Florida Catholic | Spiritual Healing for Sexual Abuse Survivors

Spiritual healing for survivors of sexual abuse

The Diocese of St. Petersburg is addressing the issue of helping sexual abuse victims heal by setting up a 10-session program starting in mid-January that survivors of abuse can attend.

CARLOS BRICENO | FLORIDA CATHOLIC ST. PETERSBURG BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 01.11.08

Carol Mitchell, 727-492-8315, or Marti Zeitz at
1-866-407-4505

ST. PETERSBURG | Carol Mitchell knows the statistics and they don’t paint a pretty picture: One in every three women and one in every four to six men experience some kind of sexual abuse, she said.

These people end up feeling wounded. And terrified. And often don’t trust God after their abuse, she said.

“One of the things that happens with sexual abuse is trust gets shattered and connection gets shattered,” said Mitchell, who added that she was sexually abused when she was a youth. “That happens on a human level and it happens on a spiritual level. Trust in God gets shattered. Very few have belief in God. Their image of God gets shattered and they feel that God may not be trustworthy because God let this happen. And yet, this thing that happened is so horrible that only God could heal it.”

The diocese is addressing the issue of helping sexual abuse victims heal by setting up a 10-session program starting in mid-January that survivors of abuse can attend.

“What we try to do, rather than preach God stuff to them, is help them explore their spirituality,” said Mitchell, a trained spiritual director and retreat leader with a background in psychology who will be a facilitator for the program. “(We help them explore) who is the God I can believe in. Who is God for me now that this has happened?”

She explained that the meetings won’t be group therapy, but rather the focus will be on spiritual and psychological support. Anonymity and confidentiality will be emphasized, she added.

The group is open to all survivors of sexual abuse, and people from any faith tradition — or no faith tradition — will be welcomed.

Marti Zeitz, the diocesan victim assistance minister, will be the other facilitator. Zeitz was hired by the diocese in 2003 following the clergy sexual abuse scandals that rocked the church. She said some sexual abuse survivors go to therapists who address their psychological and emotional wounds, but the spiritual aspects are not addressed.

“The purpose of this group is to focus on healing that aspect of the trauma,” she said. “We’re not trying to get people back to the church or get people into the church. We’re just trying to help them heal and to get them to know that God has been with them in their suffering and wants them to heal.”

Zeitz pointed out the healing group is not only for those who have been abused by members of the clergy, but anyone who has suffered sexual abuse.

The diocese has sponsored healing groups for the past several years and she said they are “graced experiences” and show “how close God can be to people in their sufferings — even when they don’t know it or understand it.”

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