develop an 18-word description of my approach to biblical counseling: Gospel-Centered/Christ-Centered, Theologically-Saturated, Relationship-Focused, Church History-Informed, Research-Aware Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls. 

Bob Kellemen, 100 Free Resources for Counseling the Whole Person: Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls 

What does the Bible teach about the body, the embodied-soul, traumatic-suffering, common grace, science, neuroscience, and research? As the title indicates, this resource provides links and introductions to 100 free resources on these trauma-related topics.

Bob Kellemen, The Body Keeps the Score; The Embodied-Soul Calculates the Cost 

When traumatic-suffering strikes, Satan seeks to crop Christ out of the picture. Unlike Solomon in Ecclesiastes, but like Paul in 2 Corinthians, we crop Christ back into the picture. We do some spiritual mathematics, and we draw some biblical conclusions. We crop God’s comfort, Christ’s resurrection power, and our eternal hope back into the picture. We encapsulate our embodied-soul response to trauma like this: 1.) The body keeps the score; the embodied-soul calculates the cost. 2.) The body remembers the past; the embodied-soul remembers our eternal future hope. 3.) The body remembers past traumatic suffering; the embodied-soul remembers the end of the story.

Bob Kellemen, “Buzz Words” (“Holistic,” “Clinically-Informed”) and Humble, Gracious Discernment in Biblical Counseling 

If we do not carefully listen and read, we can misunderstand our fellow biblical counselors. If we are not careful in our words, we can mischaracterize our fellow biblical counselors. This post counsels biblical counselors to be humble, gracious, and discerning in our interactions with fellow biblical counselors—and to allow one another to define our own terms.

Bob Kellemen, Clinically-Informed Biblical Counseling: 3 Reflections and 2 Recommendations 

In this post, I encourage all clinically-informed biblical counselors to continue to build upon two foundational commitments: 1.) Theologically-saturated biblical counseling must inform clinically-informed biblical counseling. 2.) God’s Word is the necessary, authoritative, and sufficient foundation for assessing the world’s information.

Bob Kellemen: The Gospels, Traumatic Suffering, and the Embodied-Soul 

The life of Christ told in the four Gospels provides us with a biblical narrative of Jesus—the Man of Traumatic-Suffering, the Soul Physician of the Suffering, and Our Sympathetic High Priest. This article provides links to a free 50-page resource on the Gospels and traumatic-suffering.

Bob Kellemen, INC: Informed Nouthetic Counseling 

In this post, I begin collating historical information supporting the fact that the modern nouthetic biblical counseling movement has always been: INC—Informed Nouthetic Counseling. It has always been: 1.) BINC: Behaviorism-Informed Nouthetic Counseling; 2.) SNINC: Science/Neuroscience-Informed Nouthetic Counseling; 3.) PINC: Psychology-Informed Nouthetic Counseling; 4.) CGINC: Common Grace-Informed Nouthetic Counseling; and 5.) CBRINC: Co-Belligerent-Research-Informed Nouthetic Counseling.

Bob Kellemen, Jesus Empathizes with Your Traumatic-Suffering

This resource applies Gospel passages to our traumatic-suffering by showing how Jesus sympathizes with our suffering, sorrow, sadness, temptations, trials, troubles, wants, weaknesses, and wailings—physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and spiritually. 

Bob Kellemen, Non-Clinically-Informed Biblical Counseling: 2 Reflections and 4 Recommendations 

There are people who describe themselves as a biblical counselor, but eschew  the additional label of “clinically-informed.” In this post, I encourage non-clinically-informed biblical counselors to: 1.) Honestly recognize and admit that we all are informed by more than just the Bible; 2.) Honestly and accurately speak about our clinically-informed biblical counseling brothers and sisters; 3.) Humbly respond to, interact with, and learn from those who choose to call themselves clinically-informed biblical counselors; 4.) Humbly engage with extra-biblical literature—assessing its potential helpfulness under the lens of Scripture—as the modern nouthetic biblical counseling movement has always done. 

Bob Kellemen, Ponderings About Being a “____-Informed Biblical Counselor”

This post started as a Twitter/X thread. Here’s my introductory tweet: In #BibleCn these days, there’s some level of controversy over the issue of being a “hyphenated-biblical counselor.” That is, being a: “____-informed-biblical counselor. Perhaps it’s a “trauma-informed biblical counselor.” Or a “neuroscience-informed biblical counselor.” Or a “trauma-informed biblical counselor.” Let’s ponder this together…

Bob Kellemen, Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes 

Sexual Abuse: Beauty for Ashes provides readers with a Christ-centered, comprehensive, and compassionate understanding of the trauma of sexual abuse. It walks with readers through 2 Samuel 13:1-19 on a journey with Tamar. Tamar and the readers journey from a loss of faith, hope, love, and peace to a place of faith in the midst of doubt, hope in the midst of evil, love in the midst of sin, and peace in the midst of shame—all by Christ’s grace.

Bob Kellemen, What Does Ecclesiastes Teach Us About How We View Traumatic-Suffering? 

The wise and the fool both observe life under the sun. However, only the wise person can interpret life in Christ—under the Son. Ecclesiastes teaches us the stark difference between how the wise and the foolish interpret traumatic suffering in our fallen world. When we experience the pain of trauma, we either despair as we view life under the sun, or we find hope as we view life in the Son.