Hannah House Spotlight by Jessica Smith
If you’re like me, the first time I heard the word holistic, I basically tossed it aside because I had no idea what it meant. By definition, holistic means to be characterized by the belief that the parts of something are interconnected and can be explained only by reference to the whole.
When talking about the whole person, it refers to every part—physical, emotional, and spiritual. I’ve only been able to embrace this since working for CLDI for the last two years. On a daily basis, we engage people and the reciprocations of the trauma they have endured. And, as a community, we strive to approach the brokenness we encounter with holistic methods.
A We often look at a person who’s experiencing hardship and try to diagnose them. But beneath external factors is a lifetime of hurts, abuse, neglect, addiction, etc. It’s really easy to judge a person for their actions instead of the reasons behind why they may be responding one way or another.
When approaching trauma at the Hannah House, we first start by laying a foundation of trust and acceptance with the women. We start by relationally getting to know each individual woman and child. We just listen and share love.
The next step to dealing with trauma is empowerment. Letting each person know that their trauma doesn’t define them and that they are not alone as they go through this healing.
We point them in healthy directions to get help with counseling and therapy so that they can physically and emotionally heal from the past.
The Hannah House directly works with the women spiritually to help them heal. We hold small group studies, offer discipleship programs, and host Thursday night bible study for everyone to attend.
We also require the women in our program to work through a relapse prevention book called The Genesis Process. Over the course of
Five months, the workbook guides women through processing their past and equips them to turn lies they’ve believed into spiritual truths rooted in God’s promises.
Recovery is about a complete lifestyle change and must be approached holistically if it’s going to bring about lasting change.
