Publisher's Synopsis
In my involvement over the past 40 years in situations of pastoral counseling with numerous families, which of course also included children and young people, I have become increasingly overwhelmed by the emotional pain and unprocessed trauma with which a large percentage of children and teenagers are struggling. When emotional hurt and trauma are repeated over and over again, and there are no support structures or guidance, then harming themselves often becomes the only way out for such a young person to survive emotionally. This does however offer temporary relief, although the negative long-term consequences gradually accumulate. Self-cutting/self-injury is one way in which many such young people then try to escape for short periods from the storm within that has completely overwhelmed them. When the process of emotional pain has reached this point, it naturally presents the pastoral counselor with a tremendous challenge - a challenge where you must, on the one hand, have the necessary knowledge and insight regarding this complicated area, and on the other hand, realize your total dependence on God. Ultimately, through the working of His Holy Spirit, it is only He who eventually brings about the miracle of emotional and spiritual healing in the life of such a broken young person.
