PTSD & Psalm Twenty-Three: Coming Up out of PTSDs Trench will draw you into the very essence of post-traumatic stress disorder. Robert Scholten does this through vivid word pictures and clarity of writing that touch hearts and minds. Roberts passion and compassion for veterans and families struggling with PTSD opens new avenues of understanding for a very misunderstood reality of life. Robert survived Vietnam without a scratch as a gunner on a Duster attached to the 173rd Infantry Airborne. However, he was unaware of an internal wound. He left Vietnam, but Vietnam never left him. His journey through PTSD will amaze you. Robert buried everything negative about Vietnam. He never talked about the bloodshed. It was imprisoned under lock and key deep in his soul, never to see the light of day. Nearly forty years after his tour of Vietnam, Robert fell prey to PTSD. In November of 2007, Robert was admitted into the Lexington, Kentucky, VAs six-week, clinical, in-house PTSD rehabilitation program. He remains under their care. Up from that experience, and through the years since, he has felt compelled to bear his soul in hopes of assisting other PTSD sufferers, and those who care about them.

Prepare for a journey unlike any other as you step into the darkened realms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In Psalm 25 & PTSD, war veteran Robert Scholten does the unthinkable by giving readers access into hidden chambers of his life, which was forever changed by the Vietnam War. Robert analyzes each passage of Psalm 25 in relation to his struggles with PTSD, and his vivid word pictures will keep readers captivated along his passage through a seemingly hopeless domain without exits. Psalm 25 & PTSD is an unforgettable experience of hope for PTSD sufferers and those who love them. 'Scholten's book pulls readers into the very pitfalls of combat veterans. It is a must read for veterans with PTSD and anyone attempting to understand them.' —Sgt. David McCray, Section Chief, C Btry 4th/60th Arty & E-41st Arty, First Field Force Vietnam-1971 'The dilemma of being a good soldier and a godly man is a lesson for every veteran. Giving voice to recollections of his time in country, Robert bares his soul, challenging each of us to serve our country and each other.' —Robert B. Woolley M.D. Psychiatrist, Clinical PTSD Department, Veterans Affairs Hospital, Lexington, Kentucky

The Lord is My Shepherd; A 12 Step Journey through Psalm 23 is a recovery workbook and bible study. David's personal pronouns in Psalm 23 draws us in to experience God's loving care as our Good Shepherd. We fall in love with Jesus as we come to see ourselves as his beloved sheep. Within the safety of this intimate relationship we take an honest look at ourselves, our thoughts, our behaviors, our feelings, and our problems. The 12 Steps and Pslam 23 when studied together provide the perfect material for this comprehensive recovery process. Whether it's recovery from alcohol and other drug use/abuse, codependency, mental health disorders, process addictions, trauma, or pain from your past, the material is appropriate and designed to heal. Each week includes a wellness recovery action plan and relapse prevention material. It's as if Psalm 23 and The 12 Steps were meant to be studied together. Every line in David's poem is studied for 4 weeks along with one of the 12 Steps. Because there are 12 lines in Psalm 23 and 12 Steps, the material takes us through a 12 month journey. There's no better way to work the 12 Steps than to be guided, comforted, and restored by the Lord as your Shepherd. It's a beautiful recovery journey that will pleasantly surprise you at every turn. As a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor with over 20 years experience I can attest to the positive value of this material. Churches, homeless shelters, sober living recovery homes, counseling centers, therapists and individuals use this recovery workbook and bible study resulting in the life-changing knowledge that "He restores my soul."

The bestselling guide to the healing wisdom of the Twenty-Third Psalm—from the beloved author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People. “A book worthy of attention from people of all faiths.” —The Dallas Morning News Rabbi Harold Kushner has found that the simple, beautiful verses of perhaps the most memorable and cherished chapter of the Bible—full of honesty and optimism—have an almost magical power to comfort and calm—and to change your life. The psalm does not pretend that life is ever easy, but it offers a masterful guide to living in the world with faith and courage. Drawing on over forty years of his own thinking, on other biblical scholars, and on history, Kushner gracefully demonstrates how this sustaining work can help us cope with every aspect of life, from mundane jealousies to the death of a loved one to unimaginable tragedies of global proportions.

Walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey explores the landscape of our fear, trauma, and faith. When she stepped through her own wilderness of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, K.J. discovered that courage is not the absence of anxiety but the practice of trusting we will be held and loved no matter what. How can we cultivate courage when fear overshadows our lives? How do we hear the Voice of Love when hate and harm shout loud? This book offers an honest path to finding that there is still a Good Shepherd who is always following you. Braiding contemplative storytelling, theological reflection, and practical neuroscience, Ramsey reveals a route into connection and joy that begins right where you are. The Lord is My Courage is for the deconstructing and the dreamers, the afraid and the amazed, for those whose fear has not been fully shepherded but who can't seem to stop listening for their Good Shepherd's Voice.

In today’s world, trauma and traumatic loss are increasingly common. This book surveys the important constructs, concepts, and dynamics of trauma, loss, grief, and growth, offering resources and strategies that ministers and other spiritual caregivers can use as they support and facilitate people in their journey from trauma recovery to grief work to spiritual growth. The book presents a framework for understanding the interrelationship between trauma recovery work, grief work, and spiritual growth. The author argues that each of these components is essential for a full and complete healing from trauma and traumatic losses and that they work together in the ongoing process of healing. Traumas and traumatic losses are times of “crisis” in the sense that they are turning points in people’s lives; people can either grow through the experience or decline under the weight of their unbearable sorrow and anxiety. How people handle traumas and significant losses may be the most important variable in their psychological, relational, and spiritual health. The author gives special attention to describing ways in which God might draw close to the traumatized and bereaved in their process of recovery and healing.

Over the last few decades, the field of trauma studies has shed new light on biblical texts that deal with individual and collective catastrophe. In The Language of Trauma in the Psalms, Danilo Verde advances the conversation, moving beyond the emphasis on healing that prevails in most literary trauma studies. Using the lens of cognitive linguistics and combining insights from trauma studies and redaction criticism, Verde explores how trauma is expressed linguistically in the book of Psalms, how trauma-related language was rooted in ancient Israel’s external realities, and how psalms helped define Yehud’s cultural trauma in the Persian period (539–331 BCE). Rather than assuming the psalmists’ personal experiences are reflected in these texts, Verde focuses on the linguistic strategies used to express trauma in the Psalms, especially references to the body and highly dramatic metaphors. Current analyses often approach trauma texts as tools intended to help sufferers heal. Verde contends that many group laments in the book of Psalms were transmitted not only to heal but also to wound the community, ensuring that the pain of a previous generation was not forgotten. The Language of Trauma in the Psalms shifts our understanding of trauma in biblical texts and will appeal to literary trauma scholars as well as those interested in ancient Israel.