Trauma Queens Tour Launched

A new conference will kick off its national presence in Rockford, Michigan, on October 20, from 8:30-3:00 at Rockpoint Church (formerly St. Stephen’s Church), at 6070 Kutshill Rd.

WHY A CONFERENCE?

The Trauma Queens Trading Hurt for Hope Conference provides an intimate, supportive environment for approximately one hundred women and church and community leaders to address some of the most painful issues facing women in the church: sexual and physical abuse, abandonment, neglect, self-abuse, obsessive behaviors, addictions, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This conference provides spiritual encouragement and hope in Jesus Christ and creates an environment of safety, where women’s stories of hurt, hope, and healing can be shared. We also provide practical resources that help participants move to the next step in their healing journey:

o True stories of hope, healing, and the love of Christ

o A safe, supportive environment, where women are free to share their stories with a friend of prayer partner, if they desire

o Biblical support and encouragement

o Counseling resources

o Small group sessions on topics like finding hope, getting past the pain, understanding PTSD, and other practical and heart-hitting issues

o Free resources: When the Woman You Love Was Abused,by speaker Dawn Scott Jones, as well as The Silent Seduction of Self-Talk, by speaker Shelly Beach. An additional gift, the ebook, Truth about Trauma: What It Is, Why You Should Care and What You Can Do

MEET THE TRAUMA QUEENS

DAWN SCOTT JONES: Author of When the Woman You Love Was Abused(Kregel Publications 2012). Dawn is an ordained pastor, counselor, and national speaker who has shared the platform with some of the nation’s most noted communicators.

Dawn touches the lives of people through her powerful personal testimony, wit, humor, and deep insight into the Word of God.

Dawn is a survivor of abuse who knows the journey to hope and healing. www.DawnJones.org

WANDA SANCHEZ: Co-author of The Hope Bucket: A Story of Shattered Dreams, an Unlikely Friendship, and a Journey to Hope. Wanda is the executive producer of one of the nation’s top talk shows for the Salem network. She is also president of WLS Communications, a publicity firm that promotes authors.

Wanda is a trauma and sexual abuse survivor who has experienced a profound journey of hope and forgiveness. www.TraumaQueens.org

SHELLY BEACH:Author of eight books, including The Silent Seduction of Self Talk and co-author of The Hope Bucket, with Wanda Sanchez. Shelly is a national speaker at women’s conferences and writers’ conferences, and she also speaks with Wanda on post-traumatic stress disorder to medical and professional communities.

Shelly is also a sexual abuse survivor who has walked the road to forgiveness, healing, and hope. www.ShellyBeachOnline.com

New Trauma Blog Launched

This week several friends and I launched a new blog on the topic of trauma at http://ptsdtraumahopehealing.com/. Over the past two years, I’ve become increasingly interested in the topic of trauma, and I’ve been privileged to get to know some of the best trauma therapists in the world and see the results of their work in the lives of my closest friends.

And every day as I watch the news. read Facebook posts, talk to growing numbers of hurting friends and relatives, and listen to the sounds of emergency vehicles racing past my window, my sense of urgency grows.

An epidemic of untreated trauma has gripped our nation. We busy ourselves treating its symptoms–addictions, eating disorders, self-abusive behaviors, compulsions, etc. and entertain ourselves watching people on television struggle through the symptoms in endless cycles: Hoarders, Intervention, Biggest Loser, Celebrity Rehab, and numerous other shows.

But we seldom treat the root cause: trauma.

I invite you to join me and my friends (the Trauma Queens) and share your trauma story. Many of us have found hope and healing through effective treatments.

Some of us have walked through lifetimes of frustration seeking help for the wrong thing first in treatment centers and counseling that address peripheral issues. And many of us have been shamed for not “getting over” our trauma sooner and seeking treatment.

We’ve developed relationships with some of the nation’s top trauma experts. We’re making connections with organizations involved in human trafficking. Next week my associate and I will be speaking at a nationally-recognized agency that is launching an initiative for children who have been trafficked.

We invite you to become part of the community of hope on Facebook as well at PTSD Trauma Hope and Healing (https://www.facebook.com/PtsdTraumaHopeAndHealing).

If you know someone who’s experienced a crisis where their life was threatened or someone they loved was threatened and they struggle with symptoms of PTSD, please tell them there IS hope.

If you know someone whose baby underwent invasive medical procedures as an infant before 1986 and now struggles with symptoms of PTSD, please tell them about our blog. The medical community did not believe that babies experienced pain before the mid- to late 1980s and often did surgery on infants without painkillers or anesthesia. Many of those children today suffer with symptoms of PTSD and are unaware of its relationships to their childhood trauma and, more importantly, that effective treatment is available.

Few things are as exciting as seeing someone without hope find it again. Those who struggle in cycles of addiction, self-abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, and other behaviors often live without hope.

The truth can set you free.